Lifestyle
More Questions than answers
By Clyde McKenzie
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Anyone who has read Matt Ridley's classic, Genome: the autobiography of the human specie in 23 chapters would be familiar with the concept of "intergenomic conflict" which posits that there is an existential struggle being waged between the x and y chromosomes in our genetic composition and that the prospects are looking bleak for those bits of genetic material associated with our notions of human masculinity.
According to the proponents of this idea, the social and biological construct we have come to define as the human male is on its brink towards genetic extinction with all the implications this will have on human sexuality as a result of this epic conflict taking place at the most elemental level of our existence.
 |
| Vybz Kartel and Mavado had thousands of frenzied fans baying for blood during their performance. |
I reflected on the whole notion of intergenomic conflict as I surveyed the lyrical mayhem which unfolded at Sting and the horrendous carnage still taking place in Gaza (not the fictional redoubt of Vybz Kartel but that sliver of earth which abuts Egypt and Israel). I wondered whether these conflicts were macroscopic reflections of the microscopic battles being waged at a genetic level.
Social scientists such as Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo have shown through now famous experiments that our baser instincts are never far from the surface which might explain why some of the most heinous murderers are often some of the most seemingly docile individuals. It could also explain how neighbours living peacefully with each other in Rwanda or the Balkans could suddenly turn on themselves in an orgy of violence and mayhem without any real harbingers to suggest the eventual atrocities.
It is my belief that the human penchant for engaging in competitive endeavours (boxing, playing tennis or golf or participating in lyrical joustings) are simply variants of our basic instinct for combat. Muhamad Ali, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Vybz Kartel are all responding to the human urge to compete and dominate in different ways. It is almost like saying the same thing in different languages; the underlying meaning is the same. This is perhaps a clear expression of the intergenomic conflict writ large.
Many Jamaicans and not a few foreigners continue to marvel at the level of violence expressed in our music. Many commentators have also wondered about the prominent role which sex seems to play in our artistic expression (which incidentally is not unique to Jamaican music genres). I too have sought answers to these questions and have sought through this medium to share my observations with others.
The artist seeks to gain control of his impulses and surrounding through his works by fixing his ideas and concerns in a tangible form. Most creators seek revenge through their artistic expression. This is a way of gaining control. The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri (who like another figure of roman ancestry Madonna is known by his first name) consigned his enemies to eternal damnation and elevated his love Beatrice to perpetual salvation in that literary masterpiece the Divine Comedy. Dante was able to achieve in fiction what he could not attain in reality. Art provides us with a second life.
The metaphorical damnation of one's foes, a feature of the poetics of Dante is also in evidence in the lyrical outpourings of Kartel and Mavado (we are not talking artistic equivalence here since that is beyond the remit of this article) but about one of emotive forces which drive creative expression. What transpired on the morning of December 26 at Jamworld before some thirty thousand frenzied fans baying for blood is Kartel and Mavado's way of visiting destruction on each other within the limits imposed on them by the law against physical violence. They were trying to achieve in the metaphorical sphere what they could not achieve in the physical realm. One of the great debates taking place within our society is whether these so called metaphorical exchanges help to quell violence by channelling violent urges into rhetorical expressions or whether they in fact fuel violence by promoting and normalising deviant behaviour. The fact is that as in most debates most sides might well be on to something. I believe that the outcomes and consequences are largely based on context and circumstances. The more we are exposed to an image the easier it is for us to deal with it. This applies to traumatic experiences as well. We can become inured to suffering through constant exposure to the point where we become incapable of expressing sympathy or empathy. On that note the deejays might well be doing a service to the gay community by making constant references to its members. After all these frequent references to what might be deemed deviant behaviour tend to increase societal acceptance of what is being proscribed.
The connection between crime and artistic expression in Jamaica might well be a circular one; the authors experience violence and express it through their works which creates the condition for the escalation of the mayhem they encounter.
Talking about something simply helps to normalise it which is why we need to think about the way we report crime in our media. If we are not careful we could be like Lot's wife in that we become what we look at.
I have also put forward the position that art has a cathartic or purgative value. Many artistes express relief upon the completion of a work of art. I have often compared the process of artistic creation to that of taking a bath at the head of stream. The washing certainly removes impurities from the body of the bather upstream but might not have a similar salutary effect on those of us who might be downstream.
We should also acknowledge the preservative value of art. For it is through art that the creator beckons to immortality and makes the transient permanent. Through art we seek to immortalise our pleasures which perhaps explains why sex plays such a prominent role in our artistic endeavours. Are we seeking to make the fleeting pleasures of sex permanent through art? Well me might not have the answers to these questions but it does not mean that we should not ask.
Clyde.mckenzie@gmail.com
25 comments
RSS Feeds