I interviewed two of my friends, Renee and Howard. Both Jamaican students to see their reactions and responses to certain Reggae affiliated questions. The first question was, “Do you think with the household you have grown up in has influenced the genre of music you listen to today? If so, why?” Howard said that he definitely thinks that the house that he grew up in had influence of the genre of music that he listened to today because there was always some form of Reggae, Gospel, or Dancehall music being played in his house. Renee said that it depends on the age of whom you are living with. She says that if you live with guardians who are in the generation of 50 years or older then they are most likely to be brought up on Reggae. Where as if you lived with someone who was 40 years or younger, the type of music would most likely be of a dancehall genre. This specifically shows the timeline of when different types of music came around. The second question I asked them was, “What is your prediction of Dancehall music in the future?” Howard responded by saying that Reggae music will adopt some if not all the tendencies of today’s Rap music in which musicians and artists constantly sing/rap about luxurious items: “I have seen some of the latest music videos that Dancehall artist have made and they are exact replicas of currents Rap videos.” Renee replied by saying that, “Dancehall music is getting more violent, women jumping on men and visa versa. A lot more people will die trying to certain dances.” This does not speak to highly of present Reggae music. Just like so many other types and genres of music, Jamaican music is becoming more Americanized and being taken away form how it was originally done.
1 comment:
I really like the process of learning you are using to studying and understanding Jamaican music and dancing. Your “hands on approach” seems to be an efficient way of learning about the culture. Your entries seem to reflect a good sense of participant observation, which is an important way that many anthropologists use to better understand another culture. I also like how you incorporated interviews of your Jamaican friends as well as footage of an actual dance that is part of the Jamaican culture. At the Halloween dance and the Stoplight party, your participation in dancing to reggae music with others seemed to give you a good understanding of how much fun reggae dancing is, and why this is such an important part of Jamaican culture. It is an enjoyable aspect of living. The “stookie” dance was very interesting to watch. It gives those of us who do not know about Jamaican dance a sense of what reggae dancing is actually like. This was a good idea to add to your blog because it gives us who are not actually researching the topic to observe a part of the culture and understand how people of this culture may dance, and how it is different from music and dancing that we are used to. I also think in your interviews, getting input from people of Jamaican culture or descent was a good way in understanding how these people view the world. The upbringing of your friends seems to have a great impact on how they are a part of the Jamaican culture.
Emily A.
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