Dancehall and Society
Recovering From Dancehall Madness
As a country, Jamaica has been suffering. A major part of this is due to the fact that the moral and ethical values have broken down. One reason that views on morality has become so warped is because of the influence that dancehall music has had on the youth. There are nine and ten year olds walking around with knives because music tells them that they have to embrace the "bad man" lifestyle of violence. Teenage girls are believing that all they have to offer is their sexuality because dancehall music says that's what they're good for. There has to be a change.
In order for a change to happen, first people have to admit that there is a problem. Carolyn Cooper, a sociologist says too many Jamaican people believe that our culture is violent and sexual and cannot change. Education about our history and our true culture needs to be something that is taught seriously from childhood straight through to adulthood. Jamaicans were known for reggae, a music that speaks about peace, love and uplifting the consciousness of the world. This needs to be the culture that Jamaicans accept as their own, not the bling bling, bad man, sexual lifestyle that dancehall encourages. The cartoon below shows how the youth are "inspired" by the music of "Gully" and "Gaza", the areas that rival deejays Movado and Kartel come from. These two artists frequently promote violence against the other's area and supporters of each other's music. If the youth are being inspired by these men, what can we expect except violence?
The re-education of Jamaica's youth will show them that the lifestyle they have accepted as our culture is not one they should aspire to achieve. By showing them that our true culture was one of a relationship with God, therefore rejecting violence and sexual immorality, they should understand that they don't have to accept what others say about dancehall being the real Jamaican culture.
Another way of ending the crisis that dancehall has caused is simply banning violent and sexual lyrics. If the public has no access to the music, it can't affect them. It will also force the artists to make music that only has a positive message. Most Jamaican music speaks about the same thing all the time; there are no different choices for the people to have. By providing a different type of mainstream music, the society can start to become morally sound again. Music that teaches society to uplift themselves and others should be the main type of music played in order to show the people that there can be another way of living.