Mar 27, 2020
Do you think it’s fair to say that a story is invalid or unauthentically African because it’s diasporic or Western-centered?
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Do you think it’s fair to say that a story is invalid or unauthentically African because it’s diasporic or Western-centered?
Submit your answer
The West’s Single Story of Africa
This video, produced by Al Jazeera, attempts to fight against the single story of Africa from the western perspective by exposing stereotypes through the use of evidence.
The UNICEF Fly
In the video above, Trevor Noah presents a textbook (comedic) example as to how the single story of Africa from the western perspective is portrayed.
This is a clip from the 1993 movie adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Heart of Darkness is considered an English classic in Western Literature. Unfortunately, it paints Africans as ‘savages’. The West’s single story of Africans is one in which they are portrayed as uncivilized, violent, unsuccessful and ultimately “others”.
Tayo Elesin is a British-Nigerian actress. She also prefers to be referred to as a “storyteller.” Famous for her roles in some BBC TV productions including Casualty, Law and Order, Doctor, among others, Tayo has also acted in the critically acclaimed play by late Ola Rotimi ‘Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again’ produced last year by Lookman Sanusi. While in the country recently, she paid a courtesy visit to the Vanguard corporate office, where she spoke passionately about playing the role of younger Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala whenever a biographical film is done about her. She also disclosed why she hate the name 'Nollywood'; and how to reposition the Nigerian film industry, among other issues. Enjoy!
In this interview (linked above), Nigerian actress Tayo Elesin discusses her hatred for the term “Nollywood” as she states:
“When I think of the word, Nollywood, quite frankly, it reminds me of a mimicry, if you will, of Hollywood. Now, Hollywood is the home of the American film industry. It’s actually a location in Los Angeles. I have found nowhere in Lagos or in Nigeria called Nollywood. Except if you are telling me it’s located in the Mushin or Ikorodu area of Lagos. But I’m yet to see such a place in Nigeria. That’s why I don’t agree with the word, Nollywood. Incidentally, the word, Nollywood was not actually created by a Nigerian, but by a newspaper publication back in the States which started to identify Nigerian films as Nollywood. But when you read through that article, it wasn’t used respectfully like Nollywood. Rather, it was used to describe the film industry in Nigeria in a mocking way. But Nigerians took it up and turned it the other way. But for me, Nigeria is a big country with a flourishing film industry. It doesn’t need to mimic the word, Hollywood. Also, there are films from countries like Finland nobody calls such films Fin-wood, or British-wood referring to films from Britain. It’s called British films. What I want to see is a Nigerian film to be called a Nigerian film. There is no need for the mimicry at all. We don’t need it.”
This shows that although the term was embraced by the Nigerian film industry, people within the industry remember that it was given to them by the West and that the term makes some people uncomfortable.
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The West’s Single Story of Africa in Social Media
Social media is a key form of expression in our globalized world. However, in an attempt to counter the west’s single story of Africa and support afro-positivism, social media can reinforce the westernized approach to development and the extremity of single stories such as the tiktok shown above.
The West’s Single Story of Africa
The cartoon above demonstrates the one-sided story of Africa from the western perspective and media exacerbating afro-pessimism while reinforcing an incomplete story and stereotypes.
The Danger of A Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)
After watching Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s The Danger of A Single Story, do you believe is she creating a new single story? Let us know using our submission box!
The West’s Single Story of Africa
Afro-pessimism simplifies African countries into a homogeneous block of hopelessness with a need for saving by the West. Furthermore, this reduces African countries into reproduced hegemonic and colonial discourses with essentialist characterizations and assumptions of Africa. Therefore, constructing and reconstructing the representation of the West’s negative image.