Ethnic Metaphors and Culture-Syncretism as Semiotics of Select-Nigerian Films

Abstract

This paper is a qualitative presentation of the deployment of ethnic metaphors and syncretized culture as semiotics in Nigerian films. The paper draws its theoretical foundation from Herbert Mead's Symbolic Interactionism. Findings show that every ethnic group in Nigeria is stereotyped and that certain metaphoric denotations describe different ethnic frontiers in the nation. The popular culture that forms the decipherable nonverbal codes and their referents are drawn from culture-syncretism within which deposits of different dialects form ideas that establish meaning in the society. The paper concludes that filmmaking in a society is a way of depicting the reality of society in creative work. It should be coded in the popular culture to attract the popular will. It recommends that thorough research should be done before a film is made to avoid the wrong representation of an idea, especially in the nonverbal sign. Nonverbal cues command even stronger information within a culture; they should be represented to generate appeal and to educate.