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Africa’s Reductive Images, Contesting the Sources, and New Generations as Passive Victims: A Reflection on Historical and Global Representational Practices
JOURNAL OF YOUTH RESEARCHES
Accordingly, instead of avoiding the black body, because it has been so caught up in
the complexities of power and subordination within representation, Hall shows that this
strategy positively takes the body as the principal site of its representational strategies,
attempting ‘to make the stereotypes work against themselves’. This strategy also makes
elaborate play with ‘looking’, hoping by its very attention, to ‘make it strange’, or, to
de-familiarize it, and so make explicit what is often hidden - ‘its erotic dimensions’. For
example, ‘to laugh with rather than at his characters’ (1997: 275).
Findings
This article attempted to examine historical and global contexts in the construction of Af-
rica’s image at the overseas. It is revealed that African image has been distorted, in one or
another way, in the course of world fairs and colonial exhibitions, missionary collections,
Oriental and Eurocentric narrations, and exotic depictions during slavery. The imbalances
in the world information and communication order, as revealed by few Western media
domination and misrepresentation of Africa, biased spatial imagery in world maps, and
inappropriate developmental and humanitarian interventions have also negatively affect-
ed Africa’ image in general sense. In media reporting African affairs have been omitted
or selectively emphasized, decontextualized, sensationalized, dramatized, generalized,
dehumanized, personalized, contradicted and abused by language.
From this brief reflection, one can comprehend that the implicit purposes of these mis/
representational practices tend to be the desires to keep African continent directly or indi-
rectly ruled by global powers, possibly for hegemonic competitions. Capitalism’s need for
sustainable economic and cultural consumer, strategic significance of humanitarian roles
and role perceptions, and the search for rational and public excuses for past and ongoing
immoral practices like slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism could be implicit motives too.
African reductive images will have negative cognitive impacts on subsequent African
generations, and globally there will be high probability for Africa to be subjected to more
invisibility, ignorance, delegitimization, pessimism, and recolonization. Scientific and ed-
ucational tools like researches and trainings are vital to deconstruct Africa’s prejudices.
Sensitization and education programs should particularly target the foreign public. Inter-
national Media’s strategies must be realigned, and Western journalists and NGO’s should
be trained to improve their practices. Reversing the stereotypes, accepting differences,
and contesting misrepresentations are also believed to contribute.
