Icons of poverty- and how they mislead us
Why is it important to understand media’s affect on displaying poverty in society?
It’s crucial that people striving to give back are aware of media’s effect on society’s understanding of poverty. This is so that in a climate where a wide variety of information is published online, people can be properly informed about about current world affairs. As a result, they can come to their own conclusions about what the right ways to combat poverty are.
How are people misled by icons of poverty?
Entertainment
Movies, songs and other products of media can be created to be sold and to benefit specific charity causes in mind. However, some particular pieces of “charitable entertainment” have become icons of poverty themselves. Their “icon-statuses” have been achieved through constantly being shared and recreated. Although it appears helpful that media of this sort gains pop-culture credibility because it can spread awareness of an issue, deeper investigation reveals that we are mislead – such legacies have the capacity to create more harm than good.
One classic example is the song Do They Know it’s Christmas by Bob Geldof’s Band Aid, recorded to raise money for an Ethiopian famine which unfolded in 1984.
Another version was recently released in 2014, which shows how enduring this song has been as an icon of charity.
For many, Christmas marks a season of giving, and charity aligns with this concept. But what makes this song misleading?
- It makes generalizations of African people as a whole. Not only is a significant portion of the African population Christian, but there is no reason to assume that most Africans are unaware of the holiday just because some areas of the continent are dominant in other religions.
- It’s demeaning. The lyrical content of “Do They Know it’s Christmas” revolves around the illusion that Africa is a place “where nothing ever grows,” where “the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears.”
- It perpetuates a “White Industrial Saviour Complex.” The lyric, “throw your arms around the world at Christmas time” perpetuates the notion that we can “save them” simply because of our cultural context.
- Those who buy the song in support don’t know how this money is being used. The song deserves credit for bringing the world’s attention to a particular issue and raising money for NGOs that did save lives. However, critics of Band Aid argue that “it may have contributed to as many deaths.”
These are only a few of the reasons why Band Aid’s “Do They Know it’s Christmas” spreads misinformation to the masses. As a result, the song demonstrates that entertainment as an icon of poverty has the power to mislead public perception.
Celebrities
Through social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, celebrities encourage individuals to donate money and/ or clothes to charities. People want to copy celebrity actions because celebrities are role models in society who are implying that if you donate money, you are a valuable person. However, these donations can actually be more harmful than helpful. The post “The Harm of Charity and Donations: Money doesn’t fix every problem” explains how donating money to a campaign, such as TOMS Shoes, prevents people in poverty from digging themselves out of their sad reality. The post also addresses the question of where our aid is going, which is important in displaying that the money we donate is not having the positive effect we believe.
Do celebrities help combat poverty?
Yes! Even though some celebrities encourage the wrong ways of helping, other celebrities use their fame to fight for social justice. For example, Bono, the lead singer of U2, endeavored to end hunger, poverty, and disease. Through media, Bono raises awareness about his nonprofit ONE.
This TED talk, “The good news on poverty (Yes, there’s good news),” features Bono sharing data that provides us with hope that the end of poverty is near.