Re‐territorializing the city

Youth and the productive role of reggae music in Vanuatu

Datos Bibliográficos

ID18972737
AutoresD Kraemer (0000-0002-1389-1389, Wilfrid Laurier University, autor de correspondencia), Monika Stern (0000-0001-6181-1251, CNRS, LESC‐CREM: CNRS, Université Paris Nanterre Nanterre France)
Año2022
Volumen33
Número2
Páginas192-209
Fecha de publicación2022-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Australian Journal of Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1035-8811 • E-ISSN: 1757-6547
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/taja.12437
OpenAlexW4288444727
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas39

In Vanuatu, the popularity of reggae music has been on the rise since the late 1980s. Today, reggae music and reggae culture is ubiquitous. For many young people in Port Vila, Vanuatu's capital city, it is a fundamental component of their sense of belonging to the city. Their attraction to reggae derives from its messages of camaraderie, equality and justice. This paper argues that for many urban youth, playing, consuming and sharing reggae music and culture instrumentalises their urban place‐making activities and helps reterritorialise themselves in urban spaces. Drawing on ethnographic research, we demonstrate the extent to which its lyrics and messages resonate with youth who feel they are unable to express their social, economic and political discontent through other mediums. Furthermore, we show how for many youth, reggae conveys a sense of hopefulness that emboldens them to build a new life or ‘father land’ for themselves and their children

Aesthetics · Art · Ethnography · Literature · Lyrics · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Sociology · Anthropology · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Law · Music History and Culture · Psychology · Social Psychology