Portrayal of Violence Against Women in Ghanaian Movies

Abstract

In media entertainment, violence is a commonplace. Media platforms tend to portray women in certain negative ways and as having more negative qualities than other members of society such as the male gender. These portrayals provide viewers with ways of thinking about and acting towards members of a particular group, thus affecting communication and perception. The study thus, seeks to investigate the portrayal of violence against women in Ghanaian movies in order to ascertain whether media portrayal of violence against women is merely a reflection of reality within our social structure or a distorted picture to reinforce violence against women. A purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the movies for the study. Three movies were selected and a content analysis of these movies were guided by three research questions aimed at investigating the forms of violence that are predominantly portrayed in Ghanaian movies, ascertain how these portrayals position women in the movies and analyse how these portrayals go to reinforce violence against women in Ghanaian movies. The findings of the study shows that portrayal of violence against women in Ghanaian movies is a reflection of realities in our social structure. These portrayals do not only reflect happenings in society but goes further to reinforce violence against women in Ghanaian communities.