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Single Story that Defines a Nation
And the danger it poses
Stories and broadcasts decide the course of the contemporary world. Everybody has a story to tell and everywhere you turn there is a storyteller. Anyone with a good wi-fi connection and a smartphone can create a story and broadcast it to the world using innumerable platforms. Stories can often be misguiding and deluding. Especially, a single story that is believed to capture the essence of an entire nation, culture, or ethnic group can generate grave consequences.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the prominent Nigerian writer, describes the alarming repercussions of storytelling involving a single story. In her famous TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story”, Adichie explains how a single and specific message regarding a nation or culture can create stereotypical views and prejudicial attitudes in readers. Adichie grew up in Nigeria where she was exposed to a vast array of British and American literature. She started writing at a young age and most of her characters were White people living in snow-clad areas, eating apples. Her attitude towards Western culture was shaped by Western literature that overemphasized the sparkly lifestyle and exquisite living.
Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby and Hollywood blockbusters “Forrest Gump” and “Pursuit of Happiness”, transforming and entertaining as it is…
