Cultural ethos and identity in Nigerian film narrative: A critical analysis of Eyo Masquerades in Nollywood’s gangs of Lagos

Films, otherwise known as motion pictures (movies), have served and continue to serve as veritable media of documenting history or commenting on socio-cultural events, individuals or institutions. In Africa, notable filmmakers such as Ousmane Sembene, Gaston Kabore, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Souleyman Cisse, Alain Gomis, Haile Gerima, Raoul Peck, Hubert Ogunde, Tunde Kelani, Lancelot Imasuen, Peddie Okao, and Med Hondo have explored the film medium to document historical, cultural and social situations in addition to educating and entertaining their teeming audiences. Film as an audio-visual medium has been used effectively and variously to preserve the cultural heritage of Africans and, by so doing, sustain the cultural ethos of the continent and its people. Essentially, film narratives and idioms can equally be used to re-invent history such that issues that concern humanity are reinterpreted with messages bordering on cultural revival, preservation or transformation. Adopting Cultivation Theory (CT) and Reception Theory (RT), this paper uses the content (production) analysis, historicocritical, direct observation and focus group discussion (FGD) methods to examine how the producers of the Nollywood film, Gangs of Lagos, have ventured into using motion picture to retell the story of a major cultural fiesta; Eyo masquerade festival on Lagos Island. The feature film, premiered in Lagos, Nigeria, on April 7, 2023, is the subject of this article primarily because of the controversy which trailed its narratives and the allegation that the film has misrepresented the cultural ethos and values of the owners of the festival. The paper establishes how the linguistic, visual and cultural elements in Gangs of Lagos have altered or influenced the cultural ethos, beliefs and norms of the festival owners and the teeming participants. It urges Nollywood filmmakers to unceasingly carry out research to obtain relevant data and facts to avoid errors of misrepresentation of identity, cultural ethos andhistorical records.