EngL1401W - Spring 2007: Introduction to "Third World" Literature

This is entirely fair. Just last night in my Cult Psych. class we watched a movie called "The Science of Race" and the images of Africa were: 1. Naked Woman dancing (her example of describing breasts). and 2. Naked kids with there ribs pointing out. Secondly, when people write about the west they discuss in detail where they are talking about: landmarks specifically. In regards to westerners writing about Africa or showing it on film they tend to show views of landscape, as if Africa is this big abyss with no actual places/landmarks in it.

What I kept thinking of when reading this article is Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's recent travels to Africa. The american media portrayed them as heroes..."teach them, bathe them, feed them: he (hero) carries lots of babies..." This whole portrayal seems a bit condescending towards the whole country of Africa, as if they need Wersterners to feed and bathe them?

I think this piece is entirely fair. I have yet to see a movie or television show or read western-written literature that portrays Africa and its people in a way other than malnourished and helpless. Women and children are naked skeletal figures. Also, whenever a westerner documents a trip to Africa, they make themselves seem heroic by giving them food, water, and money, or helping them build villages. I can’t think of any specific film or literature off hand, but I do agree with Luke’s point about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. They were portrayed as heroic. I always thought Africa was poorly portrayed so I found this article quite amusing but oh so very true.

I think this piece is fair. Yes, it could be offensive to some, but there are worse things out there. It's even better because it hits the nail on the head and since it is based off of such a wide base of literature it makes it that much more ok. It isn't singling any one person out.

There is a recent emergence of many movies that are coming out based on Africa and in some aspect many further this portrayal. Blood Diamonds is based off something very seious happening in Africa so I don't like making this comparison, but the article mentions suffering white people. These are plentiful in the movie "Blood Diamonds."

I think this article is fair because it is based off of such a wide base of literature that it isn't singling one author out. It's even more fair because the comparisons that she is making are pretty accurate. I (like the others who have posted) remember the point that celebrities must act "heroic" with the people in Africa. This is what we tend to remember the most.

I am sensing a huge wave of many hollywood movies based off of Africa and I don't like making this comparison, but when she mentions suffering white people to help the audience sympathize I immediately thought of the movie Blood Diamonds. They try to make us pray for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connolly alittle too much if you ask me.

While reading the text I found it completely ridiculous, but then realized that my own views of Africa are what was being described in the article. I thought of a few different examples of media coverage, the only thing that I see about Africa. The only news I feel that African people get are about poverty and AIDS. Those commercials where people can donate 8 cents a day to save a child from starvation and malnutrition are what I think about when I think of poverty-stricken African people. On the Discovery channel they follow different African tribes, which I was reminded of when I read that they "eat things that no other humans eat." I picture those tribesmen as completely different then me.
I feel that the articles wants people to pay more attention to other things Africa has to offer like the animals and sunset. There is no sadness felt and no guilt felt when reading about a beautiful African sunset or animals, but it is felt when people with AIDS and poverty are talked about.

I think “How to Write About Africa” is fair. By reading this after “An Outpost of Progress” I made immediate connections to Conrad’s work. It seemed as though Conrad followed the satirical directions about how to write about Africa. For example, Wainaina mentions an “Ancient Wise Man” who comes from a noble tribe and I instantly thought of Conrad’s Gobila.

As for activists, conservationists, and aid workers, I actually wrote Angelina Jolie next to the section about these “heroic” helpers of Africa. It’s so pathetic that when we read about activism is Africa we instantly think of these “heroic” celebrities. Also, everything Wainaina explained in her article has been portrayed in a book, movie, or will soon be on Lifetime Movie Network. Also, I remember reading the book, “The Poisonwood Bible” a couple of years ago. It is about a family that is in the Belgian Congo doing missionary work. Although I enjoyed the book, I would like to read it again because I am sure it follows many of Wainaina’s guidelines and would like to look over some of these concepts and see if it changes my interpretations and feelings towards this book.

In every movie that has any type of African-Americans, there’s always an association with violence, drug dealings, sex, rap music, etc. In the movie Crash, the Africans characters in the movie was given the roles as “hoodlums” out to steal cars and do no goods. It’s interesting to note, that all the Americans played in this movie wasn’t given a bad role, but all “good deeds” role such as cops, people who did good things, winning big awards, the rich folks, etc. I always noticed all the movies, books, etc. I’ve read in the past that Africans are always portrayed this way because it just seems “right,” or “appropriate.” If a white person played a bad role, we take more notice of it and we think about it more. But if it was an African playing that same role, we think well that’s not usual. It’s like we are expecting bad roles to be played by Africans! Why the double standards?

This essay was very correct and very enlightening. It really brought all the discrimination that is bestowed on African-Americans and other minorities to light. While reading the essay I thought of many different books and movies that agreed to what the author was saying in her observation. This includes the books we are currently reading in the course. The article also reminded me of how older movies always had a bad person or the poor slave played by the African-American. Now even though our society has tried to diminish discrimination and public stereotypes, modern movies and books are still portraying the minorities of this country as the poor, old, unknown minor character. Why would society dare to get to know where they came from and their background and how they became to their place in the story?

First, let it be said the last paragraph is hysterical. And I thought the stereotype of the kind "mama" figure was dead-on with so much of African related film and print.

Its a fair article, effectively portraying the typical Western view of Third World suffering and daily life. However, I do think there is a point at which common image does become reality. Surely one would not ignore mentioning a starving child just because the image is bizarrely a cliché. However, I think the point of the article is the exploitation of the common African image as a marketing tool.

That leads me to the disturbing trend I've noticed in movies concerning African issues: the persistence of the white face on black suffering. While I think it is a good thing there has been an influx in African related movies in the past years, most can't seem to function without a European main character. The most annoying example of this was "The Last King Of Scotland". What should have been a searing biopic on the explosive Idi Amin became an oddly paced thriller about a spoiled aristocrat and how Amin affected HIM. It made little sense. I thought "The Constant Gardener" did a much better job of this. While its characters were white, it made more sense as Africa was seen from a global view, specifically on the influence and power of corrupt pharmaceutical companies. However, I thought of the modern African films, this did the best job of treating Africans as more than tools for showing suffering and injustice. While their struggles were no downplayed to make audiences happier, they were presented in a refreshing human way.

Note that--although there certainly are many stereotypes about racial groups in America--this article is about Africans, not African-Americans.

I believe this article does give an accurate account of how authors, journalist, etc. portray Africa. The author is very specific and gives many different descriptions, many of which I have read and seen for myself. I seem to agree that in many ways the portrayal of Africans as being poor, starving, simpler people with cultures very foreign to ours is the common view. I believe many authors, filmmakers, etc. tend to highlight how different the African culture is as opposed to understanding it. In this way there seems to be a tendency for people in our own way of life to see the African culture more inferior as opposed to being unique. This is why the stereotypes in this article still prevail.

When the movie "Ali" came out with Will Smith, I saw an interview of his where he spoke of going to Africa. He talked about how he had always heard that Africa was nothing but desert and huts. When he arrived in Johanesburg and saw that there are thriving cities and abundant culture, he was angered by what he had been led to believe. There are many books and films out there that portray Arica in its true form, but sadly these get very little attention. Although I think the tone of this article was a little too sarcastic, I do think its point was fair and correct. Without exposure to what the various regions of Africa really are like, what else are people suppoed to think of it beyond what they see in old National Geographic films and works like "Outpost of Progress." Maybe if news outlets used fewer images of people in Africa starving, dying, and rebelling, people would realize that there is much more to that continent than what is given to the public.
I wish there was greater demand for work about places in Africa done by Africans. Who better to show people the true face of their country than someone who is native.

i think this was a piece with satire running from the beginning till the end. at one point of time, one actually feels amused at the way the author hits the point home with such straight words and language with not even a hint of apology. reflecting upon the article, i was at first quite shocked but then as i pondered over it, i realized how true it actually is. the rest of the world does view Africa as depicted and of course, as Luke and Emily pointed out, Pitt and Jolie are the first names that comes to one's mind when they think of Africa and charity. The image of Africa has been built up that way through books and movies to such an extend that people find it quite easy to accept it as the fact. it might be true or maybe it is, i am not one to comment on it for i have never been to that great continent, but as Eleanor pointed out, Africa is not all about poverty and strange tribes and cannibals. most of the movies from hollywood use Africa as the exotic background where white people meet and face danger. some movies like 'the african queen' or 'the ghost and the darkness' are classic examples of how the common people are portrayed with the same ignorance as hundreds of years ago. No wonder, the sterotypical view of Africa has found such a deep root in the minds of the people the world over. so considering this, i would consider this article t be a very honest piece of work.

There were many parts of the essay that I found shocking or had never thought about before. The non-mentioning of dead white people or game reserve owners were two of the points that I was shocked to not have thought about. I also liked how it mentioned that animals had feelings and characters while Africans did not. I have to admit that my image of Africa has been the same as the people this essay is making fun of, but this is only because I have never seen anything to make me think otherwise. Not only are Africans and Africa described in this way in books, but it is also shown on TV as news. But, on the other hand, just because AIDS and genital mutilation is prevalent in stories doesn't mean it's not happening in real life. But I also agree with the author's viewpoint that people only look at Africa and Africans in this one way without giving thought to normal folk who have family issues and eat the same foods as the rest of the world. This article got me to thinking about who knows the real Africa.

Yes, i think this essay is fair. I do not think it is how things should be...but i definitely think that it is how things are. Almost every movie or television show that i have ever seen about Africa has starving children running around, and women without shirts walking around. In the movies there are always wild animals, dry earth, and natives eating weird looking foods that are covered with flies. Examples of movies that include images like these are "Amistad" and "Roots". While some of these images are, unfortunately, true. I think that they also misrepresent a lot of Africa. I think that now, when i see these images portrayed in movies and television, that i will think about more. I will wonder if that is really what it is like, or if it is just being portrayed that way for effect.

I agree that more likely than not, this is the perception of Africa. I disagree that this a continent of stereotypes. The vast contrasts completeley throw this out of scue. From Egypt to South Africa, the difference are apparent.

The worst and most famous instance of this is the Lion King. Every African stereotupe takes place, even if there are no humans.

The first thought that popped into my head was that if Achebe read this, he'd probably write a very angry response.
I think a lot of these stereotypes are true because a lot of things (especially in the media) focus on the negatives part about Africa. In the news, you constantly hear about war and movies focus a lot on genocides (King of Scotland and Hotel Rwanda). A lot of the descriptions about mothers and their hungry children along with refugee camps remind me of those commercials on tv to sponsor a child for however much a month.

I think this is somewhat fair. I like what the author is saying about being disingenuous about Africa and treating it as a sort of novelty you can keep in a box and open on whim: the kind of relationship where you have to put Africa into context before you can appreciate it. Also, there's a lot of truth to what this person says about the plethora of stereotypes we see in African literature particularly, but I think that sometimes narrative can demand stereotypes, if not create them. This person was very quick to criticize, but how would THEY re-write the "rules" to African Literature?

Anyway, I think it's good to read articles like this just because they're humbling. It reminded me of the Lion King as well. I had to laugh at myself when in the article they mentioned the hyenas and the big red sunsets as the "circle of life" popped into my head.

I think the article was somewhat fair. Clearly, to make his point, the author had to exaggerate. The problem I have with the article is that in all stereotypes there is truth. I know that Africa is not all Aids-ridden, starved and poor; however, there are many countries and areas within Africa that fit this stereotype. We live in a culture that likes to emphasize others differences and faults to make ourselves look better. Every part of the world has it’s stereotypes, not just Africa. We could easily write other parodies like “How to Write about America, How to Write about Europe, How to Write about the Middle East, and How to Write about the Orient” too. As a human-beings it is our instinct to stereotype, categorize and other. All this stereotyping is based on SOME TRUTH.

Is all stereotyping based on some truth? It's certainly received wisdom, but is it true? Something to ask ourselves.

Edward Said will have something to say about the connection between language and truth, between the ideas we construct about the "other" and their verisimilitude.

Of course, there is an AIDS epidemic in Africa. But the question is one to bookmark: Do stereotypes necessarily contain truth?

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