Western Media

1050 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How negative stereotypes effect African Continent

Africa is one of the richest continents in terms of resources and human population nonetheless; it is the poorest and least developed continent. A significant number of the population in the west are ignorant about Africa and have a negative attitude towards Africa, ‘Most of them have certain images of Africa that they hold to be true or real’, all these images are acquired though what they receive as news in the western media (Michira,2002). Often words used to describe Africa in the west include the following: dark, jungle, savage, underdeveloped, third world, hunger, disease, famine, drought, lack of history and culture. This essay will analyse the news reports about Africa with the help of The independent and The guardian newspapers; the reports will be from a one week period from 24th August 2010 to 30th August 2010. This essay will argue that western media reporting on Africa converges entirely on unfavourable views and ignores the positives. It will also show that news reports are negative, because it can be argued that western media audiences always expect dismal news from Africa, therefore; the news networks are merely supplying according to the demand.

Western media reporting focuses excessively on misery, this point of view is supported by (Howden, 2010) news article in The Independent newspaper; in which he portrays a detrimental view of the South African government by comparing it to the past regime of the apartheid era. The report is inaccurate to suggest that the government of South Africa is going backwards by denying freedom of speech and in addition, accuses the government of being corrupt and ineffective. This is a misguided view ,due to the fact that South Africa is one of the best examples of development that...

... middle of paper ...

...ight to report on Africa’s problems, however it should be observed that it tends to be unbalanced and most of the time focused on the negative aspects and in the end ignoring the breakthrough and improvements that are witnessed everyday on the African continent. Additionally, (Chavis, 1998) adds that news reports about African art, African music, African movies and documentaries are never covered or are simply ignored by western news media.

In conclusion, with the help of The independent and The guardian newspapers; it can therefore be argued that western news reports about Africa are mostly negative and ever focused on poverty, misery and violence in particular .The type of coverage that is given to Africa is unbalanced and demonstrates a degrading image that Africa stills holds in the western societies today.

Show More
Related

  • European Imperialism in Africa

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting a land grab on the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economic, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation. Europe in this period was a world of competing countries. Britain had a global empire to lead, France had competition with Britain for wealth and so did other nations like Germany and Russia.

    Read More

  • Music as Cultural Criticism

    2186 Words  | 5 Pages

    In his article “Daily Life in Black Africa: Elements for a Critique,” author Paulin Houtondji offers his perceptions of several aspects of life in Africa. His statements are explicit, observant, harsh, and backed up with examples and anecdotes. Many African pop musicians provide similarly critical assessments of various aspects of African life, but they choose to do so in a much subtler way. Houtondji’s criticism of Africa for its serious failure is similar to that of artists like musician E.T. Mensah, who uses upbeat music to lessen the sting of his subversive lyrics. In fact, so deceivingly happy is the sound of the music that missing the entire message of the song is highly possible. His candor and blatancy in expressing his opinion, however, also parallels the work of artists like Fela Kuti, Unsung Heroes, and Prophets of Da City.

    Read More

  • Stereotypical Africa vs. Real Africa

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fortunately, with each passing decade, Americans have been treating Africans with less prejudice. Perhaps we are in the process of deep introspection. We cannot to have myths about Africa because of its size, population, resources and modernization. Against this background, it is expected to play a leading role in the world for good. Therefore, it is destined to its rightful place in the world, and been taken seriously.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Basil Davidson's 'Different But Equal'

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    In summary, Davidson successful traces Africa’s earliest origins and demonstrates that this is a civilization far from having no arts, technology, sophistication and unique culture. Culture and civilization as we know it today can be traced back to Africa, and modern science has verified the early perceptions of Europeans to be wrong. He provides more than adequate evidence of Africa having a history complete with vast and rich civilization, including archaeological finds and specialized interviews with distinguished scholars and philosophers. Despite the fact that society possesses a more positive attitude towards African civilization today in terms of recognition, equality, and acceptance than in the past, negative stereotypes are still acknowledged and modern day racism unfortunately exists. I believe that the existence of Davidson’s work and videos such as Different but Equal are crucial to challenging these stereotypes and discrimination in order to create a more accurate image of Africa and its history. Overall, Davidson proves that the continent of Africa is home to a history that is just as meaningful, comprehensive, and progressive as that of any other civilization in the

    Read More

  • Legacies of Historical Globalization

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    "News." Africa Continues to Grow Strongly but Poverty and Inequality Remain Persistently High. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Culture, Cultures, And Symbolism In Sub-Saharan Africa

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is no art, music, and literature like here in sub-Saharan Africa. What is important to Westerners, such as the artist, label, and static-like wall hanging, means nothing to us. African art is living, spiritual, and meant to go back to the Earth once the soul of the item has run out. As the Bamana of Mali say, the art are “things that can be looked at without limit”. Our artwork has changed, emerged, and survived eras of turmoil and inversely, hope. I have found passing through the global gateway into Africa has made me appreciate this culture more, and appealed to me on a level that made me choose being a part of it.

    Read More

  • Media

    4440 Words  | 9 Pages

    In the late Seventies, America became shocked and outraged by the rape, mutilation, and murder of over a dozen young, beautiful girls. The man who committed these murders, Ted Bundy, was later apprehended and executed. During his detention in various penitentiaries, he was mentally probed and prodded by psychologist and psychoanalysts hoping to discover the root of his violent actions and sexual frustrations. Many theories arose in attempts to explain the motivational factors behind his murderous escapades. However, the strongest and most feasible of these theories came not from the psychologists, but from the man himself, "as a teenager, my buddies and I would all sneak around and watch porn. As I grew older, I became more and more interested and involved in it, [pornography] became an obsession. I got so involved in it, I wanted to incorporate [porn] into my life, but I couldn’t behave like that and maintain the success I had worked so hard for. I generated an alter-ego to fulfill my fantasies under-cover. Pornography was a means of unlocking the evil I had burried inside myself" (Leidholdt 47). Is it possible that pornography is acting as the key to unlocking the evil in more unstable minds?

    Read More

  • John Locke's Belief That People Are Born with Rights

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...f South African language and culture, acknowledgement of the racial oppression in South Africa, past and present, that it was wrong and positive action is required to make it right, and finally that all South Africans are legitimate and enjoy full moral equality (“About – DA”). In order for all this to be possible, the state must ensure it does not compromise the freedom of the individual (“About – DA”).

    Read More

  • Myths About Africa And African History: The Student's Ten Commandments By Pier Larson

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Africa has an incredibly rich and complex history. Unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, the west has a highly skewed and inaccurate perspective of Africa. In his “Myths About Africa, Africans, and African History: The Student’s ‘Ten Commandments’” Pier Larson critiques some of these perspectives and discusses where these western ideas of Africa come from. While these myths certainly are false, it is still interesting to see them and ponder why they exist and what that, in turn, reflects on western society. These reflections are very negative and limits western society’s perspective and ability to relate and identify with what is a vast and diverse continent.

    Read More

  • Imperialism In Conrad And Orwell Works

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the turn of the 20th century, African states had been colonized and were being used by the European nations with imperialistic ideals. With imperialism came the praise and promotion of the imperialistic ideas. However, unlike other times in history where a nation had taken over another, there was criticism written by some of the writers living in the imperialistic countries. Two of these writers were Joseph Conrad, who wrote Heart of Darkness, and George Orwell, who wrote “Shooting an Elephant”. Both of their pieces comments on the dark side of imperialism and the effects it has on the colonized states and the people of the states.

    Read More

  • How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ions both in the past and the present and is one of the best explanations of present day African underdevelopment, showing the importance of a historical approach to understanding current affairs.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Impact of Colonialism on the Victimization of Africans

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...

    Read More

  • Poverty in Africa

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Africans should not blame Mr. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Britain, The World Bank, George W. Bush, the president of the United States of America, any western developed country or the United Nations for attempting to redress through the Commission for Africa report, and decades of imbalances and injustices visited on Africans by both African rulers and their western collaborators. It is this callous and wicked conspiracy that has brought the beautiful and virgin continent on her knees, largely impoverishing its people and turned them into beggars, crying babies and laughing stocks of the global community.

    Read More

  • Mainstream Media

    1999 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mainstream media such as television, radio, newspapers were the primary source of reliable information before the epoch of the internet. However, the situation has changed. The evolution of modern technology in the world today has led to the continuous increase in the methods of practicing journalism. Social and technological advancements have not only improved the pace and content of this field’s practice, but has extended its genre to online or cybernetic journalism. (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2007). News websites most of which are owned by major media companies and alternative websites with user generated content such as social networking sites and blogs are gaining grounds in the journalism field of practice. (Nel, n.d). One of the chief forces affecting the practice of journalism nowadays is online citizen journalists. Nel (n.d) defines citizen journalism as “individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”. He further adds that “citizen journalism is slowly being looked upon as a form of rightful democratic ways of giving hones news, articles, etc, directly by citizens of the world from anywhere.” One of the major researches conducted in the field of citizen journalism, describes the phenomenon as “individuals who intend to publish information online, meant to benefit a community”, and this information is expected to benefit the audience or the wider population in making decisions for the improvement of their community. (Carpenter, 2010.)

    Read More

  • Colonialism In Africa Essay

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.

    Read More

More about Western Media

Open Document