Journal of Development Communication And Applied Theatre

This work proposes that film is a veritable tool for social change and thus could be used for advocacy in addressing varied environmental issues in Nigeria with the aim of stimulating social change. Environmental havoc in Nigeria is largely associated with human activities ranging from bush burning, blockage of drainage systems, to industrial activities like oil exploration and deforestation. The degradation of the environment through human activities is a major developmental issue bedeviling the Nigerian society. The medium of film is conceived as a veritable tool for Communication for Development (C4D) that can help shape human interaction with the environment. Thus, the lacuna of how films of African extraction could be used to tell stories that can stimulate positive behavioral change towards environment is the major premise for this work. This paper proposes that in the primordial times, the Nigerian society advocated and preserved the ecosystem through mythic stories. These mythic stories were popular in many traditional societies to the extent that people referenced them when dealing with the environment. Thus, the reinvention of these mythic stories that severed as watch dog for environmental preservation in the time past could be translocated into screenplay and consequently produced into an eco-horror film in recent times. This paper recommends that the translocation of African mythic stories into motion picture could be a veritable film genre that can stimulate positive changes in term of how human beings interact with the environment nowadays. This assumption is premised on the evidence that these stories are still potent in many Nigerian societies where supernatural powers are attributed to inanimate objects like rivers, mountains, trees, caves etc. and thus people are cautious in their interactions to avoid being hurt by these residual powers. The preservation of the ecosystem is part of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This crux of this paper is in finding veritable approach for advocating for a green environment in Nigeria through the medium of film. The medium of film is popular and thus it could be used to reinvent mythic stories in places like Enugu state where mythic realities are still potent. Keywords:

Open Full Text (PDF)