Conflicting Framings: Commoditisation of Female Body in Film and Challenges of Insecurity in Nigeria

Gender inequality is central to women agitation and has remained the most engaging debate in contemporary academic discourse. Feminist writers, (whether in film, or literature) continue to present conflicting ideological frames that often criticize normative gender identity and establishing new orientations. Film, unlike literature, has a way of presenting reality in most captivating manner. Such is the case in Emen Isong’s The Banker (2015), a Nigerian drama film, invoking “Laura Mulvey’s “politics of male gaze” as stated in her Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. The paper notes that objectification of female body of the lead actress, is meant to satisfy sexual pleasure of the male clients; an act considered as a marketing tool in Nigerian Banking industry. The director’s penchant for dancing between “marketing commodity” and commoditisation of female body”, creates a conflicting communication duality. Using two theories, Media Representation and African Womanism, the paper explores gender dynamics in representation of female body as well as its implications on female identity in social institutions. Research Methodology is qualitative, with focus on critical analysis. It concludes that such representation poses not just identity crises for the female gender but also great security challenges as people learn more from media.