Evaluation of Nigerian Undergraduates on Media and Film Literacy
Main Article Content
Abstract
Media, and film in particular, are not only popular medium among contemporary Nigerians, but they have become critical source of concerns for media scholars. Given to the fact that film permeate our world through the multiplex phenomenon and the internet, it has become a major concern to investigate the level of film literacy among young Nigerian viewers. Renowned media scholar Stuart Hall argued that filmmakers embed certain messages in their narratives and the viewers most times, decode the messages, while others form an opposite view of what the filmmaker originally intended. With the pervasiveness of film/movies on the internet and other modern technologies, it is pertinent to examine the level of film literacy of Nigerian youths. Consequently, undergraduates from Nigerian universities in Southwestern part of the country were served a 19-item questionnaire through Google Form. A link was sent to mass communication students in Caleb University, Christopher University, NOUN Ikorodu campus, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, and Wesley University- Lagos annex. 336 responses were recorded and tabulated. Findings reveal that Nigerian undergraduates have some level of media literacy as a reasonable number of the respondents attest that they are ware of filmmakers’ motive in the narratives, and they admitted that film contents influence their life purview. They agreed that film is a good and one of the fastest ways to reach the people with any behaviour change message. This study anchored on the uses and gratification theory-UGT, recommends that further field studies be launched into this topic to clear some grey areas. For instance, a new study should probe how Nigerian undergraduates make sense of the foreign and local movies about their culture.
Article Details
How to Cite
Acheme, R. O., Steven Anu’ Adesemoye, Perpetua Ogechi Aondover, Charles Adewale Olugbenga, & Oche Sunday Odihi. (2025). Evaluation of Nigerian Undergraduates on Media and Film Literacy. LingLit Journal Scientific Journal for Linguistics and Literature, 6(1), 31-47. https://doi.org/10.33258/linglit.v6i1.1343
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Private Limited.
Acheme, R. (2023). Media culture and media literacy in the 21st century: An introduction. Alabi O.F. (ed.) in Media Literacy & Media Literacy Education in a Developing
Economy. Oyo: Boga Press, pp:3-20.
Ahmed, A. (2024, September 28). The Impact of Film on Society: A Deeper Look. Available at: https://medium.com/@ayazahmed96320/the-impact-of-film-on-society-a-deeper-look-6f8d4b18c16f
Aondover, P. O., & Aondover, E. M. (2023). Nollywood Offering and Nigeria People and Culture: Reflections and Projection. Unisia, 41(1), 117-142.
Aondover, P. O., Aondover, E. M., & Babele, A. M. (2022). Two nations, same technology, different outcomes: Analysis of technology application in Africa and America. Journal of Educational Research and Review, 1(1), 001-008.
Baran, S.J. and Davis, D. K. (2012). Mass communication theories; 6th ed. Wadsworth
Cengage Learning. Canada.
Beecher, C. (2023). Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy. Available at:https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/teachingearlyliteracy/chapter/what-is-literacy-multiple-perspectives-on-literacy/
Bellanaija (2025, March 19). 6 Captivating Films That Explored Nigerian Culture and Tradition This Past Year. Available at:https://www.bellanaija.com/2025/03/films-that-have-explored-nigeria-culture/
Bittner, J. R. (1989). Mass communication: And introduction. 5th ed. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall
Ding, S. (2011). The European commission’s approach to media literacy: Ambitions,
policies and measures. (ed) LSE, Media@ISE
DW (n.d.). How Disney represents other cultures. Available at:https://www.dw.com/en/how-disney-represents-other-cultures/a-60065256
Edens Library, (2024). intellectual freedom-Literacy: What is literacy? Available at: https://libguides.columbiasc.edu/literacycourse/literacy
Falgoust, G., Winterlind, E., Moon, P., Parker, A., Zinzow, H., & Madathil, K.C. (2022). Applying the uses and gratifications theory to identify motivational factors behind young adult's participation in viral social media challenges on TikTok. Human Factors in Healthcare. Vol. 2,
Foley, J. M. (2025, February 18). Literacy. Available at:https://www.britannica.com/topic/literacy
Fran, H. (2021, October 29). What is media literacy and why does it matter? Available at:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/what-is-media-literacy
Glide Magazine (n.d.). How movies reflect culture. Available at: https://glidemagazine.com/242770/how-movies-reflect-culture/
Google Form (n.d.). Online forms to get insights quickly. Available at: https://workspace.google.com/products/forms/
Graff, H. J. (2009). Literacy. Microsoft Encarta. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.
Greenawald, K.E. (2021, February 19). Uses and gratifications theory. Available at: https://sites.psu.edu/kegreenawald/2021/02/19/59/
Heick, T. (2019). The definition of digital literacy.
https://www.teachthought.com/literacy/the-definition-of-digital-literacy/ accessed on 8/10/2019
Inspire Culture (2023, Decmeber 13). Cinema across cultures: How film reflects society. Available at:https://inspireculture.org/cultural-awareness/arts-culture/cinema-across-cultures-how-film-reflects-society/
Jefferson, J. (2021, August 1). 20 Years of bringing it: What bring it on did for the culture and the conversation around cultural theft. Available at:https://www.theroot.com/20-years-of-bringing-it-what-bring-it-on-did-for-the-c-1844788260
Khandelwal, M. (2024, October 22). Boost customer engagement with these 30+ social media survey questions. Available at:https://www.surveysensum.com/blog/social-media-survey-questions
Kolker, R. (2015). Film, form, and culture: Fourth edition (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315728025
Kubrak, I. (2020, May 28). Impact of films: Changes in young people’s attitudes after watching a movie. in Behavioral Sciences. Vol.10 (5): p:86
La’aro, O. A. (2023). Media Literacy: Concept, competence and measurement. Alabi O.F.
(ed.) in Media Literacy & Media Literacy Education in a Developing Economy.
Oyo: Boga Press, pp:21-37.
Leslie, (eds.) Kids online: opportunities and risks for children. The Policy Press,
Bristol, UK, pp. 1-6.
Libretext (n.d.). movies and culture. Available at: https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Journalism_and_Mass_Communication/Book%3A_Mass_Communication_Media_and_Culture/08%3A_Movies/8.03%3A_Movies_and_Culture
Livingstone, S. & Haddon, L. (2009) Introduction. In: Livingstone, Sonia and Haddon,
Longe, B. (2025, July 27). 33 social media survey questionnaires. Available at: https://www.formpl.us/blog/social-media-survey-questionnaire
Media Theory (2023, April 23). Uses & Gratifications Theory: Understanding Media Consumption: available at:https://mediatheory.net/uses-and-gratifications-theory/
Mihailidis P., Thevenin B. (2013). Media literacy as a core competency for engaged citizenship: participatory Democracy. Am. Behav. Sci. 57, pp: 1611–1622.
10.1177/0002764213489015 [DOI
Munarriz, M. (2023). What is literacy? Definition, history & examples. Available at:https://study.com/academy/lesson/literacy-definition-history-examples.html?msockid=3b06f957d02268963c24ec35d188695b
Okwechime, C. (2016). Mass media research management. 2nd ed. Lagos: McBolum Publishers.
Oluyinka-Okeya, A. (2023). Prospects and challenges of media literacy. Alabi O.F.
(ed.) in Media Literacy & Media Literacy Education in a Developing Economy.
Oyo: Boga Press, pp:64-77.
Patel, O. & Michelson, A.S. (2021). 18 Movies that celebrate diversity to watch as a family. Available at:https://theeverymom.com/movies-that-celebrate-diversity-to-watch-as-a-family/
Peterson, A. (2020). Literacy is more than just reading and writing. Available at: https://ncte.org/blog/2020/03/literacy-just-reading-writing/
Ronaldo (2024, October 8). How movies affect society: A deep dive into their impact. Available at: https://societyforpeace.com/movies-affect-society/
Ruggiero, T.E. (2000). Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century. Mass Communication and Society. Vol. 3(1), pp.3-37. DOI: 10.1207/S15327825MCS0301_02
Shah, V. (2023, october 19). The role of film in society. Available at: https://thoughteconomics.com/the-role-of-film-in-society/
Sifaki, E. (2003). Global strategies and local practices in film consumption. In Journal for Cultural Research. Vol. 7(3): pp:243-257 DOI: 10.1080/1479758032000135942
Sifaki, E. (2003). Projections of popular culture through the study of the cinema market in contemporary Greece. Being a seminar paper presented at the London School of Economics and Political Science, June 21, 2003.
Sil, S. (2023, May 1). 15 best movies about culture and society. Available at:https://hablr.com/movies-about-culture-and-society/
Statista, (2023,). Share of households subscribing to selected video streaming platforms
in the United States as of September 2022. Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274192/streaming-services-penetration-ratesinthe-us/
Supersurvey (n.d.). The fastest free survey maker: Add questions and make your free online survey below instantly. Available at:https://www.supersurvey.com/
Surveyplanet (n.d.). A simple and powerful online survey tool. Available at: https://surveyplanet.com/
Surveyplanet (n.d.). Conducting a social media usage survey: Examining trends and habits through survey data. Available at:https://blog.surveyplanet.com/conducting-a-social-media-usage-survey-examining-trends-and-habits-through-survey-data
Tamara (2023, February 2). 10 Best movies about different cultures & why you should watch them. Available at:https://fictionhorizon.com/best-movies-about-different-cultures/
Unesco Institute for Statistics (n.d.). literacy. Avaialable at: https://uis.unesco.org/en/glossary-term/literacy
Vinney, C. (2024, July 29). What Is Uses and Gratifications Theory? Definition and Examples. Available at:https://www.thoughtco.com/uses-and-gratifications-theory-4628333
Vitalis, P. O., Amadi, R. N., & Whyte, D. H. (2024). Social Construct of Nollywood Films and Ethnocentrism in Southern Nigeria. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 12(2), 152-179.
Vivian, J., (2013). The media of mass communication. 11th ed. New Delhi PHI Learning
Private Limited.