Colonial Jamaica | 1930s home videos
my goodness, wow. such bittersweet feelings. It’s wonderful to see moving images of this period, as crankyskirt says, but I’m obviously conflicted about how Jamaicans feature: the fascination with black labour (their easy work!) and their seemingly ‘natural’ connection to the land. The shot of the plaza in Kingston which is intent on edging out the curious little Jamaican boy, calls to mind the persistence of that conception of Caribbean islands as tourist-colonies; the exoticising fascination with the Caribbean, sans Caribbean people (deserted beaches etc. h/t Jamaica Kincaid & beloved manfriend) … That shot of the woman smoking and talking though!
ETA: The swastika flag at 9.30 - possibly dates the video between the mid 1930s when the Nazi Party changed the flag, and 1939 when WWII broke out
Home movies taken in Jamaica in the 1930s.
This is amazing. I’m so used to seeing the Jamaica of this era in photographs that I’m blown away watching the video.
