FILM AS ADVOCACY FOR SOCIOCULTURAL JUSTICE IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF PENANCE BY AWAL ABDULFATAI

Film has always been the mirror of the society from its existence, it is used to shed light on the dark areas of the society, giving clarity to things that brings confusions. This research work explains the role of film as advocacy for sociocultural justice in Nigeria, using Penance as a case study. Some objectives of this study are to examine the role of Film as a means for Justice Advocacy; to explore sociocultural justice and how it pertains to Nigerian Society and to analyse the portrayal of sociocultural justice issues in Penance. This study made use of both primary and secondary data. The primary data was taken directly from the research knowledge of film as advocacy with the lesson learnt in Penance a movie by Awal Abdulfatai while the secondary data was generated from eBooks, journals, published books and textbooks. This study adopts qualitative research method, so as to critically analysis the film Penance and also to dissect the film content in relation to film as a sociocultural advocacy. The findings of this research expose issues on gender inequality, corruption and arbitrary use of power which does not only affect the victim or the abuser but all the people in their surroundings, hence, the fastest way of societal awareness (Film) is used to curb this illicit act. This study concludes that film can be used to confront sociocultural injustices and challenges, reflecting a society values, tradition and moral choices. It also concludes that film characters can be used to symbolize injustice in a given society just as Penance is use to reflect real world of Nigerian dynamics.