Throughout history, Africa is known for being a continent rich in natural resources and history, while having various economic ties with countries of Western culture. However, Africa has faced many difficulties; some of which still take place to this day. Those who are particularly faced with difficulties are the young African generation: these are the children. As a result, efforts have been made by Western cultures to present in the media the struggles and difficulties they face. Even though the media has good intentions in revealing the state of life of African children, contemporary media has portrayed Africa's children as helpless and passive young people in need of help from the most powerful Western civilizations. However, the media has also raised awareness of humanitarian efforts by drawing attention to the situations faced by young children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the most common media portrayals of African children is television advertising, often sponsored by UNICEF, with a celebrity as the spokesperson. In the ads, children of various ages are portrayed as sad, wide-eyed, hungry and in "desperate need" of help from the economically powerful, while celebrity attorney Alyssa Milano urges observers to sponsor a child at the cost of “two quarters of euros”. per day. » Generally, these advertisements do not cover all African countries. Specifically, the commercials are filmed in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya (John Prendergast 132). Despite this, those who watch the advertisements assume that children living in Africa live in inhospitable lands. As a result, the advertisements encourage viewers to sponsor a child (Wa'Njogu 78). In addition to appearing in UNICEF advertisements, Western media have featured African children adopted by famous celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock and Jillian Michaels. According to Kristen Howerton of the Huffington Post, the adoption of black children "usually takes on a cynical tone, as if black children are a fashionable accessory" because a celebrity's initial motivations for adopting are unknown and assumed to be similar to the reasons why women in general choose adoption. Howerton says there is very often racial bias in the adoption trend, with black children typically waiting the longest among other races of children to find a family. When adopting, if a celebrity says they are open to any race, there is a good chance they will be matched with a child of color. With that in mind, this would be a reasonable reason for a celebrity to want to adopt a black child, especially when most adoption agencies will match a child to the race of the person wishing to adopt. Although supporting the children of Africa is not necessarily a horrible fact, the need to help those in need is said to be a result of the Anglo-Saxon views of Africa of past generations. The poem most associated with Anglo-Saxon interpretations of Africa would be Rudyard Kipling's poem "White Man's Burden". Kipling's poem quickly became the foundation for the imperialization and colonization of Africa. The importation of Western culture and beliefs into Africa has generated profits for economic powers by announcing their support for helping the children of Africa by providing them with funds forfood and vaccines. Likewise, Western cultures not only give Africa the means to live; they also provide them with economic stability. China has maintained ties with Africa for more than fifty years, particularly in the area of ​​oil and the importation of textiles. Their relationship with Africa is a trade relationship, but China has also provided Africans with satellites, public buildings, roads and railways. Furthermore, China organized the largest diplomatic event to celebrate more than fifty years of relations; the topics covered were promoting Africa as a nuclear-weapon-free zone, helping to manage natural disasters, combating illegal arms trafficking, and combating acts of terrorism (Lyman 19-20). Thus, the children of Africa can live safely in their native homes. Africa's relationship with America is very different. America shares its interest with Africa in democratic states and free elections, but it neglects countries facing widespread corruption concerns and their populations, especially children, who live in poverty. For example, while the United States allies itself with Nigeria and Ethiopia in its war on terrorism, it continues to use Nigeria for its oil resources, while Ethiopia continues to have a majority of its population suffering from AIDS and malaria while being caught in the crossfire. intense border conflict with Eritrea (Anthony Lake 5, 8, 12). If the United States does not take a more proactive role in the well-being of children in Africa's most tense countries, children will continue to live in unsafe conditions. With selective media attention to the well-being of children in Africa, a “digital divide” exists. » between Africa and Western culture. There are myths about Africa that the children are uncivilized, are inferior to economically powerful countries, have made no significant contributions to world history, and are all black (Wa'Njogu 64, 77). There is the question of inequalities between the sexes. According to Heike Behrend of Media and Identity in Africa, women expect to live pious and pure lives, to the point of viewing the idea of ​​other men looking at their faces as shameful, while facing the high risk of be prevented from going to school. Without media attention, young children will continue to live in such conditions. Likewise, there are children in Africa who lead comfortable lives without fear of famine, lack of food and medical care, or homes torn apart by corruption and war. Nearly two-thirds of African countries have held free elections while the African Union has declared that it does not recognize governments gaining power through “unconstitutional means” (Lyman 6). African children live comfortably in a world of cell phones, social media – Twitter and Facebook among others – satellite and cable television, and parents who provide income. Yet with these positive results, when searching for more information about children in Africa on any popular search engine, the most frequently found keywords are "starve", "save", “charity”, “child labor” and “poor”. While African children face lack of food and unfair working conditions, there is still a lack of equal representation of those who live lives similar to Western culture. The children in the photos are smiling, arms around their peers; not wide-eyed and staring at a camera hoping to see another.