While attending Sixth Form at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia, I often heard young men stating “mi nah bow” any time conversations veered towards a sexual nature, and they felt a need to assert their masculinity. Even more recently, the “gully” and “gaza” disputes fostered by dancehall artistes Movado and Vybz Kartel incited great uproar and division among the youth of Saint Lucia. dancehall music is therefore an inherent part of youth culture in Saint Lucia. However, my question has always been whether they really understood the meanings and driving forces behind the production of the venerated art form and whether they could intrinsically identify with any of the ideologies put forth by the artistes. For me, it was one thing that they consumed this “disgusting” art form, but it gravely affected me that young men and even young women subscribed to the ideologies of violence and sexual identity that were promulgated in dancehall music. I thought that they were subscribing to ideologies out of ignorance, and without any reasons to do so, but after reading “Inna di Dancehall”, I realized that my ignorance about the history of the music was what shaped my mindset about the music. This book report will therefore seek to show a knowledge of the research conducted by Donna P. Hope in “Inna Di Dancehall” and will briefly show that the similarities between Saint Lucian and Jamaican culture is the reason why dancehall music was able to infiltrate and become a static part of Saint Lucian youth culture.
Dancehall Music
Music is used to relax the mind and give comfort to the soul. All around the world, there are different types of music and in Jamaica dancehall music is the one of the most popular types enjoyed. My theme is dancehall music because of my growing concern to the negative impacts this type of music has brought upon the Jamaican youth population. The intention of this project is to investigate and ...
In “Inna Di Dancehall”, a five-chapter research thesis, Donna P. Hope seeks to give social, political and economic meanings to the symbols of sexual vulgarity and violence portrayed in the lyrics of dancehall music. The book places dancehall music in a historical context and shows through historical eyes, how the social, political and economic infrastructure of Jamaica perpetuated the birth and proliferation of the art form. The setting of this book is Jamaica, but it is important to note, that the situation described is not unique to Jamaica; it is the story of many Caribbean countries. The book is primarily set in the 70s and 80s of Jamaican pop culture. However, it gives great insight into the development of dancehall music into the 21st. century and aids the reader in understanding the birth and evolution of the musical genre. Amidst all the information provided, Donna P. Hope consistently makes the point that political, social and economic meanings can be given to the symbols of sexual vulgarity found in the lyrics of dancehall music because dancehall music is the identity of the Jamaican people and this point will be the core of the exploration of the paper.
The 1970s and 1980s marked the point of a very historically important time for Jamaica and its citizens. The leadership of the country was in the hands of a democratic socialist in the person of Norman Manley, and this was the period where Jamaica’s foreign reserves veered into the negatives because of the 1974 OPEC oil crisis. The combination of the People’s National Party (PNP) political ideology and the global economic situation of the time forced Jamaica into a devastating economic situation with only one way out – economic manipulation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the form of structural adjustment. This solution was a great paradox to the political vision of Norman Manley, but all the same, it was the country’s only option to attempt a restoration of a decent standard of living for its citizenry. The attempt was unsuccessful and forced many people into poverty and a struggle for survival. Hope masterfully creates a vision of how the political and economic situation of the time forced Jamaicans to find creative ways to support themselves and their families. One of the ways to do so was to create music that would achieve two purposes. It would achieve the purpose of social commentary and it would achieve the purpose of income generation. She also uses these factors to explain the origins of, and reasons for the content of sexual vulgarity and violence evident in dancehall lyrics.
The Term Paper on Social, Political and Economic Effects of WWI
Social, Political and Economic Effects of WWI Essay submitted by Unknown "Everywhere in the world was heard the sound of things breaking." Advanced European societies could not support long wars or so many thought prior to World War I. They were right in a way. The societies could not support a long war unchanged. The First World War left no aspect of European civilization untouched as pre-war ...
In an attempt to show the link between political and economic factors and the nature of the lyrics of the Dancehall, the author refers to the role of economic status as a key factor in determining masculinity and power in the Jamaican cultural framework. Predicated on this factor, one can rightfully say that structuralism emasculated men. They were unable to find employment and were unable to take care of their families. Although some Jamaican women worked, patriarchal society dictated that a large number of Jamaican women be dependent on men. Political and economic factors increased that dependence and sometimes turned women into victims of violence. Using the 1997 World Bank Report as evidence, the author, referring to the political and economic situation of the 1980s, says:
For men, especially young men, unemployment, frustration and idleness often result in gang involvement, violence and encounters with the police. For women, a lack of income increases their dependence on men and often results in early and multiple pregnancies. This in turn results in Domestic violence aimed at partners and children. (Hope 88)
Dancehall artistes are Jamaicans who experienced and even participated in the above-mentioned happenings and it was not long before violence begun to be celebrated in dancehall music. The identities of “rude bwoys”, “dons”, “shottas” and “shotta girls” were cemented and it became what should be the norm. Consumers reveled in “rude bwoy” music, enabling its proliferation, because it was their identity.
The Essay on General Review of the “Music Man” Musical
Upon viewing Meredith Willson's “The Music Man,” I made a pact with myself, never to go see another musical again, or at least not pay for one. I don't want to discredit the Department of Theatre or anyone else involved, for I believe they worked hard and put on a great performance. This being the most professional play that I've seen, besides a couple in grade school, I find it hard to believe ...
Jamaica’s social framework also played an important role in the genesis of the music and more importantly, the nature of the lyrics of the music. As with many Caribbean countries, the formation of Jamaica’s social structure is rooted in slavery. Almost 200 years after slavery was abolished in the Caribbean the struggle for superiority between ethnicities and genders still exists, but more poignantly, the Caribbean social structure is blatant evidence of Foucault’s Power Discourse. The notion of what is deemed “right and “acceptable” is still controlled by those who hold economic and social power. (Hope 37) better states it when she says , “…Caribbean societies were affected by a cultural action or social process that incorporated the dominant Eurocentric and the subordinate African elements of the society.” Therefore, European ideologies of patriarchy and ideologies of ethnic superiority were perpetuated. The Jamaican social structure follows the hierarchy of most Afro-Caribbean based countries. It is as follows:
1. White male
2. White Female
3. Coloured male
4. Coloured female
5. Black male
6. Black female (Hope 39)
Even though the majority of the Jamaican population is of African descent, or falls into the categories of black male and black female, two things are very evident from the social hierarchy above – white takes precedence over black in Jamaican society, and women are given a position of inferiority to men. These factors are used to dissect the sexual and violent nature of dancehall lyrics.
The ideology of patriarchy is one that is very well recognized and hardly challenged in Jamaican society. In essence, men are superior to women. This was often asserted by economic affluence but since structuralism devalued the link between economic affluence and masculinity, Jamaican men had to find other ways to assert their masculinity and their superiority over women. They achieved this, according to the author, by “courting and conquering the punaany” and by an outspoken abhorrence for homosexuality (Hope).
While the promiscuous man is celebrated in dancehall music, the sexually promiscuous woman is abhorred; and these ideologies are present in lyrics of dancehall music. There are a few female lyricists, for example, Tanya Stephens and Cecile, who were brave enough to challenge the ideology of the conquering man but their lyrics were not very well received by the public. On the other hand, violent lyrics towards homosexuals in Buju Banton’s, “Boom Bye Bye” were venerated by the public. This further cements the point that dancehall music is representative of the identity of the Jamaican population (Noel 30).
The Review on The Birth and Growth of Reggae Music
Popular culture are patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give them significance and importance. These activities are popular, well-liked and common. They are often defined and determined by the mass media. It is deemed as what is popular within the social context — that of which is most strongly represented by what is perceived to be popularly accepted among society. Popular ...
Any promulgated ideology within the dancehall that goes against their culture is vehemently abhorred and rejected.
It is important to note that the Jamaican political and economic crisis is unique to the country. However, the social framework inherited from slavery is common to many Caribbean countries. The struggles of superiority between ethnicities and genders are common ground. For example, in Saint Lucia, although the majority of the population is of African descent, the “white” minority are those who have the social and economic power. The most powerful and richest businessmen in the country are white. Good examples are Michael Chastanet who owns the biggest food distribution chain in the country (Consolidated Foods Limited) and his son Alan Chastanet who owns one of the most hotels in the country. It is on the basis of the parallels between the Jamaican and Saint Lucian social frame work that I understood why Saint Lucian youth felt such a connection to the ideologies promulgated in the dancehall and that their adherence to them were not a subscription, but a an identity.
In the end, although I learnt many things about the background of dancehall music, I am still not receptive to the content of the music. However, an understanding of the plight of the Jamaican people as put forth by Jamaican dancehall artistes has made me less judgmental of the consumers of the art form. Donna P. Hope must be applauded for seamlessly weaving links between politics, economics and sociology to explain what people like me simply deemed “lacking in morals”. She provided great evidence for all of her claims, and because of her concise research, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to begin research on the history of dancehall music and its status as an identity for – not only Jamaicans – but for Caribbean people.
Bibliography
Hope, Donna P. Inna di Dancehall. Mona: University of the West Indies Press, 2006.
America Essay Country Values People
The US is undoubtedly the greatest country in the world, but it still faces many tribulations. There is a flood of illegal immigrants pouring into the country. The liberal media bias has been distorting the news for years. All the while our Christian morals and values have been vanishing. These are three major problems facing our country today. There are currently 9, 000, 000 illegal aliens living ...
Noel, Peter. “Batty Boys in Babylon.” Village Voice (1993): 30.
