Ok, so I'm flipping channels one evening when I come across a show on the History Channel called Shadow Force. This is a documentary that focuses on a team of military operators with special forces backgrounds. The Shadow Force is called in, presumably by governments of the countries they're operating in, to advise local military forces on how to be more efficient. All of the episodes I watched so far have been set in Africa (Liberia, Congo...the big Congo, not the small one...and either Kenya or Tanzania).As much as I admired the skill and expertise of the Shadow Force members, several things kept diverting my attention from the particulars of the show, like ketchup stains on the Mona Lisa: the operators, first of all were white. Now there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. But then other factors intrude into the picture. The whites are the predominant presence. We know their names, how they think, what they're feeling. And, of course, the whites are cast in the roles of teachers, bringing their wisdom from afar to impart upon Africans who are voiceless, anonymous faces, relegated to the backdrop.The History Channel is airing another program along similiar lines: Expedition Africa. Here, you have four whites, three men and a woman, retracing Henry Stanley's path in his quest to find Dr. Livingstone in latter 19th century central Africa. Now, Expedition Africa is not particularly interesting. I think a show could have been made that focused less on the bickering and clash of personalities among the explorers and more on the journey. But, that's what happens when the reality tv craze of the past few years informs a creator's approach to a tv series that should be more educational than it actually is.Anyway, excuse my brief digression. The point is, Expedition Africa, like Shadow Force, features whites in leading roles, with nameless Africans mostly drifting in the background, operating solely at the behest of the white explorers. One thing I found strange was the explorers' choice of armed escort: Masaii warriors in traditional garb, armed with spears. Africa is awash in guns and people trained to use them. Personally, if I were to choose someone to protect my expedition from dangerous animals and possibly more dangerous humans, the guy with the AK-47 would inspire far more confidence in me than the guy with the spear.So, was this African-with-the -spear idea a concession to the stereotype of the primitive African or did these white explorers actually believe that the Masaii could provide real protection? Also, I'm sure the African continent has enough men and women skilled enough to do what the whites in Shadow Force and Expedition Africa are doing. If the creators of these shows had thought to include one or two Africans as specialists and lead explorers among these groups, the Dark Continent stereotype that these shows radiate like stench from a skunk would not be so glaring to me.It just goes to show you, folks, what we create and market can often be a reflection of how we see ourselves or others. If the presumably white producers of the shows I mentioned saw Africans as anything other than backdrops or faceless recipients of white knowledge, then we would see those black faces in commanding roles.This may be the Age of Obama, but we at the BSFS still have a lot of work to do to counteract the underying chauvanism presented by shows like Shadow Force and Expedition Africa.Maybe we can come up with tales about Blacks going into a blighted European community and bestowing upon the inhabitants the blessings of civilization...oh wait, didn't the Egyptians do that with the Greeks?
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