NATIONAL CINEMA AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF SELECTED NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0      Preamble

Research  has  shown  that  the  rise  of  African  cinema  took  effect  from  the  early twentieth century, a period of the decolonization of sub-Saharan Africa, though what became African cinema during colonial rule did not reflect the core of African cultures and values. Instead, African cinema at that time was characterised by Western stereotypes and Africa was utilized merely as an “exotic” background for Western cinema. However, the development of African cinema  underwent  a significant  change  in  twentieth century,  when many African countries obtained their independence.

This phase of development in African cinema is especially true of the former French colonies, whose local filmmakers received technical and financial support from the French Ministry of Co-operation. It has been observed that most of the films, prior to independence were egregiously racist in nature Borom Sarret (1963), Niaye (1964).

Prominent African filmmakers of the independence era – such as Ousmane Sembène and Oumarou Ganda, amongst others – saw film as an important political tool for rectifying the erroneous image of Africa. Sembène, a Senegalese writer, had turn to cinema probably to reach a wider audience. He has been described by Dennis Mclellan (2007), a Times Staff writer as the “father” of African Film because of his leading  role in the development  of African cinema. Also his first production, La Noire de…, in 1966 which is based on one of his short stories; was the first feature film ever released by a sub-Saharan African director. Clement Tapsoba, in his “The History of African Cinema and the Origins of FEPACI” posted on Cultural Diplomacy website states:

The African  cinema  industry acknowledges  undeniably  the  need  to develop its own way of making films, support their local  initiatives, and invest in cinematic cultures such as films festivals.  It has shown significant growth and progress in the beginning of the 21st century, a fact  reflected  in  some  innovations  like  the  creation  of  Journals  of African  Cinema  and  African  TV  channels  (African-Magic).  Many countries  such  as  Nigeria,  Kenya and  South  Africa  offer  the  great opportunities for content producers and distribution platforms for film, television, digital media, mobile and other forms of entertainment. An ever-growing film industry, encouraged by increased investments and the  abolition  of  censorship,  will  further  add  impetus  to  an already booming  sector  by allowing  creative  minds  to  harness  this  cultural capital.  Furthermore,  an  expanded  film  industry  translates  into  a flourishing  labour  market,  providing  new  opportunities  for  young talent  and consequently  helping to  combat  the global contemporary phenomenon of youth unemployment and other social vices. However, in the long term,  investments  in the film industry of Africa will aid African  countries in their quest for the universal goal of sustainable development.

It is important to take a look at another core of this discourse ‘domestic violence’. Violence is the use  of physical  force  to  injure  somebody  or  damage  something  and  can  also  be an extreme form of aggression, such as assault, rape or murder. Violence is a phenomenon that is prevalent  in many societies of the world. The subordination  that  comes with domestic violence knows no barrier whether educated, uneducated, and rich or poor. According to Ose

N.  Aihie,  in  his  article  “Prevalence  of  Domestic  Violence  in  Nigeria:  Implications  for

Counselling”,

Domestic violence is the intentional and persistent abuse of anyone in the home in a way that causes pain, distress or injury. It refers to any abusive  treatment  of  one  family  member  by another,  consequently violating  the  law  of  basic  human  rights.  It  includes  battering  of intimate partners and others, sexual abuse of children, marital rape and traditional practices that are harmful to women (1).

Domestic  violence  is an age-long  vice  which  existence  is rooted  in patriarchy,  and  has remained  unabated  to  the present  age despite efforts  to eliminate  it. Encarta  dictionaries defines patriarchy as, “a social system in which men are regarded as the authority within the family and society and in which power and pssessions are passed on from father to son”. To support this view, Ine Nnadi, in her article “An Insight into  Violence against Women as Human Rights Violation in Nigeria: A Critique” cites Evelyn Lee, who observes, “I can just say that the problem itself is not a new one. Even though we have been writing on it for a long time, it is probably as old as mankind  when we think of cave men with their clothes dragging women by their hair from the  cave” (50). It has remained  a known fact that in Nigeria  particularly,  through the  daily  reports  on the news-media  that domestic  violence against women, young girls, and children has become a daily occurrence.

1.1      Statement of problem

Over  the  years,  film  scholars  and  practitioners  have  evaluated  the  cinema  as  a  viable communication tool in addressing social vices such as community clashes, religious conflicts, and youth restiveness. It could be imagined that, on daily basis, there is always a victim of

violence somewhere in Nigeria especially in our homes. Nigerian news-media on daily basis through their communication channels contain reports of spouse-to-spouse, and parent(s)-to- child cases of domestic abuse and from one story to the other it continues to appear gory and worse. On August 27, 2014, ten cases ranging from one form of domestic abuse to the other were recorded  across some Nigerian  news-media  online.  The essence  of this study is to discuss these major issues, assessing the causes of domestic violence in homes and its effects as it relates or appear in cinema. The researcher here advocates for a kind of national cinema that exposes these ills extensively irrespective of who it affects. The researcher believes that Africans should explore contemporary channels like the cinema, in exposing, tackling and dealing  with  contemporary  issues  like  domestic  violence  that  erodes  the  Africanness  of Africa.

1.2      Research Questions

The discourse is hinged on two research questions:

  How destructive is domestic violence to the immediate society?

   What role(s) can the Cinema play in addressing domestic violence?

It is the preoccupation  of this study to endeavour and attempt a comprehensive  survey  in answering the research questions.

1.3      Objective of the Study

The usefulness of the cinema in our contemporary society cannot be underrated or neglected, that is why this study discusses an aspect of its essence as regards combating violence in our homes. This study discusses, sensitizes, and advocates the role of the cinema in addressing domestic violence. The main goals of this study are –

  To advocate against the menace of domestic violence through the cinematic medium.

 This study extends its advocacy to the use of the cinematic medium in the propagation of ETfD (Electronic Theatre for Development) programs in Nigeria.

 It  also  provides  insight  and  enlightenment  for  the  society  on  the  vital  issue  of discourse; expounding the adverse effects of domestic violence on its victims and the society at large.

So many measures  are being put in place by the Government,  NGOs,  and Civil  society groups  to  advocate  against  this  kind  of  violence  in  our  homes  and  filmmakers  should contribute their own quota towards this struggle in order to make our immediate society safe.

1.4      Significance of the Study

The dynamism in contemporary theatre practice has motivated scholars and filmmakers  to develop creative consciousness using the cinematic medium. This study is significant because it analyses the role of cinema in addressing domestic violence. The study has its spotlight on the primary unit of the society, (the family) and the films chosen for analysis reflect such. This study will be of great importance to theatre scholars, counsellors, development agencies, public health workers, organizations, researchers and individuals with interest in addressing domestic violence. It will further provoke a more critical inquiry into this area of study and will serve as a reference material for future researchers in this area.

1.5      Scope of the Study

Several studies have been carried out on issues related to domestic violence and the role of the cinema in several areas of endeavour but this study will not delve into the discussion of all the  studies.  This study limits its scope  to the examination  of  Chineze  Anyaene’s  Ije

(2010),  and  Uche  Jumbo’s  Damage  (2011).  The  films  are  produced  and  directed  by Nigerians.  They are produced  with full Nigerian content both in their storyline and  motif which reflect in detail the topic of study. The movies are very much contemporary because they were shot within the last decade, ‘reflecting’ the most recent cases of domestic violence. The movies are, no doubt, very vital for a comprehensive evaluation in this research. The evaluation  is  guided  by the  theories  of National  cinema,  Psychoanalysis,  and  Structural violence as its framework.

1.6      Research Methodology

The nature of a particular research or study determines the methodology to be adopted  in carrying out such a study. This research applied the qualitative research methodology because explores the potentials of the literary, historical, and artistic aspects of research method in doing justice to the subject of discourse. Sam Ukala, in discussing literary methodology of data collection, in his Manual of Research and of Thesis Writing in Theatre Arts, states:

This is also called the analytical methodology.  It focuses on  written and printed  library and archival  sources,  especially  books,  journals, thesis, reports, literary works, such as plays,  novels and poems. Data are  collected  from  these  and  analyzed  in  relation  to  the  research questions and objectives (13).

He further states on the historical methodology, “This entails the investigation of documented sources, such as books, journals, reports, films, video and audio tapes,  archival materials, archaeological  excavations,  artefacts (such as carvings, drawings,  sculpture, paintings  and textile print) as well as oral sources” (12). Also, Ukala describes the artistic methodology as a unique  methodology  because  “it  deals  with  relativity,  contains  elements  that  cannot  be

quantitatively or empirically measured, and allows for reliance on intuition, inspiration, and imagination, which may be called the 3I’s” (14).

This methodology gives the researcher ample room for creativity. The researcher carried out an organised study of books, journals, articles, reports, theses and also analyzed films as well as oral sources in the course of gathering, and evaluation of data. To ensure comprehension of this study, contemporary video films based on the Nigerian motifs and structure, produced and acted by Nigerians were analysed.

1.7      Definition of Terms

The following words are defined Cinema, Violence, and Domestic violence because they are the keywords and their definitions are vital as well as operational in this research. Microsoft Encarta premium, in defining a cinema states:

Cinema is a series of images that are projected onto a screen to create the illusion of motion… the cinema are one of the most popular forms of  entertainment,   enabling  people  to  immerse   themselves   in  an imaginary  world  for  a  short  period  of  time.  Some  films  combine entertainment  with  instruction,  to  make  the  learning  process  more enjoyable. In all its forms, cinema is an art as well as a business, and those who make motion pictures take great pride in their creations.

states:

Violence is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or  actual,  against  oneself,  another  person,  or  against  a  group  or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting

in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation. This definition associates intentionality with the committing of the act itself,  irrespective  of the outcome  it  produces.  Generally,  although, anything  that  is  turbulent  or  excited  in  an  injurious,  damaging  or destructive way, or  presenting risk accordingly,  may be described as violent or  occurring  violently,  even if not signifying  violence (by a person and against a person).

Microsoft Encarta premium, declares:

Domestic  Violence  or  Spouse  Abuse  is  a physically or emotionally harmful acts between husbands and wives or between other individuals in intimate relationships. Domestic violence is sometimes referred to as Intimate  Violence.  It  includes  violence  that  occurs  in  dating  and courtship relationships, between former spouses, and between gay and lesbian partners.

Emily Burrill and others, in Domestic Violence and the Law in Africa, posit:

We … define domestic violence broadly, to include all acts of violence which are seen by those who inflict, endure, or regulate them as being justified by a filial relationship. By using this definition, we also wish to draw attention to the connections  between violence committed by men  against  women  and  other  forms  of  violence  that  are  justified through the institutions and ideologies of kinship and family. Violence between   parents   and    children,   violence   between   co-wives   in polygynous marriages,  and even—as Katherine Luongo demonstrates

in her chapter—violence against suspected witches were all shaped by such ideologies.

Nnadi states, “Violence can also be the unlawful use of force or threat to use force  on  a fellow human being.  It is any action,  behaviour,  attitude  against  people based  on  anger, frustration, stress, power, ego or even ignorance which could lead to injury, harm, disability or even death” (2).

1.8      Theoretical Framework

In this work, three theories have been adopted, in order to meet the objectives of the study they are; National cinema, Psychoanalysis,  and Structural Violence. The  concept of National Cinema has been appropriated in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. National Cinema, means the cinematic products of a given nation or country imbued with some core values specific to the given nation. It is pertinent to note that  it  has been argued that the parameters of a national cinema should be drawn at the site of consumption as much as at the site  of production  of films.  In other  words,  focus  should  be on the  activity of  national audiences and the conditions under which they make sense of and use the films they watch. Andrew Higson, in his article The Concept of National Cinema, claims:

In general terms, one can summarise these various mobilizations of the concept as follows; First, there is the possibility of defining national cinema in economic terms, establishing a conceptual  correspondence between the terms ‘national cinema’ and ‘the domestic film industry’, and therefore being concerned with such questions as: Where are these films  made,  and  by whom?  Who  owns  and  controls  the  industrial infrastructures,  the  production  companies,  the  distributors,  and  the exhibition  circuits?  Second,  there  is  the  possibility  of a  text-based

approach to national cinema … what are these films about? Do  they share a common style or worldview? What sort of projections of the national character do they offer? To what extent are they engaged in exploring, questioning and constructing a notion of nationhood in the films themselves and in the consciousness of the viewer? (36).

This theory is applied in the interpretation of the films analysed in this discourse. ‘National Cinema’ classifies films as it appeals to the tendencies of a given nation. Films produced in a particular nation carry the motif and content of a given nation.

In addition, this study interprets the actions, reactions, and counter-reactions of the abusers and   their   victims   with  the  application   of  the  ‘psychoanalysis’.   To   ensure   a  good understanding of this theory, views of different psychoanalytic theorists are analysed. Charles Bressler posits:

Developing  both a body of theory and a practical  methodology  for science   of   the   mind,   Freud   became   the   leading   pioneer   of psychoanalysis,  a  method  of  treating  emotional  and  psychological disorders. During psychoanalysis,  Freud would have  his patients talk freely   in   a   patient-analyst   setting   about   their   early   childhood experiences and dreams. When we apply these same methods to our interpretations  of  works  of  literature,  we  engage  in  psychoanalytic criticism (120).

Psychoanalysis  recognizes the debacle of the humanist tradition based on the Socratic dictum: know thyself. It involves the revelation of unwelcome truths. Its therapy is obtained through the analysis of suppressed feelings and emotional conflicts. It can also be said that psychoanalytic criticism can exist side by side with any other critical method. Being that this

approach  attempts  to explain the how and why of human actions without developing  an aesthetic theory – a systematic, philosophical body of beliefs about how meaning occurs in literature and other art forms – Marxists, Feminists, and New Historicists, for instance, can utilize   psychoanalytic   methods   in   their   interpretations   without   violating   their   own hermeneutics.   Psychoanalytic   criticism   may  then  be  called   an   approach   to   literary interpretation than a particular thought of criticism.

Psychoanalysis is a kind of interpretation that deals with the psyche, mind, with thinking, with exercising the mind of the individual. The mind is the centre of meaning because in all cultures,  we  attribute  meaning  to  the  mind.  Psychoanalysis   is  a   specific  method  of investigating unconscious mental processes. Psychoanalytical criticism is the application of psychoanalytic theory to the interpretation of an action. Although Freud is unquestionably the founder  of  this  approach  to  literary  analysis,  psychoanalytic  criticism  has  continued  to

develop throughout the 20th century. Carl Jung, Freud’s rebellious student borrowed some of

Freud’s ideas but rejected many others. Jung branched out into new theories and  concerns and  established  analytical  psychology.  In 1960s,  the French  Neo-Freudian  psychoanalyst Jacques  Lacan  revised  and  expanded  Freud’s  theories  in the light  of  new linguistic  and literary principles,  thereby revitalizing psychoanalytic  criticism and  ensuring its continued influence on literary criticism.

Freud developed various models of the human psyche which became the changing bases of his psychoanalytic theory and his practice. Early in his career, he posited the  dynamic model, asserting that our minds are a dichotomy consisting of the conscious (rational) and the unconscious (irrational). According to Bressler, Freud argues:

The  conscious  perceives  and  records  external  reality  and  is  the reasoning   part   of  the   mind.   Unaware   of  the   presence   of  the unconscious, we operate consciously, believing that our reasoning and

analytical skills are solely responsible for our behaviour. Nevertheless,

… it is the unconscious, not the conscious that governs a large part of our actions (121).

This irrational part of our psyche, the unconscious, receives and stores our hidden desires, ambitions, fears, passions, and irrational thoughts. Freud developed yet another model of the human psyche known as the typographical model. In an earlier version of this model, Freud separated the human psyche into three parts:

i)   the conscious – the mind’s direct link to external reality, for it perceives and reacts with external environment allowing the mind to order its outside world.

ii)   the preconscious – the storehouse of memories that the conscious part of the mind allows to be brought to consciousness without disguising these memories in some form or another.

iii)  the unconscious – Freud contends that this part holds the repressed hungers, images, thoughts, and desires of human nature. Being that these desires are not housed in the preconscious,  they cannot  be directly  summoned  into  the  conscious  state. These  repressed  impulses  must  therefore  travel  in   disguised  forms  to  the conscious part of the psyche and will surface in their respective disguises in our dreams, our past and in other unsuspecting ways in our lives.

The most famous model of the human psyche however is Freud’s revised version of the typographical  model, the Tripartite  model. This model divides the psyche  into three parts:  the  Id,  the  Ego,  and  the  Superego.  The  irrational,  instinctual,  unknown,  and unconscious part of the psyche Freud calls the Id.

Id – Pleasure Principle – Irrational human being who is self destructive.

Ego – Reality Principle – the conscious state of mind, it operates on the consciousness of reason.

Superego – Morality Principle – The Concept of Conscience. Bressler states:

The Id contains our secret desires, our darkest wishes, and our  most intense  fears,  the Id wishes  only to fulfil the urges of the  pleasure principle.  In  addition,  it  houses  the  libido,  the  source  of  all  our psychosexual  desires and all our psychic energy.  Unchecked  by any controlling  will,  the  Id  operates  on  impulse   wanting  immediate satisfaction for all its instinctual desires.

The Ego is the rational logical waking part of the mind, although many of its activities  remain in the unconscious.  Whereas  the Id  operates according to the pleasure principle, the Ego operates in harmony with the  reality principle.  It  is  the  Ego’s  job  to  regulate  the  instinctual desires of the Id and to allow these desires to be released in some non- destructive way.

The Superego acts like an internal censor causing us to make moral judgments  in  light  of  social  pressures.  In  contrast  to  the  Id,  the Superego  operates  according    to  the  morality  principle  and  serves primarily to protect society and us from the Id.  Representing  all of society’s moral restrictions,  the superego  serves as a filtering agent suppressing the desires and instincts forbidden by society and thrusting them back into the unconscious. Overall, the superego manifests itself through punishment.  If  allowed to operate at its own discretion,  the superego will create an unconscious sense of guilt and fear (123).

It is left for the Ego to mediate between the instinctual (especially sexual) desires of the Id and the demands of social pressure issued by the superego. What the Ego deems unacceptable

it suppresses and deposits in the unconscious, and what it has most frequently repressed in all of us is our sexual desires of early childhood.

Carl Jung enunciates  the theory of Collective  Unconsciousness  or what could  be termed the theory of Collective Reasoning. To Jung, all people in all cultures possess and respond to inherited images and mythic processes generally described as Archetypes’ (Group Behaviour). In his model of the human psyche, Jung accepts  Freud’s assumption that the unconscious exists and that it plays a major role in our  conscious decisions. For Jung, the human psyche consists of three parts or models:

The Persona – deals with the personality everybody wants to present to the public.

The Shadow – deals with the part of your personality you want to hide as a result of your complex situation.

The Anima – deals with the conscious mediator between the shadow and the Persona.

Psychic individualism is achieved only when the person with the aid of the Anima confronts and accepts the presence of the Shadow.

According to Bressler, the Jungian models consist of:

The personal conscious or waking state is that image or thought  of which we are aware at any given moment. Like a slide show,  every moment of our lives provides us with a new slide. As we  view one slide, the previous slide vanishes from our personal consciousness, for nothing can remain in the personal conscious. Although these vanished slides are forgotten by the personal consciousness, they are stored and remembered  by  the  personal   unconscious.   Jung  asserts  that  all conscious  thoughts  begin  in  the  personal  unconscious.  Since  each

person’s   moment-by-moment   slide  show  is  different,   everyone’s personal unconscious is unique.

In the depths of the psyche and blocked off from human consciousness lies  the  third  part  of  Jung’s  model  of  the  psyche:  the  collective unconscious.  This  third  part  of  the  psyche  houses  the  cumulative knowledge,  experiences,  and  images of the entire  human  species… People all over the world  respond to certain myths or stories in the same way, not because everyone knows and appreciates the same story but because lying  deep in our collective unconscious are the species memories  of  humanity’s  past. These memories  exist in the form of archetypes: patterns or images of repeated human experiences (127).

On  the  other  hand,  Jacques  Lacan  believes  that  the  unconscious  greatly  affects  our conscious behaviour. Unlike Freud, who pictures the unconscious as a chaotic, unstructured, bubbling cauldron of dark passions, hidden desires, and suppressed wishes, Lacan asserts that the unconscious is structured, much like the structure of language. To Lacan, all individuals are fragmented: No one is whole. The ideal concept of a wholly unified and psychologically complete individual is just that, an abstraction that is simply not attainable. Like Freud, Lacan devises a three-part model or orders of the human psyche : the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real. John Storey, in his book, An Introduction to Cultural Theory & Popular Culture, 2nd Edition, observes:

The imaginary for Lacan is precisely this realm of images in which we make  identifications,  but  in  the  very  act  of  doing  so  are  led  to misperceive and misrecognize ourselves. As a child grows up, it will continue to make such imaginary identifications with objects, and this

is  how  the  ego  will  be  built  up.  For  Lacan,  the  ego  is  just  this narcissistic process whereby we bolster up a fictive sense of  unitary selfhood by finding something in the world with which we can identify (94).

Let us at this stage take a look at ‘Structural  violence’  and state categorically  that  Paul Farmer and others find structural violence an appropriate term to use for the type of suffering that is ‘structured’ by historically given processes and forces that conspire- whether through routine, ritual, or as is more commonly the case, the hard surfaces of life – to constrain the law/agency.  Through  this  understanding,  structural  violence  limits  people’s  choices  and opportunities and is difficult for the victims to escape from as it is so embedded in society; leaving them to a great degree powerless in the system they exist in. Structured inequalities in society are therefore at the core of structural  violence, constraining people from reaching their full potential and depriving them of  equally enjoying human rights compared  to the privileged. To elaborate further on this notion, Farmer believes, “Social inequalities based on race or ethnicity, gender, religious creed, and . . . above all . . . social class are the motor force behind most human rights violations. In other words, violence against individuals is usually embedded in entrenched structural violence” (219).

The subsequent chapters of this study outline and analyze the basic characteristics of National cinema, domestic violence, and the models proposed by the psychoanalytic theorists.

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