MIRRORING NIGERIAS PAST THROUGH FILMS: A FOCUS ON IMPERIALISM, MILITARY RULE, ETHNICITY AND RELIGION IN THE MOVIES OCTOBER 1 AND 76

Film can communicate, educate, inform and entertain. These are the major functions of mass media. But more than any form of the mass media, film possesses the strength both in audio-visual and duration, to be adopted for societal change and crusade of any cause. Adopting film in Nigeria for political change amidst the countrys historic crises evident in imperialism, military rule, ethnicity and religion, the researchers set out to mirror the countrys past through a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of two historic Nigerian films, October 1 and 76 and a Key Informant Interview (KII) of ten persons chosen based on their relevance to the issues under discourse. The study employed Post Colonial and Technological Determinism theories. The researchers discovered that the aforementioned issues were what have held the country down for so many years and that the informants still remembered each event vividly. The findings showed that ethno-religious crises in the country were offshoots of manipulations by leaders of those groups or their followers. Also, the military rule to an extent was because of bad governance, ethnic underpinnings and craze for power. The findings also showed that the coming of whites to the country was a blessing as well as a curse for the country. As such, the researchers recommended that government should brace up and correct these activities from the past and create policies that could make the law supreme and free from influence from ethnic and religious leaders.