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Abdulaziz Dino Gidreta
Conclusion and Suggestions
The reflection here in this article does not intend to be an accusation of the Western gen-
eration for all that has happened to African continent. Only, it sounds supportive to offer a
historical and global contextualization of the construction of African image, for any further
analysis and projection of interventions. This article attempts to reveal that African image
has been reduced, in one or another way, in the course of world fairs and colonial exhibi-
tions, missionary collections and exhibitions, Oriental and Eurocentric narrations, exotic
depictions of slavery, the imbalances in the world information and communication disor-
der as revealed by the Western media over domination and misrepresentation of Africa,
biased spatial imagery, and inappropriate developmental and humanitarian interventions.
The Western media reporting of African affairs has been subjected to selection and omis-
sion, decontextualization, sensationalism, dramatization, generalization, dehumanization,
personalization, binary oppositions, synecdoche and abuse of terms.
The overall purposes of these mis/representational practices could be associated with
the desires to keep African continent directly or indirectly ruled for global competitions
and hegemonic proud, the capitalist’s intention of the need for sustainable economic and
cultural consumer, the strategic significance of the humanitarian role of the ‘supporter’
and the ‘supported’, and the search for rational and public excuses for the Western slav-
ery, colonialism, neo-colonialism and capitalist exploitations. African reductive images
will have cognitive effects of self-conception, self-perception and role-perceptions on
subsequent African generations. In various forms, Africa has already been subjected to
invisibility, ignorance, delegitimization, pessimism, and ‘recolonization’.
In fact, there should be counter-strategies and propositions including the efforts to de-
construct Africa’s prejudices by scientific and educational tools. Widespread teaching
and research activities will be helpful. Sensitization and education programs particularly
involving the Western public are required. International Media’s strategies must be re-
aligned to consider trends, contexts, success stories and other positive events occurring
in the continent. Western journalists and NGO’s should be trained to improve their un-
derstanding of life in Africa and the possible impacts of negative images that their inter-
vention trends could create over Africa. And among the helpful counter-strategies against
racial stereotypes could be the efforts to reverse the stereotypes, balance the positive
and negative images through difference acceptance, and contest mis/representations.
With this aspiration, broader research projects should follow. As part of reconstructing
African image at overseas, as in case of my ongoing research project, it could be helpful
to consider the potentials and applicability of Africa-engaged overseas cross-cultural
practices, as possible counter-strategies and interventions.
