The Jamaican Cinematic Experience: Why should we stand for the national anthem before a movie screening in the Jamaican cinema?

(This is an earlier post from 2011 but it fits within the series and so I leave it untouched with a brief update at the end)

This commentary is addressing a pretty small scale issue in the Jamaican cinema landscape: the playing of the national anthem before a movie.

I recently went to watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol at the Palace Cineplex located in the Sovereign mall in Liguanea. Again the national anthem was played and I refused to stand. Prior to the national anthem there was the voice of Brigitte Foster-Hylton, on recording, saying that she is proud of her nation and that we should all stand for the anthem as a sign of respect. Everyone rose ceremoniously not realizing that the film they were about to view was an average and forgettable one apart from the stunt work. The way the people rose in unison suggested that the national anthem would enhance their experience of the movie.  Those who rose in unison must unconsciously believe in this patriotic act for a film screening however they and the owners of the palace amusement company, who runs the cinema chain in Jamaica, do not realize that they are instead suffering from the disorder of patriotic malaise. This is a disorder where the love of nation is forced upon people to the point where it rings false. If they do not suffer from it then I certainly do for with the increasing commercialization of film standing for a national anthem before a screening appears downright absurd and pathetic and is reflective of a backward, pretentious ideal that seems yet to be discovered by the populace: what it means to be Jamaican? We seem to be still at odds with the issue and our politicians always seem to be emphasizing this issue of unity due to our fractious and at times barbaric political system. The barbaric political system is not only a result of the violence but of the demagogic and shallow base of political ideologies which are sententious. The hypocrites in politics call for unity while preaching the downfall of one sect of society because they support a particular party. This is the glory of democracy.  This incessant call for unity is a bourgeois hypocrisy and caters only to the lackeys of the ruling class who spend more of their time in the United States, Canada and Europe than in Jamaica. The playing of the national anthem before a film is a reflection of that putrid sentiment and false sense of security: in other words an illusion; however why should it be played before a movie? The answer is: ????

There is no simple answer. The only justification is our backward approach to film. Jamaica rarely premiers its own films and probably when we were granted the honour of having our own movie houses, which showed these exquisite productions from the United States and Europe, we got so caught up in this great honour that it has become a staple of our movie going experience. I am not sure when it actually started and I am not prepared to say that it is a colonial tradition although it is in keeping with the pomp of ceremony in Jamaica, inherited by the English,  where every event is graced by the national anthem 'God save our noble Queen' or treated like 'the world stops here'. Whether  or not we inherited it from the English it is clear that to watch a national anthem before a film, which you may not like, is a sign of abject patriotic malaise. Film going experiences are not like the old days when the Majestic and the Odeon cinemas and drive ins would cater to a certain lifestyle of the audiences. It is no longer a amjor event to go to the movies. That is rare nowadays unless it is a major new creative thrust in the industry or a really popular film.  The film executives overseas have realized this which is why they have introduced the 3D and IMAX formats so as to make the experience of watching a movie larger than life itself.  A national anthem before a film is a crass way of saying that we Jamaicans should be grateful for being able to host these wonderful creations of the developed world. It is innovations in technology which will enhance the film going experience not a national anthem. The only question is: Do you stand for the national anthem when you watch the same film on DVD or Blu Ray in your private home? Do you stand for the anthem when you watch it on local television? Would you still stand for the national anthem should a cinema that only premieres pornographic material be made available to the public?

You are made to feel guilty sometimes when you don’t stand especially when you go with someone else who does not share your vision. I never stand so I know the feeling. I once heard a buffoon sitting behind me say ‘people no longer respect the national anthem.’ The national anthem does not logically add to the movie experience. I either like the film or do not. I suppose that in the older days you were forced to stand by some form of persuasive coercion and in some other poor nations you probably have the military combing the aisles ensuring that you stand. Now we have the attendants that tear your ticket stubs and flash their light bulbs in the aisles trying to identify empty seats for latecomers to the show and identify those trying to use camcorders to record the film to distribute as pirate DVDs. The social pressure to stand for the anthem is overbearing for some and I remember a particular female pleading with me to stand and I suppose she felt isolated from the crowd by going to a movie with a man who will not stand for the national anthem prior to the screening of a film.  She eventually forgot the incident since she did not like the movie and was actually disappointed despite the playing of the anthem which is designed  to enhance the film going experience by instilling some sense of pride in being able to consume this noble product, this precious import. I cannot emphasize too much how this pompous ceremony is ridiculed by foreigners who snicker while it is being played. They find themselves in the uneasy position where they are not sure if they should stand or sit. It is an act of buffoonery on the part of the palace amusement co. to keep this practice going. It is similar to the archaic presentation of coming attractions, which they thankfully revamped, which was hampered by poor audio quality. They kept the poor audio for at least a year even though it screeched and scratched in your ears. Competition from another formidable entity would  ruin the palace amusement co.

The national anthem also reflects a certain high handed/patronizing attitude of the managers who seem to be caught in the scramble for social gratification by portraying themselves as highly moral beings which predicate their attitudes based on the oppressive values of the church and the notion that we were just born as a nation.  This pompous attitude can be a source of aversion for some although, as a result of the social pressure in the cinema, they will not admit it. It is a reflection of us as a people who continue to exalt this practice as if it is still a privilege to watch the movies in the cinema handed to us by those mighty movie executives from above. Most of the movies released in the US are available online before they reach Jamaica.  I know the managers are highly moral for when a film is rated pg-13 in the US it is given a pg-16 rating by the palace amusement co.

If it was an event where Jamaica was competing internationally then there would be a need to play the national anthem to keep spirits high and identify ourselves as jamaican however we only seem to be glad to premier American films and  one or two Jamaican films. Should we really stand for the national anthem prior to the screening of a movie?

As Jamaica is not a fully capitalist nation and still has its agrarian influences which are reinforced by religion I am not surprised by the practice. When Jamaica becomes fully industrialized and commercialization comes in the form of competition to the palace amusement co. then we will eventually see the removal of the national anthem. A man can dream can't he. 

Until then I refuse to stand.*

* I was clearly upset when i posted this but i still am not in support of standing for the national anthem before a film which is designed to enhance the experience. It is one of the practices that places the Palace Amusement Co. in a backward position. I no longer protest by refusing to stand. I just ensure that i enter the cinema after the anthem is played because i am going to watch a movie and not to be reminded that i am a citizen of Jamaica.

(I now have veritable proof that standing for a national anthem was indeed a colonial practice designed to reinforce loyalty to the British Empire. In the book Freedom's Children by Colin Palmer he quotes extensively a harsh commentary by Roger Mais entitled "Now We Know". As he mocked the abject conditions of the subject peoples of the British Empire he makes reference to standing for the anthem before a movie screening. 'That we may rise dutifully to our feet and sing with the rest "God Save the King" before we take our seats in the cinema, or after the show.')