The Caribbean Islands: Globe Trekker Documentary

     In this documentary, there is more of a presentation of what the current day Caribbean islands are like in terms of landscape, culture, and people. This is in comparison to the literature we have read up to this point that is set in postcolonial times when the islands were just being settled on by European voyagers, coming into the places where the indigenous people were and bringing about slaves from places such as Africa. Getting to see the juxtapositions between these two time periods was eye opening in recognizing what a more postmodernist Caribbean looks like. It was obvious from the onset that the islands and places the documentary visited, including St. Lucia, were diverse in nature in terms of ethnicity, but true to their 'local' culture that has been created. We saw this local consumerism as the documentary walked through the market on the streets and saw local vendors selling their products. At the local restaurant, all products used were locally grown and there was definitely a sense of pride in using these fresh products rather than a more processed style of food. These ideas are those that line up with postmodern spheres of interest. Like the documentary said, "each island has its own and unique charm." While the Caribbean might be generalized and thought as this one, central place, ideas and cultures differ from locality to locality. These differences are celebrated by the people.    

    Another trait the people on these islands seemed to carry was an idea of free-thinking and creativity. There does not seem to be any centralized religion that every single person follows, but Rastafarianism is certainly popular, believing, "God will one day lead the Black race out of oppression." It makes sense for this religion and belief set to stick in the Caribbean given the slave roots and history that took place on these islands. Throughout the documentary, there were occurrences like this where you could see historic influence on the more recent culture. Some were influenced by regions where there colonizers came from, like Guadalupe, where according to the documentary, "French culture has been maintained more than any other island in the West Indies." Though these places have come into their own, the roots of the culture still come through in many situations. 

-cs

   

Comments

  1. Nicholas ZanghiSeptember 9, 2020 at 12:34 PM

    The differences among the islands was interesting. When I think of the Caribbean, I typically put all of the islands into one big category. Yet, this documentary definitely opened my eyes. I agree that the islanders took great pride in there work. Whether they were in the market selling fruit or drying cocoa, there was a charm to each person.

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