6th form

Caribbean Studies
Topic: Caribbean Arts and Popular Culture in the
Region and its Diaspora.
The arts and popular culture Arts and popular culture have always been instrumental in the
expression of who Caribbean people are and the preservation and evolution of their culture. They
prove beneficial as they foster critical analyses of our norms and values; they highlight the need
for discrimination in our global exchanges and are also a major source of income for many
Caribbean people. Arts– expressions of human creativity such as drama, literature, painting,
sculpture, architecture, dance and music. Popular culture –Speaks to the vernacular or
colloquial/the people’s culture usually disseminated via the mass media, magazines, television,
radio, Internet. It is largely the result of the interaction between media industries and their
consumers and most typically appeal to a broad spectrum of the public. They “are accessible to
produce by, and enjoyed by the majority of the people in society’ and thereby reflect certain key
symbols, rituals representing some of our deepest values and beliefs. Examples – festivals,
carnivals, sports, fashion and hair styles.

Contribution of Art and Popular Culture to Caribbean Development

1.Portraying the Caribbean experience.
Contributions of art and popular culture to Caribbean Development
Examples – Edna Manley, Earl Lovelace, Derek Walcott, Vidia Naipaul, Bob Marley,Bendel
Hymes (painter)-They illuminate our physical and social environments and the emotional
experience of being Caribbean. Example Derek Walcott work, Islands (for Margaret) 1962-In
reflecting our historical experience they aid us in analyzing and interpreting various features of
Caribbean heritage.
One example Edna Manley’s Negro Aroused1935 which reflected the movement of the
suppressed black people engaged in the labour riots of the1930’s. Exhibited internationally it
gave voice to the people’s protest as well as to the needs and strengths of Caribbean people.
George Lamming’s 1963 work “The Pleasures of exile had similar effects showcasing our
struggle against cultural oppression and the reclaiming of our voice despite limitations posed by a
European vocabulary.
West Indian Literature has influenced Caribbean society and culture in several
ways, including the fostering of Caribbean identity and pride, cataloguing of our
dialect or creole languages.

Music
Calypso: A fusion of soul, jazz and African beats, calypso started to gain international
recognition in the 1950s when Harry Belafonte remade some classics such as ‘Rum and Coca-
Cola’. In the eighties, Arrow’s “Ah feeling hot hot hot!’ was internationalized and is still popular
today.

Culinary
Caribbean culinary practices had two main
characteristics:
It used lots of herbs and spices for flavour
It often utilized the poorer cuts of meat or
Fish. This is owing to the history of hardship that the Indigenous peoples, the enslaved Africans
and the indentured workers had to endure. The result is the ability to turn simple ingredients into a
unique, eclectic and tasty blend of Caribbean dishes. Where certain migrant groups are present or
where certain European groups settled.

Question
Identify other Caribbean Artforms not mention in this passage and explain their importance to
Caribbean society
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Explain the impacts of Art forms on Caribbean development

Prepared: D.Dennis