"If you're from Africa, why are you white?"

I had a really hard time thinking of a social group that I felt comfortable enough writing about. I chose the one that hits closest to home, being an African or being from Africa. Many people think that being "African" is determined by your skin colour, which is ironic because America is just as much a melting pot of races and cultures as Africa is. I think the media in America portrays most Africans as being black, poor, and starving living with wild animals in mud huts. At least that's how I have come to interpret it. The meme on the left perfectly represents one common theme that many people believe is Africa.

A good example of this is from the movie "Mean Girls." Karen's classic line from the movie is hilarious, but unfortunately represents a portion of the population that is clueless about life in Africa. This meme that depicts Karen's question shows that there are people that are unaware of the different cultures and races that live within Africa. When I first moved here, it was a huge joke at every school I went to to quote this line to me. I thought it was quite entertaining, but then I realized that there were a few people that literally had no idea about South Africa, or even that there was a very large white population that existed there. In fact, many people didn't even know South Africa was a real country. How sad is that?

Many people seem to think that being from Africa means that you have to look like an African (skin colour), talk like an African (speaking some form of a "click language"), and dress like an Africa (tribal clothing) I have seen so many vines where Africans are stereotyped to be these confused people that came straight from the bushveld. I find them hilarious, don't get me wrong. Most of them depict some form of the truth, but they don't show the broader spectrum of people that live in Africa.

Unfortunately it makes our culture seem comical and weird. Even to a point where we seem dumb. These three vine videos are a perfect example of showing how a part of a culture is stereotyped into comedy. The first one of the man commenting on the car makes it seem like we don't even know what cars are in Africa, that we have no development or structure. The second one is just a hilarious example of "the click language" that everyone thinks all Africans can speak. It's actually really hard. 

The third is also just comical referencing the classic movie (and my favourite ironically) "The Lion King." Again, another jest at the African culture. But super funny.

Now I know that this is mostly pointed towards the black or truly "African" cultures, but it both extends and affects the transplanted European cultures. There is a meme that was shared all over Facebook through my "white" South African friends. It's hilarious because it's true. Many people think that we live in some technologically deprived waste land run rampant with wild animals. This is partly true, but isn't that what stereotypes are? A representation of a small part of what it really represents. This meme below shows the different views (not only American) of how South Africans live. Everyone has their views, and no one really knows until you live there.

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse as I keep reiterating what I'm trying to say with these memes because I feel as if it is obvious. There are SO many good memes, videos, articles, etc. that show and highlight this theme. I like to laugh at it, I don't really get offended, but I am a little disappointed. I can laugh because I know both sides. I know that some of this is true, but I also know what it is really like. 

It limits how people see the outside world, and gives them a skewed perception of other cultures and peoples. It is easier for us to stereotype and put people into groups and categories based on similarities because it helps us organize our world, but it is also dangerous. It creates people who are ignorant and who believe that I never wore shoes as a child, or had a pet zebra, or had never had a cheeseburger. If we rely solely on social media to bring us our information, then we are dooming ourselves. It's like this guy check his Facebook wall, it's meaningless.