dunstan8989

i think this is fantastic article. although i have never been to 'Africa', i think it takes pieces such as this to make you realize that you as well as many others are ignorant of how much not just popular culture and media make generalizations about massive, complex communities (if they are at all), but states and other entities as well. I thought the passage toward the end about the nightclub where "mercenaries, evil nouveau rich Africans and prostitutes, guerrillas and expats hangout", was hilarious relevant, as countless media outlets and popular culture figures, let alone many anthropologists, portray this as an average scene within the continent. Although i feel this writer does take an almost overly pessimistic tone, i feel the intention was there simply to emphasise the many problems and generalizations many people, at least the one's that i know, go through when referring to 'Africa'. I am guessing the writer acknowledges that some situations of concern are prevalent in some parts of 'Africa' (although not EVERYWHERE as it commonly seems to be described), but one problem i find with the position the writer has taken seems that according to them there isn't anyone who doesn't think like this when describing 'Africa', although i am sure the writer would probably think otherwise, it isn't mentioned. Although i have lots of other things to say about this article, i will stop due to tiredness, in general i thought this was an interesting, thought provoking and well written piece, keep it up Binyavanga!