RURAL PARADISE OR A CONCRETE JUNGLE?
Over the course of the semester we have watched numerous movies (Heartland Reggae, The Harder They Come, Countryman, Dancehall Queen, Third World Cop, Rockers, and Land of Look Behind) that depict Rastafarians living in both the country and the city. Not knowing much about either Jamaican setting, I decided to take a closer look at both the urban and rural areas in which Rastafarians live and practice their beliefs. I wanted to see if the different settings had much influence on Rastafarians. Is this a personal choice they have or are they forced out of rural paradise and into the concrete jungle of Babylon?
According to the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary the definition for urban is 1)a: of, relating to, characteristic of, or taking place in a city, b: constituting or including and centered on a city, c: of, relating to, or concerned with an urban and specifically a densely populated area. The definition for rural is: 1) living in country areas: engaged in agricultural pursuits, 2): characterized by simplicity: lacking sophistication: uncomplicated, 3): of, relating to, or characteristic of people who live in the country, 4): of, relating to, associated with, or typical of the country, 5): of, relating to, or constituting a tenement in land adapted and used for agricultural or pastoral purpose-opposed to urban.
Many rural and urban areas exist in the United States. Depending on where you live definitely affects who you are, how you think, dress, eat etc. Is this true for the Rastafarians?
GENERAL JAMAICA INFORMATION
Located in the West Indian Islands, Jamaica represents the third largest island.
Jamaica is 150 miles long and 52 miles wide. The subtropical climate does not produce the extremes related to climate found in the United States. The island of Jamaica is described as being very beautiful with its rivers, harbors, and many mountains. The population of Jamaica has not quite reached three million with the majority of people living in the city of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica (Barrett 3).
The difference in wage earnings among Jamaican people is alarming. Those who have a profession make around thirty times as much as those who do not. Nearly half of all Jamaicans make less than twenty-five dollars per week (Barrett 12).
There has been a tradition of migration from Jamaican rural areas since the nineteenth century.
addition, after WWI, there were many waves of Jamaican peoples that would come to America.
In spite of this, the Jamaican government does not have to govern as many people as the United States’ government is obliged to. The entire country of Jamaica has an area merely of about 4,244 square miles and a population of approximately 2,825,928, wit...
The connection of the Rastas to Ethiopia is a deep and mystical one. It would take hundreds of pages to illustrate the connections of this culture to Israel. In briefly describing their culture I attempt to illustrate what sparked my attention about the similarities between Jews, Falashas, and Rastas. The Rastas believe that they are originally and ancestrally Ethiopians. They were stolen from their homeland in times of slavery and brought to the `New World'. To say the least, the Rastafarians believe in many of the similar ...
10. Yawney, Carole D. Moving with the dawtas of Rastafari: from myth to reality. pgs. 15--23; 33--55; and 65--73. (excerpts from Teresa Turner's New Society.)
What is rural? On the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website the U.S. Census Bureau defines the word "rural" to mean “whatever is not urban” ("Defining the Rural Population," n.d, p. 1). The Census Bureau describes urban centers as populations of 50,000 or more and urban clusters ...
Despite the often negative image projected in the press and other writings, the Rastafarian movement has grown at a rapid rate. In 1977, an estimated 75,000 native Jamaicans were followers of Rastafari (Davis and Simon, Reggae Bloodlines, 63). By 1988, Barrett conservatively calculated the membership of the worldwide movement to be 300,000 (2). Forsythe observed that Rastafarianism "represents a growing force wherever sizable West Indian communities are found--in Britain, Canada, the USA and in the Caribbean" (63).
October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.
A lot of people’s understanding of Rasta’s only goes as far as to think that Rasta’s are people that live in Jamaica, smoke weed, and have Dreadlocks. These people do not begin to think what is behind the movement. The idea that Rastafari is strictly Jamaican is also very wrong. Since the origination of Rastafari, the Rasta movement has expanded far beyond the island of Jamaica. Rasta’s now live all over the world. There are Rasta cultures in all parts of Europe, Asia, New Zealand, United States, and especially Africa. This paper seeks to explain Rastafari and to show it’s expansion by exposing Rasta’s culture from it’s most holy form in Ethiopia to one of it’s least holy in Dallas Texas.
Within the past few years, scientist have made several breakthroughs with human stem cells. These breakthroughs have catapulted the issue of stem cell research into the middle of a national debate. Most people have no problem with the research itself, however the source of the stem cells (adult or human embryos) used in research is the primary cause of the debate. Some people feel that destroying an embryo is comparable to murder, even if the research it promotes may help people with serious illnesses. Other believe that an embryo is not a person and therefore research on an embryo is the same as research on any other group of cells.
The country of Jamaica is a West Indian island located near the center of the Caribbean Sea. It is among the group of islands that comprises the Greater Antilles and is the largest of the English-speaking islands in the region. Jamaica has an area of 4,411 square miles and is 146 miles long. It is divided into
This oil as it moved through the water killed 300,000 sea birds, 2,600 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, and perhaps millions and millions of fish. Of the 23 studied species hurt by the spill only 2 are said to be completely recovered. The 2 are the Bald Eagle and the River Otter. Some show no recovery at all. Of these that haven’t recovered at all are the Harbor Seal, Harlequin Ducks, Pacific Herring, Cormorants, and even certain whales. If people were familiar with some of the clean up that went on, they would probably remember that cleaning of all those ducks. Well I hate to tell you but it was useless. Some of them died 5 days after they were released.
“ Effects of Oil Spills on Marine and Coastal Wildlife” Holly K. Ober. WEB. 19 May 2014
Rastafari is a theology based upon the writings of Marcus Garvey a Jamaican social activist. The movement’s global spread from Jamaica across the world has been strongly influenced by Bob Marley and closely associated with reggae. Many of Marley’s songs captured the essence of Rastafari religion and its social and political beliefs. (bbc.co.uk, 2014)
Urban area has been defined as a terrain with a population of 50,000 or a bunch of 2,500 to 50,000 people according to the US Census Bureau. Rural is later defined as anything external to that definition. Particular challenges are faced by rural areas when matter is of energy and water usage. For instance, utilities have to pay higher costs to modernize their energy groundwork and often find it stiffer to implement cleaner technologies because of the great distances between customers and crooked patchwork of reliable resources. Moreover, many system organizers and thought leaders for ground breaking energy know how live in suburban or urban areas and may discover it tougher to relate to the particular challenges of rural locations.
Imagine having to choose to reside in one place for the rest of your life. Which would you opt for? Some people would argue that the hyperactive lifestyle that a big city has to offer has more benefits than living in the country. However, others would contend that the calm and peaceful environment of the countryside is much more rewarding. Several people move from the city to a farm to get away from the hustle and bustle. Likewise, some farmers have traded in their tractors and animals to live a fast paced city life. Of course, not all large cities are the same nor are all of the places in the country identical. Realizing this, ten years ago, I decided to hang up the city life in Indiana to pursue a more laid back approach to life in rural Tennessee. Certainly, city life and life in the country have their benefits, but they also have distinguishable differences.