Africa: Perception and Reality

[hipipol]

I have loads of African neighbours, ie peeps born in various african countries who now live here and none of them has ever appeared in their gardens with a panga in their hands baying for anyones blood - which is the sort view the media seem to have of all Africans
The continent is so vaste all generalisations are pointless - and referring to some earlier points we get VERY little reporting of the Arab north african states, even less coverage than S America gets, unless of course its hooror stories of the Salaphist Group for Preaching and Combat or yet another building collapse in Cairo - yet millions of peeps are going about their daily lives and all is fairly cool etc

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

Why do we always hear about "Africa" when Africa is a continent and the media are actually talking about a specific region or nation-state within Africa?

Is it because the media think we are too dim?

Although its not a malicious trend it is ignorant and I cant help feel its racist(!11) at some level.

 

[Yossarian]

The only thing that we ever ever hear about Africa is some insane abuse of human rights, some endemic problem based on superstition etc, or some famine or disease

But why don't we ever hear about anything else?

What got more coverage during the wars in former Yugoslavia - the horrors in Bosnia, or Swiss villagers peacefully going about their business?

Of course there's plenty of positive stuff happening on the continent but with even stories about the Congo or Darfur hardly getting any attention, editors think it likely that stories like today's "Ghanaian Election Goes To Runoff Vote" won't attract any more viewer/reader interest than "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative."

 

[Yossarian]

My third point is that the media in general only exists on the basis of reporting negativity. The media is a tool, a tool to try and persuade us readers and viewers that the world is a very terrible place, and we need all our leaders to help look after us and keep us a live and give us wonderful democracy and a great freedom...

Would things have worked out any better than they did if people had never known about the Ethiopian famine or Rwandan genocide?

 

[travellerlife]

I have loads of African neighbours, ie peeps born in various african countries who now live here and none of them has ever appeared in their gardens with a panga in their hands baying for anyones blood -

This post gave me a good laugh although I have appeared in my garden with a hosepipe trying to stop cats fighting ? does that count ?

 

[phildwyer]

You could always try going there, that's what I did.

 

[isitme]

What got more coverage during the wars in former Yugoslavia - the horrors in Bosnia, or Swiss villagers peacefully going about their business?

Of course there's plenty of positive stuff happening on the continent but with even stories about the Congo or Darfur hardly getting any attention, editors think it likely that stories like today's "Ghanaian Election Goes To Runoff Vote" won't attract any more viewer/reader interest than "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative."

There is that. I spose we get very little coverage even of what's happening in France most of the time on the news. But how other European countries are described when they are covered with how African countries are and there is always a different tone, and I'm including the conflict in former Yugoslavia in that (from my memory, it was a while ago)

There does seem to be a noticeable tone in how Africa is portrayed which you don't get when they report problems in other countries.

Even South America I would say that although they are not deemed as important in how they are covered as some other countries (for most British people they probably aren't) I don't think that the continent is portrayed as badly as Africa

 

[frogwoman]

There is that. I spose we get very little coverage even of what's happening in France most of the time on the news. But how other European countries are described when they are covered with how African countries are and there is always a different tone, and I'm including the conflict in former Yugoslavia in that (from my memory, it was a while ago)

There does seem to be a noticeable tone in how Africa is portrayed which you don't get when they report problems in other countries.

Even South America I would say that although they are not deemed as important in how they are covered as some other countries (for most British people they probably aren't) I don't think that the continent is portrayed as badly as Africa

Excellent post.

 

[isitme]

 

[frogwoman]

When I get back I'll get to write a longer post on the topic - because of family etc it's something i feel really strong about

Your posts here have been absoluitely spot on.

 

[Oula]

My in -laws were born in Africa and my cousin is about to move there. There are definately many sides to it that don't get portrayed here including some very positive things. Fancy climbing Kilimanjaro on a school trip? That's what my husband's uncle did.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Is it because the media think we are too dim?

Although its not a malicious trend it is ignorant and I cant help feel its racist(!11) at some level.

It may be that part of it in the media is some form of hangover from prior imperial-colonial relationships, but I suspect a lot of it is pure journalistic laziness.

 

[Idris2002]

pure journalistic laziness.

Some journos do like to live in the style to which they are accompanied. I once heard a freelancer complain about how she'd been in Kigali just after the genocide, and had sat with her crew in a restaurant for four hours, only to be told 'oh, we've no food'.

Well, a) why did you sit there for four hours, and b) this was just after the Rwandan genocide, why did you expect things to go like clockwork.

 

[Fledgling]

Well it's been said by others but I'd concur that a lot of our media coverage focuses on the big dramatic things that happen, things we thankfully don't have to go through. Generalisation doesn't just happen in the official media though. Just got an email from a friend who went to Burundi for a bit. Now Burundi is marked as orange on the FCO travel advice website and people are advised against all but essential travel there. The Burundians he met, needless to say, were a tad peeved at this becuase it is definitely a generalisation and its generalisations like that that deter people visiting. phildwyer's right, going to places is very insightful. I've only been to Tanzania (apart from a brief border trip to Rwanda); yes there's poverty but this is vastly outweighed by normal life. Tanzania gets a bad press being lumped in with "war torn Africa", I'm guessing visits elsewhere would get me saying the same thing.

edited to add: Yeah I read kapuscinski's Shadow, didn't like it all but he's in a much better position than most to comment on the continent's commonalities.

 

[slaar]

You could always try going there, that's what I did.

Fact.

The news in general is biased towards the bad. But it is particularly true about Africa. This article is a classic piece on the phenomenon:

http://www.granta.com/Magazine/92/How-to-Write-About-Africa?view=articleAllPages

Always use the word ‘Africa or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’. Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans.

Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.

In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions...