#ISeeMe or #ISeeMeNot

#ISeeMe or #ISeeMeNot?

Hello Reader, 

I’m Abimbola, Advocacy and Campaigns Lead at Africa No Filter and I need your help because we are on a mission to get #BetterRepresentation for Africa.

Ever found a story that just "gets" you, your community, or your country? Let me share my story.

The other day, my friends and I were binge-watching one of my favourite shows  Bob Hearts Abishola  because I am all for celebrating good content that showcases African cultures! 

Imagine my joy when somewhere in the third season, the show takes a trip to my city, the city that never sleeps AKA Lagos AKA Lasgidi itself! I mentally tweet the fire emoji with a big fat #ISeeMe because yasss finally, we are being seen!

I follow the cast from Detroit to Lagos and suddenly, I’m staring at some ridiculously highly pigmented scenes of an airport and a market in what is supposed to be Lagos.

Wait a minute! Did the sun in Lagos overdose on Fanta on the day the scenes were shot? Why is everyone overly orange and brown? Who turned up the contrast? Uhhh, I don’t know what’s happening here but this is not my Lagos. I quickly update my mental tweet with sprinklers to douse my previous fire emoji and an even bigger #ISeeMeNot hashtag.

I have questions… What changed between Detroit and Lagos? My friends and I check it out and turns out, the scene was actually shot in the Warner Bros studios in L.A. Now I’m thinking the producers must have opted for the lazy way out because I know for sure that if they had done even a tiny bit of research, they would have known that our sun isn’t blood orange, and our air isn’t ridiculously pigmented.

Or maybe this wasn’t a product of laziness? A Twitter user from Uganda had apparently felt the same way about Disney’s  Queen of Katwe.

Alas! The infamous  Yellow Filter  strikes again! On one hand, I am thrilled for the world to see my Lagos. On the other, I need them to really SEE MY LAGOS beyond the stereotypes, the assumptions, and the filters. This is what I mean by #BetterRepresentation.

Now, here’s my ask. Have you seen yourself represented in anything lately? In your mental tweet, would you slap a big #ISeeMe or #ISeeMeNot? We want to hear all about it so share your stories with Africa No Filter on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Or email us at  campaigns@africanofilter.org  and we might feature you in our next newsletter!

That’s it. Remember to follow us on social media at @Africanofilter.