Tell your story or someone else will

Posted on by November 11, 2009 by Katarina Hedren

Why have more Swedes heard of young Amina who was sentenced to death by stoning in northern Nigeria than of her fellow Nigerian Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate in literature, author, playwright, social commentator and human rights activist? And how come more Swedes know about Robert Mugabe’s wife’s shopping sprees in Europe and Asia than of Malian Xuly Bët and South African Stoned Cherrie, African designer brands conquering the fashion world?

Africa – a continent of 54 countries
The average Swede knows a lot about America from a lifetime of watching American TV-series and films. Or rather, the average Swede is very familiar with the images of America – be they positive or negative – that are spread all over the world by Americans.

Asked about what comes to mind when thinking of Africa, it is very likely that the average Swede will mention phenomena such as war, famine, disease and dictatorship. Asked about the source of these perceptions of what Africa is, the answer will probably be news reports, reportages, and films. Probe deeper and you will find that the journalist, the experts, authors and filmmakers that provided these narrow minded versions of Africa – a continent of 54 countries and more than 900 million people – nine and a half times out of ten, are not Africans.

What we read in the papers, watch on our TVs and at the movies influence the way we view the world and the people inhabiting it. Those who come out looking best, or at least are portrayed with nuance and complexity, are those who are in control of the representations of themselves. The losers, those who come out as one-dimensional victims or villains, are those whose voices are not easily heard on the international mainstream media arena. Asking for more sensibility when talking about Africa does not mean asking that voices talking about abuse, injustice and suffering be silenced. It is a question of asking for stories that considers countries, societies, people and situations in all their complexity.

Reshape the image of Africa
There is indeed an urgent need for Africans in Africa and the Diaspora to reclaim and reshape the images of Africa and Africans. While there is no lack of African storytellers in the form of journalists, writers, filmmakers, actors etc, the challenge is to create an international platform for their stories, or rather, to ensure that there is space for them on existing international mainstream media platforms.

The lack of African representations of Africa on TV, the big screen and in the written press, save for the occasional festival and other exceptions, is not just a problem for Africans but for anyone who relies on mass media to form their views and opinions. An African pro-verb says that “Until the tale of the hunt is told by the lion, it will always glorify the hunter”. One could add that “Until the day the hunter hears the lion’s account, the hunter will remain misinformed”.

Katarina Hedrén, Johannesburg