Watch a half century of Hollywood's obsession with whitewashing Africa

Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" is just the most recent offender

Published September 3, 2015 7:03PM (EDT)

  (Credit: TaylorSwiftVEVO)
(Credit: TaylorSwiftVEVO)

From King Solomon's Mines released in 1950 to Matthew McConaughey flick Sahara in 2005, Hollywood has proved time and again that the industry prefers black people do not appear in films about Africa.

This obsession with whitewashing Africa resurfaced again this week with the release of Taylor Swift's video "Wildest Dreams." Set in the African desert the video has an entirely white cast and was described by Daily Dot’s Nico Lang as “about as white as a Sunday morning farmer’s market.”

"Wildest Dreams" stands on the shoulders of half a century of films set in an Africa full of pale faces. Take a look:

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By Janet Upadhye

MORE FROM Janet Upadhye


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Film Hollywood Music Original Video Taylor Swift Video