Week One Blog -Sierra Leone Mudslide and Mass Media Silence
At any time during the day, someone can go to the news and find the latest trending stories online or on television. Through major media sources like CNN, MSNBC, USA Today, and the Washington Post, many Americans are able to get all of the information they need in regards to social issues they should care about according to the "News Cycle." The News cycle is a series of stories that are publicized on a large scale daily. These stories and often receive multiple updates and a large quantity of air time.
Currently one the most talked about topics in the media is the Trump presidency. It would seem as if everyday there is a new story about him and his actions that have seemed to sweep the nation by storm and cause levels of outrage that appear to be increasing the longer he is in office. And while Trump's presidency is important to publicize in order to exact change, it is also important to consider that there are other pressing matters to be publicized as well.
It can lead many people to question if it is about race. Could it be perhaps the larger European society views African culture as less than that of European culture due to skin color, or perhaps is it about the idea that Africa is still believed to be a primitive continent due to poor education on the behalf of western communities in regards to teaching students about the true Africa.
I find it disheartening to see that still, even in the face of disaster there is clearly a very serious difference between "us" and "them," between "here" and "elsewhere." It only permutations the idea that as a society Africa is largely ignored and looked down upon by those in the western world. It also shows a lack of education and willingness to care about other nations. It also proves that the African Area Studies class that I am taking is relevant in order to help me become a better thinker in terms of understanding the plight of all people no matter their location or history.
Due to the way the modern communities place an emphasis on importance of the west, and upholding western ideals via the glorification of American and European lifestyles many publication from other sources are largely ignored. This can be particularly shown via nonwestern news. For example, on the Allafrica website, a relatively unknown news source in the western world, author Kieran Guilbert wrote an article titled, Sierra Leone: Factbox - Donors' Aid Pledges for Sierra Leone After Deadly Mudslide. In the article Gulibert writes, "Donor pledges are pouring in from countries across the world to aid Sierra Leone after a after a mudslide devastated the capital this week, killing at least 400 people and leaving 3,000 homeless. Dozens of houses were engulfed by mud when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent, on the edge of Freetown, on Monday - in one of Africa's deadliest mudslides in decades." Despite this disaster being an extreme tragedy, due to the loss of life, it has received very little attention. Many people have not heard about the mudslides in Sierra Leone, typically because it is not being widely broadcasted on major news outlets as a part of the news cycle. This can lead many people to question whether the western world cares about the "others" living in "elsewhere."
References
Parker, John, and Rathbone Richard. African History : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Gulibert, Kieran. “Sierra Leone: Factbox - Donors' Aid Pledges for Sierra Leone After Deadly Mudslide.” AllAfrica, AllAfrica Global Media, allafrica.com/stories/201708230388.html.
Currently one the most talked about topics in the media is the Trump presidency. It would seem as if everyday there is a new story about him and his actions that have seemed to sweep the nation by storm and cause levels of outrage that appear to be increasing the longer he is in office. And while Trump's presidency is important to publicize in order to exact change, it is also important to consider that there are other pressing matters to be publicized as well.
It can lead many people to question if it is about race. Could it be perhaps the larger European society views African culture as less than that of European culture due to skin color, or perhaps is it about the idea that Africa is still believed to be a primitive continent due to poor education on the behalf of western communities in regards to teaching students about the true Africa.
I find it disheartening to see that still, even in the face of disaster there is clearly a very serious difference between "us" and "them," between "here" and "elsewhere." It only permutations the idea that as a society Africa is largely ignored and looked down upon by those in the western world. It also shows a lack of education and willingness to care about other nations. It also proves that the African Area Studies class that I am taking is relevant in order to help me become a better thinker in terms of understanding the plight of all people no matter their location or history.
Due to the way the modern communities place an emphasis on importance of the west, and upholding western ideals via the glorification of American and European lifestyles many publication from other sources are largely ignored. This can be particularly shown via nonwestern news. For example, on the Allafrica website, a relatively unknown news source in the western world, author Kieran Guilbert wrote an article titled, Sierra Leone: Factbox - Donors' Aid Pledges for Sierra Leone After Deadly Mudslide. In the article Gulibert writes, "Donor pledges are pouring in from countries across the world to aid Sierra Leone after a after a mudslide devastated the capital this week, killing at least 400 people and leaving 3,000 homeless. Dozens of houses were engulfed by mud when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent, on the edge of Freetown, on Monday - in one of Africa's deadliest mudslides in decades." Despite this disaster being an extreme tragedy, due to the loss of life, it has received very little attention. Many people have not heard about the mudslides in Sierra Leone, typically because it is not being widely broadcasted on major news outlets as a part of the news cycle. This can lead many people to question whether the western world cares about the "others" living in "elsewhere."
References
Parker, John, and Rathbone Richard. African History : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Gulibert, Kieran. “Sierra Leone: Factbox - Donors' Aid Pledges for Sierra Leone After Deadly Mudslide.” AllAfrica, AllAfrica Global Media, allafrica.com/stories/201708230388.html.
Comments
Post a Comment