Before you do anything, WATCH THIS. I know, I know it’s almost a full 20 minutes long, but you need to WATCH IT. It will definitely be worth your time. Before I watched this Ted Talk, I never took the time to realize how powerful American media, news, and entertainment has had on shaping my perspective on the rest of the world. Single stories can alter our views, shape our opinions, and make us believe in stereotypical falsehoods. These are dangerous. They only give you one perspective for an entire place, person, or idea. This summer I went abroad to ten different European and Scandinavian countries allowing me to personally experience the dangers of the single stories I had written for these locations. I had no idea I had been so deeply affected by American media, but I realized during this trip I had gained a very skewed perspective of these different places. Although I had unconsciously created single stories for all the ports I visited this summer, the ones I am going to focus on are Sweden, Ireland, and Russia. By comparing the media representations I had gained prior to my trip to my actual experiences in these three countries, I hope I am able to enhance Chimamanda Adichie’s point by proving that single story narratives are unrepresentative of the complex and rich culture and history each of these countries have.
The first single story narrative
I am going to share is for the country of Sweden. Prior to my trip, my
perspective on this country had been shaped solely through American popular
culture and focused solely on Swedish popular culture. I was never exposed to any further insight into the country other than this one facet of Sweden. These two following examples have shaped the single story narrative I had of Sweden. The first, was through the electronic dance music group, Swedish House Mafia. Here is
their music video to their most famous song “Don’t You Worry Child” featuring
John Martin. The video documents a live performance of the song and, as you
can see, features a crazy light show, an energetic audience, and the trio DJing
at the center of the stage. Swedish House Mafia paints the picture of Swedes
being free-spirited, young, and most importantly electronic pop enthusiasts.
The next portrayal that shaped my perspective of Sweden is seen in one of my
favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother. In
the show, Goliath National Bank is looking for an architect to build their new
building. One of the candidates is Sven, a Swedish architectural group. If you
haven’t watched the show, then check out a clip of the scene here. As you can
see, Sven’s proposal is done in an elaborate and futuristic fashion. They use
similar techniques seen in the music video, acting like an electronic music
group, but this portrayal is done in a comedic style. From these two very limited narratives
of Sweden, I gained my single story.
I obviously knew the country had
a lot more to offer, but I had yet to find out what that was. When I got to Sweden I
was pleasantly surprised by its rich history and culture. The country is much
more complex and diverse than what I had seen in American media. I visited the
country’s capital, Stockholm, which is a unique and beautiful city spread
across a number of islands. No matter where I stood in the city, I had a breathtaking
view of the water. It was magical. During my stay, I visited many of Stockholm's famous
museums absorbing everything I could about the country. Through this, I learned
all the important historical facts and dates as well as gained a more
comprehensive understand of the country’s culture. One of the most interesting cultural aspects I learned was from an exhibit titled “Swedish Sin.” This exhibit shared Sweden’s progressive stance on sexuality and sexual customs. I found out
that Sweden was the first country to have sex education. In addition, I found
that the country is open to all types of sexuality. The facts and ideas I learned in all the museums I visited were reinforced
by my experience within the city. Everyone was very happy and pleasant, but
also educated and wise. Sweden definitely had a lot of trendy young citizens (similar to those seen in American media) walking around its streets, but it also held a greater narrative. Sweden is an interesting country made up of countless stories. All of which are important and need to be shared and heard on a wider scope.
For
Ireland, my single story had been written from a greater number of sources, but
still was limited in its stereotypical portrayal. My first account of Ireland
was in Elementary school learning about American history. From this perspective,
I learned about Irish immigrants coming to America due to the Irish Potato Famine. Through this lens, I learned the affect this epidemic had on shaping
America rather than the destruction it caused its own nation. I never learned
the entire narrative of this atrocity just simply the fact that an influx of
Irish came to America. The next illustration of Ireland I encountered was around
the same time from the Disney channel original movie “Luck of the Irish”. As
you can read from this site, the movie plays on all the major stereotypes of
the country. It reaffirms these preconceived notions that Ireland is a land of
leprechauns and gold rather than a real place with real people. Lastly, my
narrative of Ireland has been based off the countless stories, photos, and
shows associating Ireland with pubs and partying. These
depictions feature insanely drunk men and women drinking pitchers of dark
beers. I knew these were just stereotypes of a country that held much more
depth, but I could not see past these. I was slightly nervous before arriving
to Ireland not prepared for the type of madness I had continuously been exposed
to.
My
first stop in Ireland was Dublin. To me, it was your average capital city with
old buildings, tight streets, and mass amounts of people. I spent the first
couple of days checking it out and came to realize that all the stereotypes I
expected were there, but mostly as tourist attractions. This city had become a
version of Ireland shaped by outside perspectives. It used the dominant
American narratives to its advantage by marketing and selling them. There was
countless souvenir shops filled with paraphernalia covered in the stereotypical
images I mentioned earlier. While I was in Dublin, I learned quite a lot of
new information pertaining to the city’s history and culture, but I felt that
this experience was hindered by its touristy feel. I finally decided I needed a
new perspective of the country so I took the train, with a few of my friends,
to the nearby town of Houth. Right outside the train station we found a local
farmers market selling local produce, crafts, and cuisine. This was the
cultural experience I had hoped for. I met so many friendly people giving me a
fresh view of the country. We then followed the seaside up to the cliffs where we found hiking trails. These trails provided the most stunning view I have ever seen. We hiked for almost two hours completely entranced by the
natural beauty of this seaside community. By traveling to Houth, I realized an entire country cannot be represented in a single city. Although Dublin is a huge part of what makes Ireland Ireland, every single place and community is equally important when writing the story of this country.
Work Cited:
My last and final single story narrative had been
written about the country of Russia. Whether it be through my schooling, the news
outlets I frequented, or even popular cultural texts, the common trend when
discussing Russia in America is negative and critical. I learned at an early
age that Russia is our country’s greatest rival. Through the Cold War till
today, we have constantly been competing with this far away land. In my
history textbooks, I learned that Russia is a technically savvy place, which
threatens our safety and power. From the news, I learned that it is a dangerous
and hateful country where citizens are not allowed to be themselves. This
portrayal can be seen through the recent discussion surrounding the Russian
LGBT community or the older example of the Pussy Riots. Comedic popular
cultural texts, such as this youtube video, reinforce these ideas making it
seem that the entire population is made up of violent, angry, and destructive
citizens. When I found out I was going to visit this place, I was a little
nervous. I had no idea what to expect. I had only been exposed to these frightening
images of the country, never seeing anything with even a slight silver lining.
Looking
back, I found that Russia was the most important place I visited this summer.
It taught me how crucial it is for you to make your own opinions regarding a
place, person, or thing rather than listening to the dominant narrative. I
thoroughly enjoyed my time in Russia and not once felt threatened or in danger.
I’m not at all saying that my experience is typical for the average visitor,
being white with blonde hair and blue eyes definitely gave me an advantage and allowed
me to blend in with Russian locals. It was crazy to experience a Russia I had
yet to learn about in American culture. Each day we went and visited a new
castle or museum learning all the different layers of Russia’s complex history
and culture. We talked to a wide range of Russian citizens learning from their
personal experiences. I found that none of the people I spoke to felt oppressed
by their government. They mostly seemed uninterested with what was going on
with their nation and were actually curious about America with a number of them
inquiring about our gun laws. They couldn’t imagine regular citizens being
allowed to own a gun. They were nervous for our safety thinking about how
dangerous it must be. My trip to Russia showed me that America is not the only
country writing single stories, but that single stories have been written about
us as well. It was important for me to share an alternative perspective of
America to the individuals I spoke to as it was equally important for me to
listen to theirs.
Through
this comparison of the single stories I had written prior to my trip to my
actual experiences in these countries, I hope I was able to reinforce Adichie’s
point. I know that even my experiences are just my single stories about these
different places, but these should be used in supplement to the greater
narrative of these countries as a whole. The single stories American media has
created “emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar,” which
I learned is completely false
(Adichie). The most important thing this trip showed me is that we are all similar
no matter where an individual is from. Erica Scharrer explains in her text, “social
scientists frequently use the term ‘saturation’ to describe the role of the media in the lives of people young and old”. I
could not agree more. We have all been saturated with the American perspective.
Sometimes its hard to see or realize this has happened to us. It is important to
venture out, look past the stereotypes we are force fed, and gain our own
stories.
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. (July
2009). “The Danger of a Single Story”. Ted.com.
Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en#t-1107201
Mokyr, Joel. (Nov. 20th,
2014). “Irish Potato Famine”. Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/294137/Irish-Potato-Famine
Mullen, Jethro, Magnay, Diana,
and Jason Hanna. (Dec. 23rd, 2013). “Imprisoned Pussy Riot Band
Members Released”. CNN World News. Retrieved
from http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/23/world/europe/russia-pussy-riot-member-freed/
Rfitzpsu17. (Oct. 26th,
2010). “Sven!”. Youtube. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LebN68jFifM
Scharrer, Erica. (April 22nd,
2010). “Taking Media Entertainment Seriously”. How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence. Retrieved
from http://download.springer.com.libproxy.usc.edu/static/pdf/479/art%253A10.1007%252Fs11199-010-9784-4.pdf?auth66=1418675965_fa12c07c53f044c07e55228df2b5f7b3&ext=.pdf
Shmvevo. (Sept. 14th,
2012). “Swedish House Mafia – Don’t You Worry Child ft. John Martin”. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y6smkh6c-0
The Official Best Gore. (Nov. 20th,
2012). “Why We Love Russia”. YouTube. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgqszG3vQZs
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