Media Representations in Shaping Social and Economic Issues in Chimamanda's Half of A Yellow Sun and Festus Iyayi's Heroes
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Date
2025-12
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Lead City University Ibadan
Abstract
This study is focused on the recognition of the media’s influential role in shaping social and economic issues in periods of conflict and crisis in Nigeria. It examines how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Festus Iyayi’s Heroes portray the media’s impact on societal narratives and economic directions. The study’s objectives are to analyze the media’s representation in both novels, investigate the power dynamics between media representation and societal narratives, and examine the role of media in shaping public perception and national identity. Using Agenda-Setting Theory, and Postcolonial Theory as the theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study employs close reading and textual analysis to explore the media’s representation and its impact on social issues and economic policies. The research fills a gap in existing literature by providing a comparative analysis of media representation in Adichie’s and Iyayi’s works. The study reveals that the two texts portray the media as a powerful tool for
propaganda, ideological manipulation, and social control, used to reinforce nationalistic sentiments and justify economic failures that can shape public perception, influence national identity, and inform economic policies. The media’s representation is shown to be complex, and often contradictory, and bias in reflecting the societal contexts in which it operates. The study concludes that the media plays a significant role in shaping social issues and economic policies in the Nigerian contexts. It recommends that media practitioners, policymakers, and scholars prioritize critical media literacy and nuanced representation to promote more informed and inclusive public discourse.
Keywords: Media Representation, social issues, economic policies, Agenda-Setting Theory, Postcolonial Theory.
Word Count: 280
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Keywords
Media Representation, social issues, economic policies, Agenda-Setting Theory, Postcolonial Theory.
Citation
Kate Turabian