REPRESENTATIONS OF AGEISM IN SELECTED NIGERIAN MOVIES

Abstract

This paper interrogated the portrayal of ageing in selected Nigerian movies, popularly known as Nollywood. The study also filled the gap that exists in the area of critical scholarship on the representation of ageing in Nigerian movies. The theoretical frameworks from which the film-texts were analyzed are social gerontology theories like social construction and social exchange. The research concluded that Nigerian films project stereotypes such as, old people as burden to the society, puerile and senile, worthy of care and attention based on their material possession which they exchange with the young ones. The study also showed that Nigerian films, especially those produced in Yoruba language portray elderly women as witches. The work recommended that Nigerian movie producers and directors should project positive images of older adults in films.