Written by Alifa Ainun Lukum, Content Writer Intern at Project Child Indonesia
Have you ever seen a TV show that captures a story about poverty vulgarly? Not only on TV shows but even on social media. You probably have seen videos from influencers or celebrities that come to poor people and give them financial support. In Indonesia, plenty of reality shows portray this kind of content, such as Uang Kaget and Bedah Rumah. Sometimes, in the middle of the show, they put a sad song in the background so that we, as viewers, feel guilty and pity and then have the urge to help them too. This phenomenon of capturing poverty is called poverty porn.
The concept of poverty porn was first introduced in the early 1980s. It was a tactic used by nonprofits and charity organizations to gain empathy contributions from donors by showing exploitative imagery of people living in poor conditions in Africa. Poverty porn often portrays poverty moments, such as starving children or malnourished people on donation flyers. It is usually made up to stage and capture the best moments, which produces maximum profits for the producers—mass media—in any form, such as electronic, print, or even social media. Even celebrities or influencers could gain viewers and ratings from them.
Although charities generated from poverty porn have good intentions to impact poverty, for example, the Kony 2012 film, which became a viral video sensation for Invisible Children, or Ice Bucket Challenge, generated more than £75 million for motor neuron disease research. We have seen how one well-crafted message can raise awareness of an issue and increase charities in the blink of an eye. However, poverty porn simplifies the issues of poverty and does not solve the problem of poverty structurally. It stops people from having important discussions about how poverty can be defeated and encourages a culture of relief and charity rather than a culture of activism and advocacy.
The longer you consume this kind of content, the more likely it is to give you a sense of moral satisfaction and deny the complex matrix of factors that contribute to poverty, such as the country’s economic position, overpopulation, lack of education, environmental factors, and epidemic disease. And it becomes a random act of kindness that only perpetuates poverty itself.
So, what should we do to contribute to poverty alleviation?
Since Band Aid in 1984, nonprofit organizations have been scrutinized about approaches that raise awareness and funds but do not encourage the public to question why poverty exists in the first place. That is why the nonprofit sector tries to find a balance between telling compelling stories without dehumanizing people’s lives or the long-term prospects for social change.
The first thing you can do is donate, which is an easy way to solve poverty alleviation. It is a quick approach to banish the discomfort of encountering people in need, especially if you don’t have time. However, make sure you have already researched the organization to which you want to donate, and of course, make sure that it doesn’t tend to objectify and exploit poor people. What issues are they focused on, and where are they based, do research as much as you can. Listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, and reading your local news would help you learn about what is happening in society.
The second is instead of donating, we can contribute our time by volunteering or interning at your local nonprofit organizations focusing on social issues, such as children’s education, women’s rights organizations, or any organizations with the same value as your concern. By volunteering and interning, we can learn more and dig deeper into what happened and what should be done. It is indeed the safest way to contribute because we can take the experience of interacting with them and help them with our energy.
At the end of the day, changing the world for the better is a life-long undertaking. We want everyone to see themselves as one of the kind that can help build the future. Now, our mission is to tell compelling stories without dehumanizing other people’s lives – and promote more nuanced narratives about how to reach long-term change.
References
The Guardian. (2018, January 12). Charities want to make an impact. But poverty porn is not the way | Jennifer Lentfer. The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2018/jan/12/charities-stop-poverty-porn-fundraising-ed-sheeran-comic-relief
Rosniar. (2021, December 12). POVERTY PORN: KOMODIFIKASI DAN ETIKA MEDIA. AL-DIN: Jurnal Dakwah dan Sosial Keagamaan, 7(2), 91-98. 10.35673/ajdsk.v7i2.2384
Smedley, T. (2014, March 3). Which would you rather have: a volunteer’s time or a funder’s money? The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/mar/03/which-would-you-rather-have-time-or-money
Tirto. id. (2022, February 27). Apa Itu Poverty Porn dan Perbedaannya dengan Flexing? Tirto. ID. Retrieved September 1, 2023, from https://tirto.id/apa-itu-poverty-porn-dan-perbedaannya-dengan-flexing-gpsx
