In a powerful short film titled “Yellow Fever,” Ng’endo Mukii, a Kenyan artist and filmmaker, sets out to expose the troubling messages portrayed by the media about skin color. She wanted to find a way to express the near self-loathing that many women of color experience.
“While growing up, I would come across women who practiced skin bleaching (‘lightening’, ‘brightening’), and often had a condescending internal reaction to them,” Mukii said. “Now, I realize they are only products of our society, as are we all. Since our media perpetuates Western ideals to our girls and women, and we consume this information continuously from a young age, how can we fault anyone who is susceptible to these ideals (men included), without challenging the people that are creating them?”
