The cultural and entertainment industry
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The Cultural and Entertainment Industry: Where new jobs can be created Currently, there is a chasm between entertainment and culture in Barbados. The only thing that appears to be common between the two is that there are both going nowhere fast. It is my opinion that the current servings of music has little marketability, sale ability, and sustainability at home far less abroad. Secondly, too little attention is paid to culture itself… in fact one may be tempted to ask: what is our culture? Two major decisions have to be made: what is the sound of Barbados? And secondly, what is Barbadiana (i.e. the Bajan Culture)? These two should then be blended into the Bajan Brand. I think the time has come to stop copying others; and to start creating our own image. We have the intelligence and our current circumstances demand it. The cupboard is stacked with the toys we had put away, so that we could play with what others have. We must now recapture our pride and industry… pull the ring-bang (Eddie Grant style), the raga (RPB style), the spouge (Jackie Opel style), and the tuk (Poona style); the lessons of the landship, the rum shops, the churches, Baxter’s Road, Oistins, and Six Men’s… mix and blend, people, mix and blend! Where are the jobs? 1. Song writers who can tell the Bajan stories and experiences. 2. Composers who can capture the Bajan atmosphere and character 3. Arrangers who tweak and twiddle those 8 notes into that moving Bajan sound 4. Singers who can deliver the stories and experiences in authentic Bajan emotion 5. Musicians who can play the compositions in authentic Bajan style and professionalism 6. Script writers who can research and recount the stories in more detail 7. Researchers and historians to authenticate what is being told. 8. Videographers, fine artists and cartoonists to capture and edit the concepts of the stories 9. Choreographers to translate the movements into dance
Transcript of The cultural and entertainment industry
The Cultural and Entertainment Industry: Where new jobs can be created
Currently, there is a chasm between entertainment and culture in Barbados. The only thing that appears to be common between the two is that there are both going nowhere fast. It is my opinion that the current servings of music has little marketability, sale ability, and sustainability at home far less abroad. Secondly, too little attention is paid to culture itself… in fact one may be tempted to ask: what is our culture?
Two major decisions have to be made: what is the sound of Barbados? And secondly, what is Barbadiana (i.e. the Bajan Culture)? These two should then be blended into the Bajan Brand. I think the time has come to stop copying others; and to start creating our own image. We have the intelligence and our current circumstances demand it.
The cupboard is stacked with the toys we had put away, so that we could play with what others have. We must now recapture our pride and industry… pull the ring-bang (Eddie Grant style), the raga (RPB style), the spouge (Jackie Opel style), and the tuk (Poona style); the lessons of the landship, the rum shops, the churches, Baxter’s Road, Oistins, and Six Men’s… mix and blend, people, mix and blend!
Where are the jobs?
1. Song writers who can tell the Bajan stories and experiences.2. Composers who can capture the Bajan atmosphere and character 3. Arrangers who tweak and twiddle those 8 notes into that moving Bajan sound4. Singers who can deliver the stories and experiences in authentic Bajan emotion5. Musicians who can play the compositions in authentic Bajan style and professionalism6. Script writers who can research and recount the stories in more detail7. Researchers and historians to authenticate what is being told.8. Videographers, fine artists and cartoonists to capture and edit the concepts of the stories9. Choreographers to translate the movements into dance10. Dancers who can portray the movements of the stories11. Technicians and technical personnel 12. Producers, Directors, Marketing, Sales, Entrepreneurs, lawyers, insurance, accounting
This is not a suggestion to copy Hollywood or Bollywood or any such like, but rather this is to point out the opportunity to create a new type of business in Barbados. A new business model where individuals are treated as professionals; and are hired based of their value-adding capacity rather than their affiliations. It will be a model where work is supplied on a contractual basis (e.g. by project).
Just imagine the products we can generate and export: live cultural performances, music videos, dance videos, mp3s, books, research papers, performers, technical skills, management skills, etc…..
Many of us are sitting down on a treasure chest of stories waiting to be told… if you can’t tell the story yourself… then create a job opportunity for someone to tell that story for you… to the rest of Barbados and the world… who knows! [ry moore]
