A NATION BURDENED BY THE GHOSTS OF ITS PAST

How Media Depicts a Nation

Unlike the tourist sites that seek to promote Uganda’s beauty, media portrayals of the country are often tinted with a sour tinge. Culturally adverse practices in the Western Hemisphere such as FGM is often covered as both a negative practice within African cultures and a failure of the government. In the very least, this is the perception of such practices regardless of their coverage. This cultural slant is seen again in how practitioners of traditional medicine and their lack of preparation or appropriate care regarding Ebola and other serious diseases. Both of these aspects are a part of the cultures within Uganda, and are what make the country so culturally rich, but to a Western audience, these practices are things to be wary of, to be angry about. In theory, neither practice is wrong, and in their respective cultures, both practice is a crucial piece, but in perceiving a nation through these lenses without a greater cultural understanding, the overarching impression is negative.

This negativity prevails in political coverage of Uganda as well. Albeit, the BBC tends to take a lighter hand than other sources in their description of events. The coverage for the Rwanda-Uganda border has been open and seemingly even sided,  in this case though, it is not so much how the event is being covered, but more so what is being covered. This topic was easily found on several different news sites, both within the country and without, alongside other political failings of Uganda or African in general. This barrage of negative politics casts a shadow over a country that tourists sites work so hard to shed a better light on. The nation itself is lost in political negativities and cultural oddities that global audiences, specifically a Western one, may not understand beyond the articles themselves.

Analysis based off of "In the Global Eye" sources, g51 & g56