Misrepresentation of the
African CONTINENT
“These barometers have deeply dug their talons into the fabric of our
nation as notions which have become rigidly accepted. There is no
objective photographic examination which could call forth a fresher
regeneration of a true concept of our continent.”
Content By:
Joey Morgan
Brandon Barber
Jessi Eggleston
Truman Self
Misrepresentation in the Media
My Africa...My Botswana
-When you ask citizens in
Springfield MO, what words
come to their minds when
they hear the word
Africa...Poverty,
corruption, no water, war,
and elephants.
-When we asked people in
Botswana what they
thought when they heard
the word Africa...peace,
beautiful, poverty, diverse,
developing.
What THEY want US to
know…
- we can be happy,
- our systems work for us
- we are all different
- Africa is a CONTINENT
not a country.
- we are growing and
maturing
- Africa is beautiful
- It is our home
Issues in Media Ethics
“The Dark Continent”
“We see mainly images of the starving child, Aids and disease; no traders
except poor ones eking out a living; little education; no police except as
enforcers of harsh regimes and mostly Africans as having no agency. They are
basically bystanders in their own affairs, depending on ‘our’ beneficence as
benign aiding dispensing Westerners. This situation amounts to a continuation
of colonial ideologies of the African ‘Other’.”
Giving Aid to Charities is Not Working
Thousands of people around the world give money to charities or want to help in some way but
lack knowledge of real issues.
First they might be donating based of guilt or pity or misconceptions about Africa that are
fueled by negative images and misleading stories relayed by the media
They might be unaware of alternative, more hands-on strategies to donate and help that
can sometimes give better, more tangible results and are ultimately more satisfying for all
concerned.
Charities have their place, many help thousands of people every year. However, many of
this help becomes temporary. Without the proper infrastructure, many of what these
charities give to communities becomes short term.
Don’t assume that Africa is all about poverty. It is extremely rich in resources both human and
natural.
Don’t assume that all TV images of Africa are riddled with starvation, war, HIV-AIDS etc… and be
the reason to just donate
If You Want to Donate Try These Options
1. Make friends in Africa and find partners and doers that can help you get
involved in ongoing or stagnant projects.
2. Target charities with a sharp focus on a particular area: health, new
technologies, empowerment, education, infrastructure, rape centres,
climate change, water, agriculture, etc
3. Find individuals, philanthropists and volunteers that are already active
on the ground and liaise with them.
4. Plan a visit to Africa to see for yourself and make friends before
donating? You might find what you really want to help with.
5. Do some research on your chosen charity before committing yourself to a
donation, or support.
INVEST by purchasing Fair and Direct Trade items
----> INVEST= Long Term Sustainability
What You See in the Commercials is ALL You See
In the commercials you see sickness, hunger, and education.
From aid most people live on less than a dollar a day,
People who come for health get turned away since there are some many and
so few that come to help.
And the children that get to go to school is just that they graduate but there
is not a job for them to help better themselves or their families.
Trade not Aid...What do you think
when I say Africa?
Are charities the answer?
Whose job or responsibility is it to
“SAVE AFRICA”
How does the average person
invest in Africa?
How should businesses invest in
Africa?
How should these investments be
promoted and advertised?
“A Matter of Ought NOT May”
“Relativism taken to its limit becomes subjectivism; not the view that each
culture or society has its own truth, but that each individual has his or her own
truth.”
“The media give us ways of imagining particular identities and groups which can
have material effects on how people experience the world, and how they get
understood, or legislated for or perhaps beaten up in the street by others…this
is partly because the mass media have the power to represent, over and over,
some identities, some imaginings, and to exclude others, and thereby make
them seem unfamiliar or even threatening”.
Freedom From The Bad
“We don’t want to suffer from domination by others or
powerlessness, lack of opportunity, pain, disease, misery,
depression”
“Many of the ads for African Charities use one or many of
these angles to put pity in the mind of viewers so they
can help free these African children from the bad”
“It is much easier to say what has to be avoided than
what needs to be achieved”
Kris Humphries And Kim Kardashian
-In the divorce of Kris And Kim. Kims camp
wanted it to look like Kris was slacking in their
marriage to hurt Kim. The media talked about
this in which Kris said it was
misrepresentation.
-Kris Stated he was just living his life.
Kelly Bensimon
-Kelly said her portrayal on the Real Housewives Of
New York City was false. She stated that reality stars will
go out of their way to give fans the wrong impression
-She Stated: “Its and edit for a television show. Each
and everyone of us work really hard to entertain you. For
people to take it seriously, that really disturbs me.”
Works Cited
100 years of photographic misrepresentation. (2014, August 4). Retrieved February 25, 2015, from
http://thisisafrica.me/lifestyle/100-years-photographic-misrepresentation/
Media representations of Africa: Still the same old story?, Spring 2007, Michael Mahadeo & Joe McKinney,
http://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue4-focus2
Andrew Rugasira, A Case For Trade not Aid, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbY45o6PF0s
Let’s Save Africa Gone Wrong, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=let%27s+save+africa+gone+wrong+
How NOT to Give Money to Charities Working in Africa. (2010, March 6). Retrieved February 25, 2015, from
http://mariemejamme.com/blog/how-not-to-give-money-to-charities-working-in-africa/
Why Foreign Aid Is Hurting Africa. (2009, March 21). Retrieved February 23, 2015, from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123758895999200083