Susan DElia Speech 214: The Rhetoric of Reggae Music Spring 2002 :: essays papers

Susan D'Elia Speech 214: The Rhetoric of Reggae Music Spring 2002 Women’s Fashion in Jamaican Dancehalls â€Å"A woman has to use what she’s got to get just what she want.† -- James Brown Actress Audrey Reid does just that as the character Marcia in the Jamaican film â€Å"Dancehall Queen.† Reid plays a street vendor and single mother of two daughters struggling to give her family a better life. Poverty stricken, Marcia is forced to rely on her sugar daddy â€Å"Larry,† to feed her family and put her daughters through school. Unfortunately the price to pay is her fifteen-year-old daughter’s virginity. Appalled at how low they must stoop just to get by, Marcia decides to transform herself into a seductive dancehall girl in hopes of finding an alternative way to provide for her family. The new Marcia makes quite an impression on the men of the Kingston nightclub. When she is disguised in her dancehall costume Larry falls in love with her and showers her with expensive gifts. She is also invited to compete in a profitable dance-off against the reigning Dancehall Queen. The film ends with Marcia’s triumph, and she is awarded a large sum of money. Although this film is a highly romanticized story of a single mother rising to the title of â€Å"Dancehall Queen,† it gives an accurate portrait of the atmosphere of a Jamaican dancehall, as well as capturing the independent, strong spirit of Jamaican women. â€Å"Too many young girls in Jamaica feel trapped by dirty old men who convince them that life offers no alternatives but a future in bed with them,† explains the film’s writer and editor Suzanne Fenn. â€Å"The sub-plot in â€Å"Dancehall Queen† might be unpalatable but it’s based on a prevalent reality.† Although the film has endured some criticism, the film’s after-after party at Kingston’s Club Mirage proved that Dancehall Queen isn’t â€Å"the invention of a perverted production team in search of celluloid satisfaction. Real-life dancehall queens stroked their crotches, winded their hips and rubbed their well-oiled buttocks† (St. Hill). â€Å"Although the dancehall scene is a male dominated one, it is the female, like a queen, who reigns supreme† (www.ppreggae.com) Covering reggae history, respectively, â€Å"Reggae Songbirds† and â€Å"Dancehall Queens† offer a fairly comprehensive overview of the contributions of women in reggae. The dancehall has become a form of a message center for Jamaican people, no matter where they are within the social structure of the island.