Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Danger of a Single Story
This is a brilliant talk, from the perspective of a Nigerian novelist, about how stories define "others" and create stereotypes. I think it's a "must see" for anyone working in Public Affairs. Of course, the use of the "single story" is a technique that has often been applied intentionally to achieve a social or political end (could we call it propaganda?). It raises the question of ethics, and whether means justify ends. Telling a "single story"--even as it may achieve one's goal--often has pervasive negative consequences.
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I just saw a video on CNN about the story of the late Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Mr. Kuti's music was and still is revolutionary. He is one of the few African musicians whose work transcends country and continental boundries and today his life story is a broadway musical.
ReplyDeleteSo my point is, in the wake of the unfortunate Christmas story about the Nigerian airline bomber which caused Nigerians both home and abroad to cringe in embarrassment, Chimamanda Adichie's point about the dangers of the "single story" rings true. The attempted airline bombing put Nigeria on the media radar and not in a good way. Therefore the CNN feature of Fela Kuti's broadway debut attempts to look at another side of the story.