New UK Show Angers Many Jamaicans

Many persons have expressed their outrage following the airing of a new show in the UK entitled ‘My Crazy New Jamaican Life’. Many have gone as far as to write to the television station (Channel 4 ) to let their opinions of the show be known.

The show has received at least 69 complaints according to a representative for the station.

The show was originally aired on October 24, and primarily focused on two  Caucasian British females; Holly, 19, and mum-of-three Debbie, 25 – who love Jamaican food, music and men.

A portion of the show also focused on Debbie’s partner and the father of her three children, who had recently become a father with his other girlfriend, Vanessa.

Some persons utilized social media platforms to voice their dislike of the show.

On Twitter, ITV presenter Charlene White wrote: “I thought we were beyond stereotyping Jamaica/Jamaicans. Clearly, I was mistaken.”

Executive chair of Jamaican think tank Facilitators for a Better Jamaica, Sylbourne Sydial, refrained from watching the film because he feared it would misrepresent Jamaica and its culture.

He said: “One of the things we have to be mindful of is that we might see ourselves in a certain light, but others see us in a different light. We can’t stop others from thinking the way they do and making programmes that portray us in a certain way. What we need to do is to create our own programmes.”

He also stated: “We can complain all we want; the more we complain, the more we boost their profile. Now everybody’s going to want to know what this is about. The next thing you know there is a My Crazy New” 

Another production by Channel 4 entitled ‘Top Boy’, was criticized for reinforcing racial stereotypes a month earlier.

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