Concerned Citizen

It is a striking irony that in an age of globalization and mass communication, many people still maintain decades-old stereotypes about cultures other than their own. In her article “Human Rights and Culture: from Datastan to Storyland,” Arlene Goldbard points out how globalization and the intermixing of cultures can actually create a sense of fear. People view a foreign culture that they don’t understand as a threat. Fortunately, many of the stronger, more hateful stereotypes have been marginalized by an increasing public emphasis on open-mindedness and education characteristic of Goldbard’s Storyland. However, many of the subtler, but equally debilitating, stereotypes remain.

Nate Tingey, the subject of our Concerned Citizen documentary, recognizes this trend and has dedicated his time to changing one of the most common stereotypes surrounding the African continent: poverty and helplessness. As a result of serving a two-year LDS mission in Angola, Nate realized that Africa is far more than savannas, lions, huts, and National Geographic specials. While those do exist, he saw that there are also large cities full of cars, computers, and shopping malls.

Because of his experience, Nate occupies a unique place with connections both to his home in the United States and his mission in Angola. To him, the people of Angola and the way they lived their lives was, on some core level, not all that different from the people of our own community and culture here in Utah. Similar to Michael Matheson Miller’s documentary Poverty Inc., Nate seeks to teach people about the realities of less-developed countries such as Angola, their economic potential, and the need for more positive stories to come out about the African continent and its people.

We chose a more traditional approach for the presentation of our documentary, including interviews and voice overs because it is a style familiar and accessible to a western audience, and also carries authoritative heft. However, we wanted the footage Nate provided us of Angola to be an essential part in telling the story as well, particularly by juxtaposing his description of African stereotypes with the realities that he experienced.

Over the course of the documentary, Nate describes a damaging trend of ignorance among Americans regarding Africa and its many cultures. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian novelist, describes the same ignorance in a TED talk she gave in 2009, entitled “The Danger of a Single Story.” Like her, Nate is challenging his community to reject the single story of Africa by engaging with a new perspective of the culture and community in which he has found a place.

This perspective as presented in the documentary suggests that perhaps our community need not be limited to the people we live near, look like, talk like, or think like. A community can be much more eclectic while still finding similarities, can be close-knit while still being open to newcomers. In the end, every seemingly distinct country or culture is simply a part of a much larger global community.

By using hats as a symbol, Nate hopes to cultivate a kind of awareness that can promote not only friendly and peaceful coexistence, but also a mutual understanding and respect which, in the cultural melting pot that is the United States, is becoming increasingly important. His example shows that simply learning about and becoming more aware of a different culture can be enough to free ourselves from stereotypes, biases, and fear.

Sam Burton
Rollins Wimber

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