Reggae recontextualized: Rebel music and the implications of commercializing a postcolonial discourse
by Lamb, Michael A., M.A., UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE, 2011, 49 pages; 1504775

Abstract:

In this article I examine how media such as compact disks, posters, and film have contributed to shifting reggae music to new contexts. I identify four methods through which shifting a discourse to a new context -or recontextualizing it- can contribute to new meanings arising within the genre. I show that recontextualization can take many forms, each with its own potential for productive or problematic uses. In addition, I show that reggae, a highly political genre of music, was adopted and transformed as it spread to communities outside of Jamaica, and argue that recontextualizing a discourse or text carries ethical implications. While moving and changing a discourse or piece of a discourse genre can be used as a means of protest or cultural commemoration, removing ideological elements of a genre steeped in political rhetoric can lead to commercialization and commodification, which can result in what Edward Said calls "Orientalism".

 
AdviserJennifer Stone
SchoolUNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
SourceMAI/ 50-03, p. , Dec 2011
Source TypeThesis
SubjectsMusic; Caribbean studies; Multicultural education
Publication Number1504775
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