Dancehall is a shallow art form
Published:Tuesday | February 26, 2019 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The decision of Peter Champagnie to classify as vulgar images depicting female law students in dancehall attire has created public opprobrium.
We should not be surprised that several persons are calling Mr Champagnie elitist, because Jamaica has evolved into a lowbrow society. There is nothing wrong with expressing elitist sentiments or maintaining what intellectuals pejoratively call ‘middle-class respectability’.
Some cultural forms are more advantageous for human flourishing than others, and no amount of political correctness can change this fact. Local academics who elevate the subculture of the masses evident in dancehall are only contributing to the social problems in Jamaica.
LITTLE VALUE
In the genre, few entertainers may produce high-quality songs, but for the most part, dancehall is a shallow art form. Excessive aggression, immediate gratification and the sexual objectification of women are the values of dancehall. Fans of dancehall will opine that the genre reflects society, so obviously, critics are hypocritical. But these connoisseurs are wrong, because entertainers tend to glorify the worse aspects of our culture. Through their artistic expressions, entertainers venerate murders, promiscuity and all the evils that are associated with Jamaican culture.
Our scholars and intellectuals ought to denounce relativity and admit that not every cultural form is relevant for Jamaica’s development.
They should also do us a favour and stop using elitism as a pejorative term; there is nothing wrong with being elitist or appreciating bourgeois values. The biggest obstacle to development is not low economic growth, but a backward Jamaican culture that is resistant to human flourishing.
LIPTON MATTHEWS