IMAGES OF AFRICA
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Images of Africa
I have never visited Africa and my only exposure to the country is through the media and
very few references throughout my educational journey. Without being exposed directly or
educated, I believe that my sense of how I perceive Africa is shaped through the media via the
news, television shows/movies, and social media. Being challenged in my own views of different
cultures and ethnicities is something that I have not experienced before.
Ethnocentrism and Stereotypes of Africa
When thinking about how I perceive Africa, thoughts of tribal culture, poor economy,
exotic animals, child soldiers, and lack of access to resources came to mind. Compared to the
industrialized northern nation-states, I associated words such as opportunity, freedom, diversity,
access to education, access to necessary resources, and money. The differences between these are
obvious. I recognize Africa as being a poor and almost “wild” nation-state while seeing the latter
as rich and full of resources. I am ethnocentric regarding my nation-state by having preconceived
notions that the northern nation-states are superior to Africa.
Stereotype is defined as “fixed ideas – often unfavorable – about what members of a
group are like” (Conrad Phillip Kottak, 2019). I do believe that I have some sort of stereotypical
view towards Africa. The reason I think this is because I mainly think of exotic tribal cultures. I
do know that a large part of Africa consists of this, but there are parts of South Africa that are
more industrialized. A large part of my stereotypic thoughts are due to media showcasing only
the exotic parts of Africa.
Conrad Phillip Kottak defines ethnocentrism as “the tendency to view one’s culture as
superior and to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people
raised in other cultures” (2019). I show ethnocentrism because I apply my life here in the United
