Unmasking African stereotypes in the media

Loved this recent article by Imran Garda: “Nine signs the journalism on Africa you’ve just encountered is trash”. It follows the spirit of the blog “Africa is a country” where it was posted:

The ‘African Skies’ even made it
into the titles of a couple of
movies, yikes!

“to challenge and destabilize received wisdom 
about the African continent and its people 
in Western media”

It’s ironic (or very, very sad) that they have to clarify that:

“The title of the blog is ironic 

and is a reaction to 

old and tired images of ‘Africa’. ”

With a lot of irony, Garda lists what he considers the worst nine stereotypes that Western media use when talking about Africa. Quite a range, including darkness and sunsets, issues with languages and accents, wars and dictators, singing and dancing. A funny article to show that Africa is not a monolitic reality, and definitely, definitely not a country.

The point of the article also falls in line with our previous postings on Africa as seen by the media (Spanish) and in campaigns (English), or in international aid (Portuguese).  For the whole article, go here.

Would like to have other perspectives? See what Africans from different countries have to say about themselves here, how a group of men are making fun of how the film industry portrays them, and how Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie brilliantly challenges that single story of Africa.