The title above is borrowed from a Cameroonian sociologist who used that expression to show how some Cameroonian musicians have been promoting dictatorship in Cameroon through their music. That expression could be used to describe the current media frenzy over the fact that Beyonce and some African American musicians sang for Gaddafi's son last year. Not wanting to dismiss the lapse in judgment of these musicians, it seems to me that so much is being made of that party. Just as so much is being made of the fact that Gaddafi is hiring African mercenaries to kill Libyans. Listening to some media reports, one would think that Libya is filled with black mercenaries trying to stop peace-loving Libyans from getting rid of the dictator Gaddafi. This may mask the racism which some Libyans manifest toward black people in Libya.
However, just last week, Gaddafi deposited about 5 billion dollars in a bank in England, apart from the billions he has in Swiss banks. He paid American lobbyists millions to clean his image in America so that he could be supported by the US again, even though everyone knew that he was a brutal dictator. To portray his son's partying with Beyonce and co. as if it were the hight of the Gaddafi's family financial extravagance is to tell the story in a false way. It is just like blaming black African mercenaries for aiding Gaddafi to kill his people when we know that these people form only a very small fraction of those fighting to keep Gaddafi in power. This narrative plays into the long tradition of painting Africans in a very poor light in Western media. That narrative must be condemned.
However, just last week, Gaddafi deposited about 5 billion dollars in a bank in England, apart from the billions he has in Swiss banks. He paid American lobbyists millions to clean his image in America so that he could be supported by the US again, even though everyone knew that he was a brutal dictator. To portray his son's partying with Beyonce and co. as if it were the hight of the Gaddafi's family financial extravagance is to tell the story in a false way. It is just like blaming black African mercenaries for aiding Gaddafi to kill his people when we know that these people form only a very small fraction of those fighting to keep Gaddafi in power. This narrative plays into the long tradition of painting Africans in a very poor light in Western media. That narrative must be condemned.
1 comment:
I think the majority of people know who Beyonce is but not who she is as a person. When people like Bono go overseas and interact with the people of Africa and sing for charity this is smart. However, apart from cultural heritage she was probably doing it for money. What Bono does help's The western view of Africans. What Beyonce did for Gadafi is arguably not good and once again gives the west a rather bad view of the African narrative, one that celebrities like Bono are looking to fix.
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