Africa, My Favorite Country: The problem with menacing misrepresentation

I very clearly recall my 7th grade year, sitting in my history classroom, eagerly waiting to learn. I remember paying close attention and taking notes on the educational videos that we had to watch. “90 countries were represented by the immigrants,” the video had said, “including Poland, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Brazil…and Africa.” I felt absolutely frustrated after watching that video, absolutely shocked that people still believed that Africa was a country. Spoiler alert – Africa is not a country but is in fact a continent with 54 countries covering 11.73 million miles. After watching the video, I was shocked. couldn’t believe that in a class like History, Africa could be referenced as a country. But even more than that, I couldn’t believe that students who watched this video could imagine Africa being a country. The misrepresentation of Africa in Western Media is a problem that needs to be addressed to raise future and more knowledgeable world leaders. Little information is taught about African history and African culture in schools and African news coverage in the West mainly focuses on poverty and calamities. It is important to acknowledge that current views and ideas on Africa are outdated. Early 1900s missionary accounts and old documentaries are not enough to supplement primary source and physically visible accounts.

Missionaries spread the idea that regular citizens could save the life of a starving African child, or could bless their hearts with holiday presents. International non-profits are forced to exaggerate the continent’s situations to keep their organizations funded. Issues and crises in Africa receive significantly more attention and press coverage than positive happenings and celebrations. Hollywood, as well as contemporary writers, continue to enforce colonial stereotypes, doing whatever it takes to get views on TV shows, books, and movies. Africa is often portrayed as the continent in need of saving, or, as “the white man’s burden.” The “I am African” campaign featured European actors posing as tribal Africans, complete with feathers and facepaint. Although the campaign was supposed to raise awareness for AIDS, the focus on Africa individually sent an almost indecipherable message that Africans are synonymous with AIDS.

When covering African news, news coverage shows no balance between negative and positive occurrences. Western journalists and news shows, when they do dedicate time to African news coverage, often prefer to broadcast negative news rather than positive occurrences because bad news sells better. Remi Adekoya, a Polish-Nigerian and politics teacher at the University of New York, said in an interview with the Guardian, “People feel better about their lives when they hear others have bigger problems than them.” Society prefers not to hear about people living better lives than them and would rather spend time pitying others. As Western media hosts coverage of African slums and of the “neverending” poverty of the continent, stereotypes perpetuated around the U.S., and ultimately, the world, continue to be enforced.

        Humanitarians and scholars also play a role in enhancing these stereotypes, portraying Africa as the dark continent, without mentioning that many of the troubles associated with Africa are the results of colonialism. Because of all of this negative coverage, widespread heart wrenching images, and false information, Africa is deemed as the “worst place on earth.” A continent full of residents to feel sorry for. Of the only 6% to 9% of international coverage related to Africa, about 60% is about the negative aspects of the continent. Black African women in Hollywood are also very scarce. The few women that we have are always prostitutes, refuges, or victims, in dire need of assistance from white saviors. African women are assumed to always stay at home and hide, although they make up 80% of the African work force. African-American men are often portrayed in the media as violent and threatening gangsters, ruining some African boys' views of what they could be. Limiting them to simple “underachievers” and “bullies.”

        As an African not living in the country that I was born in, I have to live my life under these stereotypes. I have to continue to correct people that Africa is a continent and not a country and that my food is not made of human brains. I often have to overperform and work even hard, to receive the same respect as my white counterparts. To prove that I am not stupid and can be taken seriously. Africans who confront the problems of racism and misrepresentation are told that they are too “sensitive.” They are assumed to be defensive, trying to define every African problem mentioned as racial bias. Although only 60% of Africa is agriculture, some people will not believe us when we say that we Africans do not all live in a jungle or desert with tigers and camels running rampant. In my particular story, I have always felt afraid to talk about my country and traditions, or too scared to bring Jollof Rice to school. Because people would tell me that it’s strange or weird, or because people would not care. But now, I know not to be scared. In the West, stories told about Africa describe the continent as a place with neverending disease, war, poverty, and other conflicts. As a world with political instability, corruption, and starvation. But if we Africans begin to tell our own stories and narrate our own history and lives, we can break free from the  bonding shackles of cultural stereotypes.

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Citations

Adeyoka, Remi. "Why Africans worry about how Africa is portrayed in western media." The Guardian, 28 Nov. 2013, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/28/africans-worry-how-africa-portrayed-western-media. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

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