Thesis (MA) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Communication and Media Studies Department

Includes bibliography (sheets 139-151)

ABSTRACT
An important discourse on how Nollywood portrays and reflects real-world events in society is a pressing matter that has to be brought to light, notwithstanding some embellishments it employs. Nollywood functions as a double-edged sword. The Nollywood industry is renowned for its entertaining endeavors, but not for its sufficient efforts in representation. Despite the assertions made that it misrepresents and encourages defective behaviors in certain of its film production materials, Nollywood as a film business stands to offer varied obligations as far as film and cinema in Nigeria are concerned. This research is an attempt to create awareness about Nollywood’s positive representation of the Nigerian society. Undoubtedly, Nigerian parents work hard to shape their children’s professional choices in order to help them become productive and successful members of Nigerian society. However, it is admirable that Nollywood has throughout the years made an effort to highlight these efforts in some of the movies it has made, serving as a representation of significant facets of the life of the typical Nigerian, including parents, young adults and children alike. Given that these are parts of life that cannot be avoided and that there is no fixed or predetermined guidebook for parenting, it is crucial to look at how parents' involvement and influence affect their children's professional selections. In order to determine Nollywood's storyline trajectories of how parental supports are administered career-wise, this study's objective is to explore how Nollywood represents parents as career support systems in the four selected Nollywood films, Mókálìk (2019), Clash (2021), Kasanova (2019), and Lionheart (2018). This study uses a qualitative research methodology that makes use of a textual analytic approach. The research explores the formal film form systems proposed by Bordwell and Thompson (1993), which constitutes the basis for the analysis of the films. The findings of this research indicate that parents administer career guidance through the acts of empowerment, acknowledgement, discipline and support. Despite the fact that they may not have the necessary professional training, parents are nonetheless in charge of their kids' development. Most significantly, because parents are their children's initial point of contact, it is only natural that children would trust and seek their counsel for career guidance and support. The Nollywood industry mirrors the Nigerian society and its parenting patterns as a way to inform, educate and entertain its viewers
Keywords: Acknowledgement, Career-decisions, Discipline, Empowerment, Nigerian Children, Nigerian Parents, Nollywood Films, Parents-involvement, Representation, and Support.