Historical costume and makeup as visual narratives in obi Emelonye’s Badamasi: the portrait of a general

Abstract

Costume and makeup constitute critical interpretative elements in film productions. They function as visual symbols through which narrative meaning, character identity, and historical situations are communicated. In historical filmmaking, especially within Nollywood, inaccuracies in costume and makeup design can undermine authenticity, distort cultural and national memory, and weaken historical representation. Against this backdrop, this study examines historical costume and makeup as visual narratives in Badamasi: The Portrait of a General (2020). The objectives were to analyse the role of costume and makeup in the visual recreation of historical figures and examine how costume design contributed to the construction and communication of historical events. Adopting a qualitative research approach, the study employed a typical case study design using purposive sampling to select Badamasi… as the case study. The units of analysis were costume and makeup, while qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the visual elements. Anchored in Cultural Memory Theory and Roland Barthes’ semiotic framework to interrogate costume and makeup as systems of signs that encode historical meanings, the findings revealed that costume and makeup were strategically employed to reconstruct historical events with makeup playing a significant role in character identification and differentiation. The study concluded that visual design elements like costume and makeup are central to the reconstruction and communication of Nigeria’s historical experience in film. It recommended that filmmakers establish formal partnerships with relevant institutions to access verified historical records and authentic costume references, and further advocates for supportive policies that encourage historical filmmaking in Nigeria.