I've picked to examples of development issues on TV - The Simpsons and The West Wing.

The Simpsons: (safari episode)
The Simpson family end up in Tanzania on a safari where they meet a group of Maasi tribesmen. In typical Simpson fashion, chaos ensues. Homer provokes a hippo, they take part in a tribal dance, visit a monkey sanctuary, plunge over the Victoria Falls, meet Greenpeace, get bribed with Diamonds and see their tour guide installed as president.

So, how many stereotypes did you count there? I got 9. How ‘bout you? Answers in the comments please.

Image via The Telegraph, showing how they adopted the Simpsons family to be more African. 

The West Wing:

I’m a big West Wing fan. Anything you need to know you can learn from the West Wing and it offers a remarkably nuanced exploration of international development.

The plotline surrounding the genocide in Kundu (see season 4) is evocative of the Rwandan Genocide and seeing the view from the Oval Office is very interesting. It’s quite radical/liberal in its agenda but then again, it wasn’t nicknamed ‘The Left Wing’ for nothing.

The hostage crisis in ‘Red Haven’s On Fire’ explores the fears of Western governments in sending troops to Developing countries. And, ‘In This White House’, senior staff try to negotiate an agreement about pricing and availability between pharmaceutical corporations and the AIDS-ravaged African nations.

There are countless other mentions of developing nations, in particular the fictionalized Quamar which mirrors our Saudi Arabia. (Season 3)

The West Wing offers an unparalleled examination of development issues and is perhaps the best TV, I have ever seen.