Jamaica Arise: The 75 year History of the PNP (1938-2013)

1. What was the role that the PNP played in the anti-colonial struggle?

When the PNP was created Jamaica was an European colony. The PNP was against the inequality and the oppression ejerced by the colonizers, so they were willing to decolonize Jamaica.
They were following the ideas of Marcus Garvey, who also was fighting against the colonization. I(t could be said that thanks to him and his ideas, the PNP was born.

2. What was/is the role of women throughout the 75 years of the PNP? (give at least 3 examples)

In the period of the PNP, women's rights were impulsed. Equal pay for men and women and Maternity Leave were achieve thanks to the Women's movement in the 70's. 

There was a lot of important women in those years. One of them was Edna Manley. She did sculptures, and created the "negro art", by mixing culture with the things that she did. That way, people got closer to her art and could learn more about her vision of life. Portia Simpson was also really important, because she was Prime Minister of Jamaica twice, this should be really difficult because Jamaica is a very sexist country.

3. How did the implementation of democratic socialism affect the Jamaican people?

The context of Cold War affected the image of the country to the eyes of they rest of the world, because anything that didn't followed the model of capitalism, was practically communism, even if it wasn't like that.
Just like any country under a communist system, it was believed that the economy in Jamaica was really bad. This is said even in our current times, whit any government close to the left, even if it's not communist.

4. How does the PNP justify privatization and its role in creating a path of neoliberal reforms in Jamaica?

The privatization was a way to deal with inflation, along with the globalization of the country. That way, the administration could collect founds to fix the economic problems the country had at the moment.
The neoliberal reforms are principally because the world is changing, and the system of the country should change too, otherwise, it's gonna be stuck in the past and the economy would be really damaged. The reforms are necessary to keep moving forward.

5. How do you compare the role of PNP in the film, Ghett'a life (Lenny Thompson, Derrick's father) versus the documentary?

In the film the PNP was portrayed like an organization that doesn't care about the people, but about the territories that they had and the power they could get. They were more concerned about the other party more that doing the right thing for the people. In the documentary, the PNP cares a lot about the population, their needs and their rights.

Ghett'a Life Review

1. Who was your favorite character(s) from the film? Why?

My favorite character was Dawn (Derrick's mom), because she really loved her son, she cared for him more than anything else. She even make him a boxing suit (that was one of my favorite parts). She helped Derrick to achieve his dream, even if that implied her betraying her party.

2. How does the film compare to the other Jamaican films from the 70s? (Besides visual effects, think about the plot and character development).

I think it has a better character development than the other films we have seen in class. I could sympathize more with the characters and the story was more clear.  I think the fact that taking something like boxing that has nothing to do with the party division and making it end the conflict it feels like something new, more than just focusing in the conflict itself and just the fights between parties. 

3. How are woman portrayed in this film? Is it a little or big advancement compared to the films from the 1970's?

First of all we have Dawn, she is the first important female character to be shown in the film. We also have Camella, but her character gets stuck at the middle of the film and doesn't evolve that much. However, I think Dawn represents a really big advancement when it comes to female characters in Jamaican movies. We all know how sexist Jamaica is, so the fact that a woman can be this strong in a film is great!

"The Pain Tree" Review

1. Who is your favorite character from the story and what kind of background do they come from? (use examples from Michelle Cliff's essay, If I could write this in fire, I would write this in fire)

My favorite character is Larissa, she remind me to the ladies of the movie "The Help". This women took care of the children of the white women of the house, sometimes they were almost like their mothers, and often they labor wasn't recognized. Her personality is the thing I like the most, but it also make feel sad, because she pretends to be strong even if she is in deep pain. 

From Michelle Cliff's essay, I can tell that she is like the black women who was oppressed by lighter skin women. 

2. Why do you think Lorraine's mother mocks the workers that independence from England?

Because she is the oppressor's side, the dependence on England benefits her. The independence would probably take away her privileges, so she find "stupid" the purpose of the workers. She just see them as slaves, her bigger concern is who is gonna work for her if the independence occurs. She probably thinks the European culture is better than the Jamaican culture.

3. What is a "pain tree" and how does it play a role in the story?

Is a way to handle pain without crying, the servants of the big houses probably weren't allowed to show their emotions like anger and pain, so they had to find another way to do it. In this story the tree show us another side of the life of the oppressed women, the feeling of loss that they had to hide. From the story I could tell that they live in a totally different world, with their own rules.

4. What is the meaning of the line "people like me would always inherit the land, but they were the ones who already possessed the Earth"?

The line says that the Earth it truly belongs to the oppressed women, that the oppressors are just people that arrived after. The land refers to the physical, they had the houses, the material stuff, but all the culture, the spiritual side of the territory it belongs to the Jamaican women. It also separate Lorraine from Larissa, she recognizes that she belongs to the oppressors, even if she was really close to Larissa.

Film Review: "Rockers"

1. How does compare Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace from Rockers compare to Ivan Martin from "The harder they come"?

I think they're both really different. Horsemouth didn't became someone who killed people. I can agree more with Horsemouth than Ivan, and that's because the first one really did justice, not just for him, but for the poor people too.
They both were involved in the music industry, and I think they show two different sides of that. I think Horsemouth succeeded more than Ivan when it came to fight the mafia behind the Jamaican music industry.

2. What is your favorite scene from the fim? Why?

The ending, I really liked when the people woke up to find out that the stolen items were in front of their houses. It was nice to not only take Horsemouth's bike back, but all the things the mafia had stolen. It was a way to give something to the ones that needed it the most, just like Robin Hood.

3. Did you like/dislike the film? Why/Why not?

I really liked the film. I liked the way it portrayed justice. Also, I read about the film and found out that the actors were actually reggae singers in real life, that's so interesting! They probably knew a lot about the injustice in the music industry, so the movie felt more real to me.

Film review: "The harder they come"

1. In general, what did you like and dislike about the film?

I like the way it shows the Jamaican culture. Things like the music and the language used help to build the background of the film.

The music election was a little weird to me, but when I researched about it and found out the importance the reggae took after the film, it started to make a lot of sense.

One thing I don't like about the film is the sexism. I think Elsa had such potential as a character but at the end she wasn't even important to the story. Jamaica is  sexist country, so I think I can understand why the film creators didn't cared so much about her.

2. Who is your favorite character from the film?

I don't really like any of the characters, but if I had to choose one, it would be Elsa. 

I said before that she had potential as a character, I think that because in the film she is shown as a woman who is always under control of a man: first the preacher and then Ivan. She sets free from the first one, because she takes the decision of not obey him anymore. For these years, that was really controversial, so even if the rest of the movie she is a submissive woman, that actions make her character more interesting.

3. Would you recommend this film to someone? why or why not?

I would recommend the film, because even if I didn't like it that much, it's  a good film to discover the Jamaican culture. When I watched the film it was the first time I heard the Jamaican creole and heard that much reggae. Besides, this film is a biopic, so is always nice to find out about someone's life through another eyes (the film creators eyes). I didn't knew anything about Ivan Martin, and know I know who he was and what he did, so yeah, I would recommend the film.