"The Danger of a Single Story" and Komla Dumor's "Telling the African Story"
- Mya Brown
- Apr 12, 2024
- 2 min read
Week of 4/7 - 4/13
“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”
I'm not quite sure I understand this quote Professor shared by Fanon.
I tried breaking it down and looking up the definition of words I've heard used before but can't fully describe. According to Cambridge dictionary, the word obscurity means the state of not being known to many people. It also can mean the state or quality of being unclear and difficult to understand or see. Relative referred to something being judged or measured in comparison with something else. So, I think it could be discussing how each generation needs to discover its mission and either fulfill it or betray it as previous generations may have already.
In regard to the videos these are my points.
It is essential for people to form their own identity because that's part of what makes each of us human. I don't believe wild animals and insects are worried about their personal identity within their group. Rather they're focused on survival. Us humans like to differentiate ourselves and find uniqueness.
Labels help us develop a sort of categorization for helping us regulate when meeting people.
Nations, groups, etc. love to label outside groups in an attempt to create a stronger sense of an ingroup vs an outgroup.
When people accept the label of others as ways to identify themselves it can create a scenario where one's individual identity and thus behaviors can be tied to that identity. For example, with white nationalism in the U.S. you have people who truly believe in the superiority of the U.S. and therefore because they're a citizen they're superior to other people from other nations. Throughout my time in middle and high school, my history classes frequently reminded us that the U.S. has one of the strongest military powers and it's our job to spread democracy throughout the world.
One of my favorite quotes from the Single story of Africa video
"Show a people as one thing over and over again and that is what they become."
Hey Mya,
I think you are spot on when you break down the definition of Fanon's quote. I think he is trying to tell each generation to take the unknown about our ancestral roots and teach it to the people. He wants each generation to discover their purpose in how to disseminate this information to the masses. Now you can either sit on this information and let the mainstream media stifle your message or you can fulfill your duty to educate people about the truth.
Hey Mya,
It definitely sounds like you're on the right track with Fanon's quote! I think it's urging each generation to find their purpose or way to improve the world, even if it's not clear at first, and they can choose to either fulfill it or ignore it.
Hi Mya.
Danger, danger, danger is the word when it comes to the single story! I enjoyed both videos and plan to share with family and friends. In order to bring this type of awareness, we must spread the word and change the flow of storytelling when it comes to our people and our stories. I think it was pretty cool to share a female perspective and a male perspective.
Thanks for sharing...
I agree with you on your response to the quote. I was puzzled at first but kinda had a thought like yours which was generation need to discover it's own mission,fulfill it or betray it. They need to make a decision. That's were being comfortable with your own identity plays part. That was what the speakers were saying in the lectures.