Narrative Aesthetics as Socio-Activist Commentary in Contemporary Comic Cinema
Abstract
Comedy performances, presented through the use of satire and humour, tend to offer reformative insights into societal peculiarities. Contemporary comedy cinema performances, which have become popular over the years, have taken on a more unique slant, with particular focus on connotative representations of Nigeria’s polity. Bolaji Amusan, an actor and movie producer popularly known in Nigerian movie circles as Mr Latin, is renowned for his comical roles which have in recent times turned towards the deliberate-commentary structure, especially through his Talongbemu film series, which date back a few years. Framed within the context of Richard Schechner’s functions of performance, this study examines Bolaji Amusan’s Police Officers, taken from Amusan’s Talongbemu series, with a view to foregrounding how narrative aesthetics in comic performances can serve as a form of activism. Through literary portrayals that explore Bill Moyer’s concept of activism roles, with particular focus on the exploration of themes such as corruption, greed, ignorance, quest for freedom, and unity, the selected clip provides the context for activism and social justice as presented through comedic elements to promote social justice and change. This study finds that through comedy, entertainment for the Nigerian society can rise beyond the confines of art-for-art sake, and sit well within the ambit of art-for-societal-growth sake.
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