The Jamaican Cinematic Experience: A General Introduction

(Image courtesy of my-island-jamaica.com)

‘The Jamaican Cinematic Experience’ is a new series of commentaries that will document my perspective on movies/films in Jamaica, from a cinematic point of view,  as experienced by me and fellow Jamaicans I have observed. . This cinematic experience is not limited to my experience of ‘going to the movies’ in the traditional sense but also includes my perspective on how Jamaicans, I have observed and talked to, experience film as a product or a commodity.

This chronicle of the Jamaican cinematic experience is quite relevant because movies/films are imported commodities and also reflect the attitudes some Jamaicans have to products that are foreign based. This applies to imported products, such as movies/films, that represent advanced technical/industrial production. Movies/films are advanced industrial products  when you consider that there is a high technical component that is required to produce the final product that people see onscreen. The film art form, as distinct,  is composed of moving pictures and emerged out of  photography and still images of subjects or objects and placing them in motion. It is an advanced art form that requires high technical input in order to make it possible. The high technical component is comprised of the various motion picture cameras that must be utilized in order to place the images, including the actors, on screen. There is also the utilization of visual effects that help to capture artificial images that cannot be captured in the real world.  This also involves the use of advanced computer software. There are certain objects or robotic elements that are also constructed to be used on set before being altered digitally in post production.  There is also the issue of sound which may seem basic but you only have to look back to the silent era to see how far we’ve come.  Also there is also the process of the presentation of film which has a high technical component such as 3D photographic imagery,  surround sound, IMAX images which are captured on particular cameras and digital  forms of storage and films being transferred to DVD and Blu Ray discs.  Movies/films are, therefore,  an advanced industrial product ( I am not focusing on the other elements that cater to the actors such as costuming etc because those evolved out of the theatre scene). When you pay for a ticket you are consuming the finished product which is not like buying food. If movies/films are consumed in this way then they must be considered an advanced industrial product because of the high technical component.

Well what does that mean for the Jamaican market? As a result of our long history of colonialism  Jamaica has been conditioned to become a net exporter of raw materials (cane sugar, bananas, bauxite etc) and a net importer of advanced manufactured or refined products* from the advanced industrial nations. A country like Jamaica has advanced in the realm of manufacturing and industry but in most cases this applies to rudimentary industry such as food and beverages and agro processing or very simple articles like furniture that are still dominated by the handicrafts sector. Jamaica has not reached an advanced industrial level and is still agrarian for the most part with an extensive commercial base that facilitates imports and exports in general and the local wholesale and retail trade. As a result of our semi-colonial status the commercial sphere is much more dominant than the industrial sector. High interest rates are a significant reflection of this uneven relationship between the more dominant commercial sphere and the weak industrial base.   Film is another imported commodity that represents the high level of development in the advanced industrial states. Jamaicans interact with movies/ film in the same way that they interact with other advanced industrial products such as cell phones.   Generally, you have the high quality product , which only the few can access, that is expensive and becomes a social event when it premieres and then there is the cheap, accessible product that can be consumed by the many. In the end all is made available for consumption and that is the way of most advanced industrial products that become outdated or go through the ageing process. The standards (price) are normally lowered over time because demand in the market slows. Most movies/films endure this process but at a much quicker pace than a  iphone  6 or Samsung Galaxy S6 and a car.

From a social/cultural level, however, movies/films, like any other imported advanced product, takes on particular dimensions which I will be documenting from my perspective in these commentaries . These dimensions reflect how Jamaicans interact with the product or how it is perceived. This does not apply only to those that buy tickets but to the monopolistic Palace Amusement Co. that controls the distribution and sale of movies/films from the point of view of ‘going to the movies’ in its established and formal cinematic form. Their practices also have to be brought into account because it affects how we as Jamaicans consume the product.  I am not only referring to just the price but from a cultural point of view that reflects our semi-colonial status as a country that is a net importer of advanced industrial products or commodities like movies/films.  

From a general perspective our semi-colonial status and how we consume these advanced industrial products reflects a fanciful, idealistic mentality that ignores certain fundamentals. Ignoring these fundamentals also reflect a certain level of backwardness or the lack of investment which would enhance the film going experience of the consumer. Obviously Jamaica has released locally produced films but the low level of productivity means that the quality is low or that films are released every 2- 5 years. The theatre scene in Jamaica is much more vibrant because the technical requirements are quite low.  The film industry in Jamaica is nascent at best because most films that are released are treated as all star events. Stars from other industries that cannot be said to be apart of the film industry. In some cases the star performers in the films released in Jamaica are our musicians.  There are no real fundamentals to the Jamaican industry because it is not streamlined in order to encourage a certain level of professionalism. When an industry cannot encourage individuals to become professionals in that particular field then this means that it is lacking in terms of capital investment which would allow people to devote their labour on a full time basis. When the lack of professionalism or innovation as a result of efficient investment is the case then most people must fall back on their idealistic approach to the subject or the principles that they adhere to without being able to actually make a significant change from a material standpoint. The fledgling Jamaican film industry has gone the way of many local industries that found it difficult to stay afloat. If you can’t make films consistently you become a teacher and try to inform people about the principles of film or you become a critic or an academic expert on the subject. All you have are your thoughts when your industry is impoverished because you lack the means to make a significant material change. You start to say things like ‘I have a DREAM’ as you hope for some sort of capital to make certain dreams possible. This is not forthcoming because your industry is bankrupt because you ignored the fundamentals or  were unable to keep up with the pace required to make your business sustainable. Your mode of operation became fossilized, living on the glories of the past. This is the case of the Jamaican film industry.

It is not even appropriate to call it an industry and, like in the days of the 19^th century, it is more fitting to call the Jamaican cinema tic experience a leisurely activity in keeping with our prestigious consuming tradition dating back to colonial times. It cannot be called an industry in a strict sense because although advanced industry severely and brutally exploits wage labour it also makes people dependent on it for a livelihood because it grows to such proportions in the social sphere- because of the exchange of the product in the market for money- where it can sustain itself effectively. Industries in the private sector are considered successful when they can rely on the exchange of their goods in the market in order to accumulate a surplus in the money form. This encourages further production and the business then becomes sustainable once it is continually sustained by the market. This is the case in free market economies. They live and die by their product.

The Jamaican cinematic experience, therefore, is geared primarily to consumption and not production and this has several implications from a cultural basis and this will be explored in the series. Even from the perspective of consumption a high handed morality still prevails and a sluggish approach to adopting new techniques in order to encourage people to consume. A lot of the measures designed to encourage people to consume movies/films in Jamaica are more a reflection of desperation than innovation. Despite this the Palace Amusement Co. must be commended for staying afloat and not having us wait, in some cases, for films to appear on DVD before we can watch them. Their noble efforts keep us integrated to some degree in the international market but there are things that can be done to improve the movie going experience. These changes are also dependent on more people willing to go and watch movies instead of going to parties instead of taking in the live opera series put on by the Palace Amusement co for instance. Jamaicans, understandably, are more likely to spend money on going to a party instead of going to the movies and this goes to show that the Jamaican cinematic experience has certain cultural ramifications that must be explored in order to understand why people are not so willing to spend or pay full price for an admission ticket.    I look forward to feedback but please bear in mind that this is my perspective and is not necessarily the perspective of many people. we all have our own perspective but there must be some commonalities.  I  will try and be objective where I can but this is merely a democratic exercise where I am expressing my opinion on a particular subject without trying to put down anyone. Just calling it like I see it.

*Refined products like oil or even the sugar in our tea are the outcome of an advanced industrial process and are not raw materials in the sense that a country like Jamaica exports to gain foreign exchange. Our type of raw materials do not represent the finished product of the material in many cases. If it does then this is largely due to foreign capital.