THE EFFECT OF ADVERTISING
STIMULI ON AMERICAN
PERCEPTION OF AFRICA
A Descriptive Analysis
MARILYN KERN-FOXWORTH
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Advertising, functioning as the economic support of the mass
media, has become an important element in America. Consequently, researchers have become increasingly concerned
about the function of American advertising in the acculturation and socialization processes of black children and
adults. This concern, however, has focused more on the
perceptions and images of black Americans than on those
living in other countries, specifically Third World countries.
This is evidenced by the fact that a gamut of research has been
generated on the appearance of blacks in American advertising, as well as the reaction of black and white Americans to
integrated advertising. The purpose of this research project is
to offer a new dimension to this area by determining how
representation of Africans in American travel brochures can
influence American perception of Africans.
The paucity of existing research pertinent to this topic
warrants further study of this nature. It is also important to
study this area because of the negative stereotypes that have
JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 16 No. 2, December 1985 155-168
@ 1985 Sage Publications, Inc.
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traditionally assigned to African people. The electronic
media, especially television, have been particularly instrumental in perpetuating these stereotypes; for example, the
long-running series, Tarzan and Jungle Jim. &dquo;If you think the
Dark Continent is a steamy jungle populated by Pygmies and
zoo animals,&dquo; notes one author, &dquo;you’ve been watching too
many Tarzan movies. Many different peoples-with lifestyles
and languages that change with each country’s borderspopulate the continent of Africa&dquo; (Ford’s Insider, 1981: 15).
been
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
black Americans have long held an overwhelming
fascination for Africa. In 1815 Lott Carey stated the following
before emigrating to Africa, &dquo;I wish to go to a country where I
shall be estimated by my merits, not my complexion.&dquo; Along
those same convictions Bishop Henry McNeal Turner encouraged American blacks in 1902 to return to their native
land-Africa. Turner was also an ardent advocate for PanAfricanism-the unity of all African peoples. At the plateau of
his career as a chaplain, pastor, and missionary, Turner
Many
asserted,
whole, I see nothing here for him to
Africa, especially to Liberia,
where a Negro government is already in existence, and learn the
elements of civilization in fact; for human life is there sacred
But for the
aspire
and
Negro
after. He
no man
is
as a
can return to
deprived
of it
or
any other
thing that involves
manhood, without due process of law. So my decision is that
there is nothing in the United States for the Negro to learn or to
try
to attain to
[Smith,
1967:
47].
Today, there are still some black Americans who advocate
that black Americans should return to Africa. There are also
many black Americans who hold an intense fascination with
Africa. However, there are also many black Americans who
know little about Africa.
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157
After exposure of Americans to Tarzan many erroneous
concepts pertinent to Africa and its peoples were developed.
To date, programs that depict Africa favorably are almost
nonexistent. And without exposure to media that dispel the
myths promulgated by Tarzan, many Americans, both black
and white, are left with remote ideas of what to expect or find
on the African continent.
William Granville, a former employee relations adviser for
Mobil Oil, made the following observation after relocating in
Africa: &dquo;I never expected to come out here and find blacks in
the mainstream. It isn’t the idea that you are given in the
States&dquo; (Ebony, 1976: 120).
Many Americans also do not expect to find the diversity in
Africa that now exists. One case in point in Joshua Okuthe.
&dquo;Okuthe lives in an urban apartment and is developing a career
in the coaching field. He also enjoys the music of Barry White,
likes going to the movies and he and his wife ... often
entertain friends&dquo; (Ebony, 1976: 117). Okuthe is also a trained
journalist.
On the other hand, Africa is torn by civil strife and turmoil,
massive starvation and primitive lifestyles. Polygamy, for
example, is still practiced in some areas. A prime example of
such practice is Chief Njiri Karanja. &dquo;Chief Njiri has acquired
dozens of wives and roughly 200 children. He is the head of a
village of 100 residents (many of his children are grown and
have moved away) nearly all of whom are members of his
family. His wealth is reckoned in cattle and goats (the media of
exchange in much of black Africa), and his word is the law&dquo;
(Ebony, 1976: 117).
The above examples represent extreme contrasts of African
lifestyles. However, many Americans experience tunnel vision
when formulating perceptions about Africa. To them the
nomenclature that has labeled Africa as the &dquo;Dark Continent&dquo;
is not just a myth, but reality.
Many Americans are oblivious to the fact that Africa has
emerged as a viable continent with the capacity to maintain a
very stable economy. In fact, &dquo;Styles of living are intriguingly
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158
divergent and are often reflections of major changes in African
values. Recent changes in economy and society are creating
new people&dquo; (Ebony, 1976: 117).
According to Evelyn Jones Rich, former director of the
African-American Institute in New York City, the language
many Americans use when referring to Africa and Africans
only serves to perpetuate the problem and limit perceptions.
&dquo;Western images of Africa are largely built on a foundation of
words-words that often tend to put down the 350 million who
on this second largest continent.&dquo; Mrs. Rich substantiates
her statement by further elaborating on such words as &dquo;jungle,&dquo;
&dquo;tribe,&dquo; and &dquo;hut&dquo; in the following:
live
Actual rain forest-better known asjungle-covers only about
five percent of the continent. Yet, the term is used so much that
many-if not most-U.S. students grow up thinking that 90
percent of Africa is jungle.
&dquo;Tribe&dquo; is a word coined by Europeans to describe the organization of groups of people sharing a common language.... But it
is no longer used to describe Europeans. It is almost always
used to describe Third World people and it implies a &dquo;put
down.&dquo; Tribal warfare was waged in Nigeria. But a civil war
persists in Northern Ireland. There are no tribes in New York
City-only New Yorkers, or more specifically, Italians, Jews
and so forth. Why not Africans in Africa? Or more specifically,
Masai, Kuba and Berbers?
As for &dquo;hut&dquo;? The idea in the West often is that Africans live in
crude or temporary shelters.... But few Africans see their
homes as crude or temporary. Some African homes are poor,
but many
are
not
[Rich,
1976:
14].
Other such phrases that negate perceptions of Africa are
inclusive of but not limited to &dquo;Third World&dquo; and &dquo;Dark
Continent.&dquo; The mass media use such verbage when referring
to Africa. Nevertheless, what thought has gone into the
negative connotations that &dquo;Third World&dquo; imparts? As for
&dquo;Dark
Continent,&dquo; anything
dark
implies something
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bad
or
159
evil; therefore, &dquo;Dark Continent&dquo; is verbally commensurate
with &dquo;Dark Ages.&dquo;
It is important that language be used to denote positive
connotations of Africa and that communicators be aware of
the effects that words can have in forming perceptions.
Because of the void in American perception of Africa, it is
important to determine how improvements can be made by the
various mass media forms in their dissemination of information pertinent to Africa. When it is considered that the mass
media have the responsibility to inform society of the events
occurring within the environment, to interpret the information
disseminated within the environment, and to see that information about events in the environment is disseminated from
generation to generation, the importance of scrutinizing the
inadequacies given about Africa via the mass media becomes
more apparent. The analysis of travel brochures is an attempt
in that direction.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Susan Hall (1978) and some associates conducted a study in
1977 to determine what, when, and how Africa was presented
in courses being taught to students in United States schools
K-12.
The study surveyed six states, all of which had African
studies programs. The states were California, Michigan, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Findings of the study for all states suggest the following:
(1) The study of the continent Africa is almost totally confined
to courses in the social sciences-it is only the rare art or
literature course that included an African dimension. (2) Africa
is always taught in world geography at the elementary school
level.
on the continent’s
of the many world regions under
Here, however, the emphasis is
geography.
It is also
one
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160
consideration and, therefore, receives only cursory attention
[Hall,
1978:
10].
The study also made several other notable observations
listed below.
(1)
(2)
as
There is little encouragement at the precollege level to study
Africa.
The majority of the teachers teaching about the continent of
Africa are not prepared to teach the subject because they
themselves have had little or no exposure to information about
Africa.
(3)
(4)
(5)
The lack of interest in teaching about Africa is generated from
the idea that African studies are not relevant to Americans and
that only black Americans interested in the roots of their
ancestry can find utility in knowledge about Africa.
Many educators hinder the learning process of students
studying about Africa because they have misconceptions and
stereotyped views about Africa.
There is a vast need for qualified teaching materials pertinent
to Africa. This is especially true of the textbooks used, which
often give a distorted view of Africa and its peoples (Hall,
1978: 11-20).
The researchers summarized their findings by stating, &dquo;We
have to conclude from our survey that the state of African
studies in our schools is none too healthy&dquo; (Hall, 1978).
Another study that sought to determine the perception of
American students about Africa is Other Nations, Other
People: A Survey of Student Interests and Knowledge Attitudes and Perceptions.The study, conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) for the United States Office of
Education, focused on a number of nations, but only included
one African country, Egypt. The sample for the study included
fourth, eighth, and twelfth grade students.
The study disclosed that the students surveyed knew little or
nothing about Egypt even though the country had gained
international prominence during the time the questionnaire
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161
administered-&dquo;during the fall 1973 Middle East War and
during former President Nixon’s 1974 visit to Egypt.&dquo;
The lack of information about Egypt is substantiated even
more by the fact that most of the eighth graders thought Golda
Meir was president of Egypt and over half of the twelfth
graders were also unable to correctly identify the president of
Egypt; who at the time was Anwar El-Sadat.
The authors were somewhat disappointed by the results of
the study because as they noted, &dquo;Egypt is the best known of all
African countries.&dquo; They conclusively asserted that &dquo;while
state education departments may be active in the international
areas, little, as yet, seems to have filtered into the classrooms.&dquo;
Another report, Africa in U. S. Educational Materials
(1976), analyzed the use of materials pertinent to Africa in
was
American schools.
The report, which focused primarily on textbooks, determined that &dquo;stereotypes, distortions and a patronizing tone still
permeate most school books on Africa.&dquo;
Researcher Schmidt (1978) also studied the teaching of
Africa in secondary schools. According to Schmidt, &dquo;Most
Americans complete their pre-collegiate schooling without any
systematic study of Africa at either the elementary or secondary school levels&dquo; (Schmidt, 1978: 49).
Schmidt further asserts:
The
majority of texts, audiovisual materials, and supplementary curriculum materials on Africa present a primarily
negative view and are biased, inaccurate, and couched in
conceptual frameworks which not only do not lead to an
understanding of Africa, but also fail to acknowledge African
perspectives [Schmidt,
1978:
49].
In summary, these studies suggest that a void exists in the
perceptions that Americans have of Africa. These conclusions
were drawn on two factors: (1) Africa is not taught in most
American schools and (2) those schools that have an African
curriculum do not have adequate teaching materials.
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162
These studies suggest that the American educational system
has not been instrumental in helping eradicate the negative
views that Americans have of Africa. Consequently, one
researcher notes that &dquo;if American school curriculums are to
prepare students for global perspectives and intercultural
understanding, the study of Africa should begin in elementary
schools&dquo; (Schmidt, 1978: 49).
METHODOLOGY
At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, thirteen color
slides depicting Africa and its peoples were shown to 126
students. Students were used because of limited funding, time
constraints, and accessibility. It is, however, understood that
the use of students imposes limitations on reliability.
The slides were carefully selected from tourist brochuresa unique form of advertising. This mass medium was used
because of the impact it has in molding perceptions that
Americans may have of Africa and its people before visiting
there. The brochures were also chosen because of accessibility
and permanence.
Students were shown the slides after being given ample time
to ascertain their
levels
on
Africa
and
what
resources
they had used
knowledge
in attaining this knowledge. Table 1 shows respondents’
continent identification. Upon completion of those answers,
students were shown various slides and requested to answer
questions pertinent to each slide as it was shown. (Students
were instructed not to turn their questionnaires to page two
until they had answered the question asked about Slide #1.
This precaution was taken in an attempt to increase the validity
of the study. If the students had turned to page two they could
have easily deduced that the outline shown in Slide #1 was
Africa and thus the validity of the study would have been
decreased; see Table 3).
to answer
preliminary questions designed
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163
TABLE 1
Continent Identification
RESULTS
The slides were used to determine the perceptions that
Americans have about Africa and its peoples in the areas of ( 1)
housing, (2) land, (3) dress, (4) occupation, and (5) entertainment.
Of the 126 respondents, none nor any of their family
members had ever visited Africa; subsequently, all felt that
their knowledge level on Africa was extremely weak.
The respondents also confirmed an assumption that most of
the knowledge gained about Africa was through television, as
evidenced by the fact that 62, or 49.2% stated that this was their
primary source for obtaining information about Africa. Many
respondents-29,
or
23.1%-considered their exposure
to
information in books about Africa to have been their most
reliable source (see Table 2). The majority of the respondents124, or 98%-stated that they would rely upon travel brochures to obtain information about Africa if they were
planning to travel there.
The first slide presented a silhouette of the continent Africa.
Respondents were asked to identify the continent. Although
91, or 72.2%, of the respondents were able to identify the
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164
TABLE 2
Sources Used for Information About Africa
continent as Africa, 35 or 27.8% of the respondents were not
able to identify the silhouette correctly (see Table 3).
According to Table 3, 23, or 18.3%, of the respondents
would not expect to see an elaborate hotel, similar to ones
found in the United States, in Africa.
One of the slides shown was a beautiful depiction of landscape architecture in Africa. Of the 126 respondents, 32, or
25.4% stated that they would not have expected to find a view
of such artistic splendor in Africa.
Dress and occupations of African females were expected to
be extremely traditional by some respondents, whereas, 23 or
18.3% reported that they would not expect an African female
to wear professional clothing comparable to that worn in the
United States to work. An even greater number of the
respondents-38, or 30.2%, noted that they would not expect
an African female to have a professional occupation. However,
it is interesting to note that 123, or 97.6%, of the respondents
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165
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166
would expect an African male to dress similarly to American
males when working.
It is also important to note that 11, or 8.7%, of the
respondents indicated that they would expect tribal dances to
be the major form of entertainment in Africa.
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions
that Americans have of Africa and its peoples as a result of
exposure to advertising-travel brochures.
The results of this study indicate that Americans in general
have stereotypical concepts and distortions about the continent
of Africa and the people who inhabit it and that travel
brochures or advertising play a prominent part in the concepts
formed about Africa.
One of the most obvious observations of the study is that
when Americans, as represented by the survey sample, take
trips to Africa they have little or no information on the
continent and rely extensively on travel brochures. This study
was designed to ascertain the perceptions given of Africa
through the information disclosed within the brochures.
Prior to looking at travel brochures most Americans rely
primarily on television for information about Africa. This
medium, however, has only perpetuated the stereotypes associated with Africa as evidenced by Tarzan and documentaries
that address the massive starvation and civil turmoil known to
some areas of the continent. National Geographic covers
Africa quite often; however, the coverage is generally limited to
topics on tribal customs and dress germane to the more
primitive areas of Africa.
It is surprising that over one-fifth of the respondents were
unable to identify an outline of the African continent. Consequently, this clearly demonstrates a void in the kind of
information about Africa given to students and also to the
general population. This also indicates that the American
educational system should be charged with the responsibility
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167
of acquainting students with accurate information about the
continent of Africa.
As noted earlier, close to one-fifth of the respondents would
not expect to find elaborate hotels in Africa. This tends to
substantiate the myth that Africa is still very primitive and
undeveloped in all aspects.
The beauty of the land is obviously unknown to many
Americans as evidenced by the fact that one-fourth of the
respondents would not expect to see such a picturesque scene
as the one represented in the slides shown upon visiting Africa.
This further confirms the belief that Africa is one massive
jungle populated with swamps and deserts, when, in fact,
Africa enjoys the beauty of palm trees, rows and rows of
tropical plants and flowers, and beautifully landscaped grounds.
Undoubtedly, some Americans do not visualize the possibility of Africans dressing professionally or having professional occupations, as evidenced by Table 3. Because the mass media have inhibited the exposure of professional Africans, this
comes as no surprise. In fact, Africans, both male and female,
function in professional capacities daily. They interact with
each other and foreigners as bankers, businessmen, educators,
and entrepreneurs.
Hence, travel brochures give Americans a better perspective
of what to expect upon visiting Africa. They serve to dispel
some of the distortions and are, therefore, viewed as a potential
vehicle for presenting a more realistic view of the diversified
African continent. Thus, one respondent noted, &dquo;As a result of
viewing these slides I would now expect a more advanced
society in Africa than I previously perceived it to be.&dquo;
Yet personal observation also indicates a need for improvement of African travel brochures. Upon examining the brochures it was evident that there were too many pictures of
African wildlife; for example, lions, tigers, and elephants.
Hence, too much space was allocated for promotion of safaris
and not enough illustrations or information was given on the
metropolitan lifestyles and contemporary buildings that permeate many parts of the continent.
An extended phase of this study will be a content analysis of
African travel brochures to determine the proportion of
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168
African wildlife to African people. It is expected that the ratio
of animals to people will be exceptionally high. However, only
a scientific empirical study will determine whether or not the
proportion of animals is significant. It is suggested that this
exploratory study will provide researchers with the impetus to
do other studies in this area.
Finally, in an age where global interdependence prevails, it is
important that the second largest continent be systematically
and methodically represented. Communicators must recognize
the need to portray accurately the African continent and all its
50 nations through all American mass media, not just in
advertising. It is imperative that communicators disseminate
information that states that representation of blacks, whether
black American or black African, should be qualitative as well
as
quantitative.
REFERENCES
Afnca
in U.S. Educational Materials (1976) Survey by African-American Institute.
(unpublished)
CLARKE, J. (1976) "Africa in early world history." Ebony (August):117-122.
Ebony (1976) "Life in Africa: a study in contrasts." August.
Ford’s Insider (1981) "Kenya dig it." April.
HALL, S. (1978) Africa in U.S. Schools K-12. New York: African-American Institute.
RICH, E. J. (1976) "Africa: false images and fighting words." Senior Scholastic
(January 27).
SANZARE, J. (1975) "Teaching about Africa." Education Digest (February).
SCHMIDT, N. (1978) "The study of Africa in American secondary schools. Education
Digest (May).
SMITH, L. [ed.] (1967) Heroes and Martyrs of the Modern Missionary Enterprise.
Toronto: R. Dick.
Marilyn Kern-Foxworth received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsm-Madison. She was the first black person to receive a Ph. D. in mass
communications with a concentration in advertising and public relations. The
research here is part of an ongoing study that she conducted for the first and
second World Congress on Communication and Development in Africa and
the African Diaspora. Her primary research interest is related to blacks in
advertising.
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