The Dangers of a Single Story
In the ted talk "the danger of a single story" Chimamanda Adichie is trying to convey the message that if we limit ourselves to a single story or perspective it can lead to major misunderstandings. stereotypes are made by ignorant people sharing a one-sided story which leads to the confusion of thousands of people. Adichie shares her own experience of growing up in Nigeria. She had a huge passion for reading books written by British and American authors. The US and the UK are known for distributing stereotypes. the books she read would present the African point of view which consists of African culture and people. Then she further explains that by only hearing those stories, she began to believe that her own experiences were fake and not valuable.
This kind of limited understanding is argued by Adichie in the ted talk. she states that these kinds of acts can have serious and damaging consequences, more specifically how we view people and how we treat them. Her message is for us to actively seek our side of the story by listening from both sides and taking into account their differences. She wants us to have an extensive understanding of the whole world because we can help break down the barriers that separate us many of which are language, culture differences, and food preferences.
These single stories exist everywhere, for example, we might see someone walking weirdly people will perceive and say many things that this guy is not man enough or this man is retarded but in reality, it could have been a recent injury picked up by an unfortunate accident. I have experienced this many times when I have a high fever and feel like I am dying so I tell my friends how sick I am then they tell me to man enough that men don't get sick. Areoccurring situation that passes by me every time is when I travel and I get questioned and spend extra time with the security airport because of my arab relations and because of how my name sounds "terroristic."
I really like how your post is short and gets to the point. I also like how you shared how you get treated by your friends when you are sick and how you get treated at the airport. I also like the example with the man walking weird as it shows how people need to stop only seeing the "single story" and be less judgmental.
ReplyDeleteI really like the pictures you included I feel like they make the text more interesting and the example you used is relatable because I went through this multiple times with my friends.
ReplyDeletePlease edit before publishing your post -- the title of the Ted Talk should be capitalized. Many minor capitalization and grammar errors apparent in your writing. I like how you think food is an important matter that we must consider when looking at differences.
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I realy liked how effectively you conveyed the importance of seeking out diverse perspectives to gain a comprehensive understanding of the world. Keep up the great work!"
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