Hello Readers!
- Works of Chimamanda Ngozi
- Talk on importance of story/literature
- The Danger of single story
- We should all be Feminist
- Important of Truth in post truth era
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" Ted Talk, in July 2009, explores the negative influences that a “single story” can have and identifies the root of these stories. Adichie argues that single stories often originate from simple misunderstandings or one’s lack of knowledge of others, but that these stories can also have a malicious intent to suppress other groups of people due to prejudice (Adichie). People, especially in their childhood, are “impressionable and vulnerable” when it comes to single stories (Adichie 01:43). Adichie asserts that media and literature available to the public often only tell one story, which causes people to generalize and make assumptions about groups of people.
Adichie shares two primary examples to discuss why generalizations are made. Reflecting on her everyday life, she recalls a time where her college roommate had a “default position” of “well-meaning pity” towards her due to the misconception that everyone from Africa comes from a poor, struggling background (04:49). Adichie also clearly faults herself for also being influenced by the “single story” epidemic, showing that she made the same mistake as many others. Due to the strong media coverage on Mexican immigration she “had bought into the single story”, automatically associating all Mexicans with immigration (Adichie 08:53). These anecdotes emphasize how stereotypes are formed due to incomplete information, but one story should not define a group of people.
Adichie also tackles the effect of political and cultural power on stories. Power not only spreads a story, but also makes its ideas persist. Adichie states that power can be used for malintent, through controlling “how [stories] are told, who tells them, when they're told, [and] how many stories are told” (09:25). Using power to manipulate our understanding of others can be evidenced by Adichie’s trip to Mexico, where she realized Mexicans were not the harmful Americans Western media had portrayed them to be. Additionally, influential western stories have caused people like Adichie to have a limited idea of characters that appear in literature, since foreigners were not part of them. This is why the first stories Adichie had written included white characters playing in the snow rather than things reflective of her life in Africa (Adichie 00:39). Adichie explains how she became enlightened through “the discovery of African writers”, which “saved [her] from having a single story of what books are” and becoming another victim of a biased sample of literature (02:36).
Video 2 we should all be Feminist
An an essay on contemporary feminism, the 64-pages long book is a modified version of the author’s Ted Talk from December 2012 of the same name. Some of her other works include: Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions Americanah, and The Thing Around Your Neck. She was awarded the MacArthur Award in 2008.
The Stereotypical Idea Of Feminism And The Word Feminist
In the book, Adichie openly and eloquently analyses how the idea of feminism and the word feminist are loaded with stereotypes. One of which is how feminism is often considered as western concept — an idea that tries to brainwash females to exert power over males. One has to understand that feminism is about the social, economic and political equality of the sexes. It demands an annihilation of the gender hierarchy and not women’s rule over men as is often misinterpreted. She expounds beautifully on the same.
Adichie, C. N. (n.d.). Transcript of "The danger of a single story". TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en.
Adichie, C. N. (n.d.). Transcript of "We should all be feminists". TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_we_should_all_be_feminists/transcript.
Google. (n.d.). Why 'We Should All Be Feminists' By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Is A Mandatory Read. Google. https://www.google.com/amp/s/feminisminindia.com/2020/06/23/book-review-we-should-all-be-feminists-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/%3famp.
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