As part of the grieving process, i’ve been watching alot of trash TV. My bestie said I should be ashamed of myself. I’m not. But, last week I sacrificed almost an entire afternoon watching the Danish Deception. I’m not sure that series is aptly named though.
The gist of it is, a young African well educated beautiful girl meets a typical looking Caucasian male and falls head over heel in love. He presents himself as an aristocrat, rich and they travel together and he shows her a life that I think, all of us dream of. However, it all unravels when money problems check in and it turns out he has a gambling addiction and is a narcissist. I encourage you to watch the series, all 25 parts of them, to get what I’m saying.
I have a different take on this though. African traditional society has done women dirty. Most of our culture has been centered around male approval. In my home village, I was the first girl to get into university and graduate. That did not get me nearly as many accolades as when I met someone and brought him home. And I can tell you, the only reason my sister and I went past high school level is because my Dad was a progressive man.
In any case, I’m not excusing the choices the young lady made, but i understand it. The race and colorism undertones. The societal pressure to conform to our culture. I truly get it. That culture of centering the male is what led her to cover his sins, to turn a blind eye, to ignore every instinct in her. That need that is put on us, to be chosen, to be accepted. That is what led to her downfall. And especially because she brought home a young man (stereotypically we have been linked to older Scandinavian men for their money), who is seemingly of means, and the kicker, from an aristocratic background. This godlike man, has chosen an dark skinned African girl. Can you imagine the hullabaloo she must have been causing with her Aunties and Cousins? Even when she discovered that he was lying, her first instinct was not self preservation, I must get out of here. Her first instinct was what will people think? Isn’t this typical of our culture? The shame that is accompanied by what is considered failure? So in a way, i get it.