When most people in our generation think of Africa, two things come to mind: Bono and babies with distended bellies.
Our impressions of sub-Saharan Africa, influenced heavily by what we see on the news and the internet, focus almost entirely on, and often tie in, the issue of poverty — whether it is through a story on healthcare or one on education. The fact that Western media has reduced an entire continent to a single dimension is troubling not only because it is patronizing, but also because it is a simple misrepresentation of the region and its struggles.
Since coverage almost always boils down to poverty, sub-Saharan Africa has lost its dignity and become the beggar of the world in the West’s popular imagination.
This is not to say that poverty is not a legitimate concern. The famine in Somalia is certainly an issue. But it isn’t the only issue. The region is more than poverty — there is also politics and culture for the media to cover, with interesting and compelling issues ranging from rioting in Nigeria to Malawi’s exclusion from the All Africa Games.
One of the main issues with the narrow representation of Africa is that since the coverage tends to focus on the region’s lack of wealth, the plights of the area appear to be easy to fix simply if the West throws money at the region. The problem with this is that it does not accurately report the needs of the region. While our charity and aid money is useful in the short-term by feeding the hungry and medicating the sick, and while it eases our consciences, it does little to ensure sustainable long-term solutions to the problems plaguing the region.
The true struggles of the region, which academics suggest are tied to a bad habit of dependency on Western aid as well as corruption of leaders, are structural and institutional difficulties. It is not poverty, necessarily, that is problematic, but the inability of the government to help its citizens out of poverty. Not a lack of aid, but the lack of institutional accountability that keeps aid from reaching those who need it. So, it is only by looking beyond poverty that the media can present a more accurate picture of the region.
Even though it is evident that poverty is not the only African issue, the Western media’s oversimplification is understandable — poverty is easier to sell than something dull but accurate like institutional accountability or continuing coverage of conflicts to a war-weary audience. But making the region more multi-dimensional and less superficial by covering culture, innovation, and politics will help humanize Africa and make it seem less like a region defined and plagued only by poverty.
While the media might not necessarily be responsible for the fate and future of the region, it does have a duty to accurately represent the region and the situation as it stands. If we really care about learning about Africa, then we need to move beyond Bono’s concerts and Madonna’s baby from Malawi.
Photo Credit: World Economic Forum
The Discussion
to evaluate 47 countries with one word poverty is a misnomer, ill-informed and plain wrong on a multitude of levels
How about the vast majority of urban areas where Africans have tremoundous access to infrastructure?
How about the fastest internet and Telecommunications infrastructure is located in Africa?
What about major cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town, Luanda, Kinshasa, Kampala, Nairobi?
The view of poverty is a very single-mindedview
I love the article, as a member of Project Africa group at my graduate program, our mission is geared strictly towards presenting a more positive perspective on the African continent different from what most are already accustomed to - the Kwashiorkor-inflicted children and extreme poverty as you mentioned. The disequilibrium of shared information perpetuated by corporate media has certainly proven to be a torn on the side of African identity in the west.
Agree Tony , also support for the legitimacy of the African Development agenda is crucial. The AU also need to credited and not be bullied by the UN - support the idea of African Solution for African problems i.e UN bombing Libya dispite diplomatic interest from the AU . Hear , Hear Denise.
Part of the issue at hand is also the lack of resources devoted to having individuals study the continent and the variation within it. There are certainly not as many scholars in Political Science who are devoted to studying Africa as there should be. Given the numbers of European Scholars, Soviet/Russia Scholars, China Scholars, one has to question the intellectual tradition who trains people in politics. Is there some inherent racism going on that preferences West and/or dominant versus others? If there is a inherent bias, then more needs to be done to overcome it. Without knowledge, Africa will continue to be portrayed along a single dimension.
The Americas also discredits the AU and Thabo Mbeki ideology on African Macro economy to further rob us of our natural resources which fuels poverty and war. With Anglo American , De Beers et al. The "poverty" perception justify the destitutionof Africans and supports Americans warp propaganda.
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Another issue inexorably linked to sub-Saharan Africa, is Aids/HIV. In SA alone, deaths from Aids are estimated at 1,000 per day.
The World Bank reports “The children of Africa represent 92 percent of the estimated 2.5 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV globally. …14.8 million children under age 18 have lost one or both parents…” This is an almost insurmountable barrier to building viable economies and nations.
Also conflicting is the legacy of Africa’s colonial past and tribal cultures.
Franz Fallon explored this, and the way forward, in his book “The Wretched of The Earth”.
Thabo Mbeki, virtual president in SA after apartheid faced “Africans can’t rule” belief that prevailed then and, unfortunately, still does.
This is a great article that makes a very valuable claim about the importance of culture and diversity to understanding and ultimately helping a nation. This piece also make a great point about the long term ineffectiveness of throwing aid at a developing nation.
I am interested in the anthropological issues and cultural tensions that arise from this strategy. Are we really suited to decide what is best for another people? While I think it is right to assist people in need of dire necessities, I sometimes wonder what is the moral answer to a people that do not want any assistance from outsiders. Are there organizations and individuals that actually work with communities and leaders in African countries to solve problems cooperatively.
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A good article with a worthy point. My question is that, in the title you use the idea of optimism, but then you don't really spend any time in the article actually saying anything optimistic; instead you mention riots and sports bans. In some small way you are yourself guilty of the crime you explain: being overly negative and leaving the African continent as an idea too simplified instead of the complex community of nations is really is.
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Well done. As the other commentators have said it seems like most of us don't even really know what countries make up Africa let alone what's there beyond poverty! There should be a push for news/media that is more 'clever' and in depth instead of the quite 'easy' news/media that's out there now.
Nice work, Masuma. I, too, am irritated with what we commonly call "the media," for doing exactly as you point out about Africa, and just about every other region of the world that isn't NYC. I disagree with the Megalopolis-as-the-center-of-the-known-universe POV fostered by the American media and with the inanity of just about everything that passes now for news in the 24/7 world of CNN's making.
But we, the news consumers, must shoulder some of the blame for what passes as content on the major outlets: we watch/read them and we buy the products advertised by the program sponsors (which it is really all about). The deeper, more detailed and nuanced information we crave IS available...we just have to rouse ourselves to go looking for it.
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Masuma, do not forget Angelian's jolie's daughter Zahara. Interesting angle.
awww that's sweet
Masuma this article is awesome. The other irritating media habit is treating Africa as a homogenous entity. But that's a whole other problem. You are right in that focusing on culture a bit more might show people that in fact, Africa isn't one country with South Africa acting as capital city...
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"And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time,
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life (ooooo).
Where nothing ever grows,
No rain nor rivers flow,
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?"
No wonder our generation know nothing about Africa with this tripe representing the region.
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