CARIMAN Rep Speaks On Controversial Carnival Song

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Music

Saturday, 11 August 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - CARIMAN and the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Alliance have added their outlooks to the already heated discussions surrounding the morality and responsibility of the latest Burning Flames Song “Kick in She Back Door”.

Svenn Grant, who holds the posts of Country Office Manager for the Caribbean HIV/Aids Alliance and Secretary for CARIMAN, says he is specifically concerned about issues regarding sexual violence which are clearly embedded in a lot of the musical culture in the Caribbean.

He said the particular celebration of the ‘Kick In She Back Door’ road march-winning song is not such a surprising trend.

“A lot of people are almost throwing their hands in the air saying that the song doesn't mean anything specifically. The upside in society lately is the appearance of awareness and dialogue on the matter of HIV/AIDS and sex in Antigua & Barbuda,” Grant said.

“But these talks appear to shy away from the connection between sex and gender and are leaning more towards the notion that anything can happen as long as it is between the opposite sexes.

“Not all women are interested in any relations whatsoever with a man and not because it’s carnival it means it’s okay for a man to jam up on any woman he sees,” he said.

Speaking specifically to the song, Grant noted that he was not at all pushing for any kind of legislative censorship for people's creativity.

“They can create what they want – however, there is a thin line between responsibility and creativity, and they need to know that certain songs will send messages that can be potentially damaging,” he said, adding that even with censorship the underlying message of a song might not be erased.

Further, Grant stated that the assumption that a mature population should exert some power and dictate what is broadcast across publicly accessed radio frequencies is laudable, but asked, “What happens when they are in denial or choose not to make it an issue?”

He said as far as he was concerned the matter is less about control but rather a position of maturity where people should engage in conversations to shape the kind of society that they want to live in.

“I wonder if the actual rape is a bigger issue than a song sending the message of rape. I believe that in the spirit of carnival a lot of people did not really stop and think about the culture and the fact that maybe we prefer to hear the beat of the song as opposed to the lyrics.

“We are just leaving space for more mishaps to happen instead of taking control over the potential for more mishaps to happen,” Grant said.

He questioned whether maybe he, like Women Against Rape (WAR), was putting too much emphasis on one song since there are several songs on the airwaves that send messages that go ignored.

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“This is something that is driving the crime statistics consistently over the years. It does create some distressing ideas, images and concepts in the minds of both men and women ... And my concern is: where is the dialogue?

“We know that there are men out there that are not interested in popularizing a song like this and we know that the attention against it will make it more popular,” he said.

At the end of it all, Grant noted that what the organizations he represents are asking people to consider is that society may need to hold itself accountable for the kinds of things it considers entertaining.

“CARIMAN would like men and women to engage in conversation about the many things that influence us. And we shouldn't ignore any aspect of what is taking place,” he said.

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