Among the mass media, cinema has the greatest power to influence people. In Jamaica, the autochthonous tradition of cinema is young, but nonetheless important because it has always been autonomous from Hollywood. Jamaican movies have tried to show that there is more on the island than what foreign directors have always wanted to depict.
The first Jamaican movie, The Harder They Come, had a strong political message; that of gaining freedom from the USA neo-colonial control over politics and economics in the island. In the other Jamaican movies, this kind of message has been maintained, though lowered. What has always been highlighted is a subtle kind of resistance to foreign models, especially through two typically Jamaican features: Rastafarianism and reggae music. In every movie, Rastafarianism is seen as the best and truest part of Jamaica. And Rastafarians refuse “Babylon’s” influence: they are always depicted as refusing what comes from foreign corrupted societies and wanting only to be free to live as they like.
As for reggae music, it constitutes the soundtrack of every movie. It is a product of the island, born in the Caribbean tradition; it represents Jamaica all over the world. And it is used as its distinctive feature. What is interesting to notice is that, contrary to what usually happens, both Rastafarianism and reggae have been appreciated abroad, and are today mimicked by people who are not Jamaican and sometimes do not fully understand the deep message of freedom and rebellion that lies in them.