Are you looking to debunk stereotypes and myths when it comes to creating and writing African characters?
Well, look no further! This might just be the book for you.
Keyword there is MIGHT.
Here's a collection of rants, personal experiences, thought...
☆☆ This chapter has been proudly sponsored and funded by Leeemmy 💼
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
Lord do I hate it when Africans go abroad and come back all different, talkin' 'bouh "Jambo!" "Hakuna Matata!"
Like, dude, chill. You only went there for a month. Why's you acting like a tourist all of a sudden?
And, no, I'm not talking about people who went abroad years ago and have stayed there for a long while before coming back to their country. It makes sense when they're surrounded by new people and a new culture and are eventually influenced when it comes to how they speak and generally act.
No. Not that.
I'm talking about the Africans who travel abroad, let's say for a vacation, and when they come back, they start acting all different. And not just different, they start acting as if they're better than the relatives they have. They put themselves on a high pedestal as if they're no longer African. They begin comparing our lives to theirs, forgetting that we literally grew up in the same environment before they traveled abroad. Um . . .
What?
The?
Fuckety-hell?!?!?
Like, bro, we've already heard your experience countless times of how the States is amazing.
Bro, we get it that you're overwhelmed by the contrast between our country and the U.K.
Sis, you've compared us to the people you met in Australia a lot of times, it's starting to get annoying.
What I don't get is . . .
Why Do You Have To Force A Fake Accent?
Huh?!
Why Are You Acting So Elitist As If We Weren't Playing In The Mud Together A Few Months Ago?
Double HUH?!??
Why Do You Even Dare Tell Us That We Are Living Mediocre Lives???!?
Why? Just . . . why?
You want to tell me that a few weeks in England will make you turn into a Black British person?
Well, you can call me Tom Ellis then, because I just binged on the whole Lucifer series in less than a week. I'm a Kenyan British now, luv'. Like bloody hell I am.
Makes sense?
Nah, don't push it. Don't you dare.
We get it. You were overwhelmed and amazed and awed by what you saw when you traveled there. We get that when you started your new life there, it might have given you a new perspective.
But that doesn't give you the right to start acting as if you're way better than your fellow country men and women back at home.
It doesn't make sense when you force an accent that clearly doesn't belong to your tongue and nose and throat. You sound like you're struggling for air.
Heck, I even know of a few Africans who went to live abroad and have stayed there for quite a while and have stillmaintained their innate way of speaking.
So who are you to try and act all different with just a few weeks of being in New Zealand?
Okay, fine. Let's take a different path. I know people have the freedom to be whoever they wanna be and act in a manner that pleases them.
But in my own honest opinion, which has been backed up by our wonderful sponsor Leeemmy, it's so pretentious trying to act like someone you're not.
You're trying too hard, babe. Why don't you just be yourself? You know, I bet that acting all "foreign" will give off weird vibes. If you're trying to impress me by being 'elitist', you'll most likely push me away.
You're African, honey. You're African.
Get that you're African. If you were born in Africa and grew up in Africa, you're still an African. Even if you get dual citizenship elsewhere, the African blood will still run in your veins. Even if your parents aren't African but you were born in the motherland, why wouldn't you be proud to have a part of Africa in you?
I don't get it. Foreigners' perception of Africa might have been ruined by all those ads that just depict a corrupt and poverty-stricken continent, but it's way more than that. If you grew up here, you know there's so much more to Africa than how the rest of the world perceives us.
If you're willing to throw that sense of identity of the motherland away just because you had a taste of a foreign overseas country, I really pity you.
In this day and age, being proud of your ROOTS is a flex. Read that again.
There's no writing tip today, sorry. I have to adhere to the terms and conditions spelled out by my sponsor Leeemmy
Lol. I'm kidding. But serious on the no writing tip today ♡♡
If you want to be my next sponsor, just comment on what African related thing I should talk about.
