“An African Artist Thanks Taylor Swift For Her ‘Wildest Dreams’ “
“The first time I saw it, I thought of my late grandma, and how she would have reacted to it. Like me, I think she would have loved it, because she was proudly African. I love that you showed how beautiful our continent is, and that you recognized that we have the kind of landscapes that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. As a Zambian, I was so proud to see my neighbors, Botswana and South Africa, in a Taylor Swift video… I think Grandma Matilda would have found it surprising that there are no black people in a video that wishes to portray the Africa of the 1950s. But perhaps if your video did include black people, the criticisms surrounding it would have been far greater. I say so because at that time, black people in South Africa and Botswana were facing inequalities similar to those faced in my country. Perhaps your reason for not including black people was to avoid bringing attention to the brutal past of colonialism — the forced segregation, the servitude, the economic and social exclusion, the beatings, and, sometimes, the disappearances of black Africans altogether. My grandmother, if she were to have been portrayed in your video, would at best have had to play the role of a servant. Of course, we all have the right to choose who we include in our videos, but we must also consider the impact of leaving out some pieces… For a long time, international media has portrayed our continent as a place stricken by poverty or famine, or as a playground for animals — like the ones in your video. I will take your video as a wake-up call. It’s my job to show the side of Africa that is missing in your video.”
There is something lovely about this.The author could have decided to “take a side”, but is instead just kind of sharing. Talking. Embracing complexity and nuance like we do when we’re just being people. Let’s do that more. Sometimes there isn’t room or time for being complex, but let’s proactively identify when and where it’s possible and jump into it.
