Negotiating boundaries through reality shows: a multimodal study of Big Brother Naija
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In: Critical African Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, 03.2025, p. 18-40.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Negotiating boundaries through reality shows
T2 - a multimodal study of Big Brother Naija
AU - Gbadegesin, Victoria Oluwamayowa
AU - Adeniyi, Emmanuel
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh.
PY - 2025/3
Y1 - 2025/3
N2 - The initial reaction to the introduction of Big Brother Naija (BBN) is a moral panic, which is symptomatic of the belief that the show challenges social, moral, religious, and cultural standards, thereby negotiating existing boundaries. Although there is a moral panic about the show, while some studies have established that the attitude towards it is justifiable, little is known about the strategies (deliberate or not) used in negotiating existing boundaries, and how the show influences youth culture in Nigeria. This study, therefore, examines the strategies and communicative modes participants employ to negotiate existing boundaries in BBN. The data for the study were harvested from selected videos of Big Brother Naija’s second and third editions, and we analysed the data using Sigrid Norris’ Multimodal Interaction Analysis (MIA). The study affirms the status of Big Brother Naija as a boundary breaker in Nigeria. Gender, social, and ethnic boundaries are deliberately stretched to the limits through different discursive strategies and communicative modes in the show. It is found out that the show has the potential to serve as a unifying forum for different ethnic groups in Nigeria, although not much is committed to that at present. The study recommends that the show producers should introduce tasks and activities that can help reduce ethnic tension and engender peaceful co-existence in the country.
AB - The initial reaction to the introduction of Big Brother Naija (BBN) is a moral panic, which is symptomatic of the belief that the show challenges social, moral, religious, and cultural standards, thereby negotiating existing boundaries. Although there is a moral panic about the show, while some studies have established that the attitude towards it is justifiable, little is known about the strategies (deliberate or not) used in negotiating existing boundaries, and how the show influences youth culture in Nigeria. This study, therefore, examines the strategies and communicative modes participants employ to negotiate existing boundaries in BBN. The data for the study were harvested from selected videos of Big Brother Naija’s second and third editions, and we analysed the data using Sigrid Norris’ Multimodal Interaction Analysis (MIA). The study affirms the status of Big Brother Naija as a boundary breaker in Nigeria. Gender, social, and ethnic boundaries are deliberately stretched to the limits through different discursive strategies and communicative modes in the show. It is found out that the show has the potential to serve as a unifying forum for different ethnic groups in Nigeria, although not much is committed to that at present. The study recommends that the show producers should introduce tasks and activities that can help reduce ethnic tension and engender peaceful co-existence in the country.
KW - Big Brother Naija
KW - gender boundaries
KW - multimodal interaction analysis
KW - reality show
KW - social boundaries
KW - Cultural studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=86000388205&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21681392.2025.2449925
DO - 10.1080/21681392.2025.2449925
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85215801605
VL - 17
SP - 18
EP - 40
JO - Critical African Studies
JF - Critical African Studies
SN - 2168-1392
IS - 1
ER -