Poverty Porn

Simply described, poverty porn is the portrayal of persons, primarily in poor nations, who are experiencing tremendous hardship as a result of human strife and adverse weather conditions. Its goal is to evoke an emotional response from viewers, which is rapidly followed by monetary donations aimed at minimising or providing relief to those impacted.

Image courtesy of Gary Chapman

According to Wikipedia, poverty porn, also known as pornography of poverty, development porn, famine porn, or stereotype porn, has been defined as “any type of media, be it written, photographed or filmed, which exploits the poor's condition in order to generate the necessary sympathy for selling newspapers, increasing charitable donations, or support for a given cause. It also suggests that the viewer of the exploited protagonists is motivated by gratification of base instincts. It is also a term of criticism applied to films that objectify people in poverty for the sake of entertaining a privileged audience.”.

The term poverty porn is synonymous with the way in which non-profits in the late 1990s and a better part of the early 2000s portrayed Africa and developing nations. The depiction of half-naked or naked, malnourished people in Africa on the brink of starvation, shown with the aim of evoking an emotional financial response. This saw non-profits reel in tremendous amounts of money for development initiatives in Africa.

The photo, The Vulture and the Little Girl, is a classic example of poverty porn. The New York Times first published this photograph captured by Kevin Carter on 26 March 1993. The photograph depicts a hooded vulture watching a malnourished boy (at first believed to be a girl) who is on the verge of starvation. This portrayal of Africa was so calamitous that many individuals in western nations continue to view or associate African countries with this narrative. .

The famous We Are the World charity song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed and recorded by United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) in 1985 reportedly raised more than $63 million for humanitarian aid in Africa at the time. USA for Africa included notable musicians such as Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and Cindi Lauper. .

This practise of presenting only limited truths in order to enrich development agencies in Africa continues to this day. Many of us are unaware of the magnitude of expenses associated with administering and operating such development organisations. Many of these agencies have not developed Africa, but they have created a dependency syndrome in many African governments, which continue to believe that development agencies will assume their responsibility to provide an environment conducive to the development of their people.

This article's purpose is not to criticise development agencies or the shortcomings of many African governments, but rather to examine the role of film in retelling this narrative. Poverty porn is similarly detrimental to the mind because, in both instances, people are exploited for financial gain. Only with poverty porn do proponents of short-term development initiatives experience a sense of self-righteousness or a sense of having made a significant contribution.

The music video for French Montana and Swae Lee's song Unforgettable is an example of poverty porn used for entertainment. The music video, filmed in the slums of Uganda, has received 1.5 billion views on YouTube to date. The lyrics have no relation to the actual context or setting of the music video, which consists mainly of children dancing in slums. The popular film Slumdog Millionaire depicts poverty porn. The 2008 British drama film is a loose adaptation of the Indian author Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A. It tells the tale of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai.

How Find My Africa Can Help

Find My Africa would like to issue a clarion call to like-minded film and content producers as well as communication and marketing experts on the content of Africa to be aware of this history and depiction of Africa in poverty porn in order to assist in re-writing or reshaping this narrative. At the heart of this vice is a stealing of people’s dignity. How can film and media agencies convey difficult situations on the continent while preserving the dignity of the people?

This article is not intended to minimise or cast doubt on the work of development and humanitarian agencies in developing nations; rather, it aims to emphasise the lingering effects of this representation of Africa. The "Do no harm" principles of humanitarian aid require humanitarian and development actors to strive to minimise the harm they may inadvertently cause by their presence and the provision of aid and services.

Poverty is a complex and multidimensional issue that must be addressed with care and nuance.Responsible filmmaking can help raise awareness of poverty and motivate action, but it must do so while respecting the dignity and complexities of the persons and communities involved.

Find My Africa provides the necessary guidance for navigating the complexities of filming in Africa, particularly in situations where difficult stories must be told in order to provide an authentic depiction of development issues that represent Africa's development journey.

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