I’ve said it before: Jamaica needs some serious satire. That may be an oxymoron, but no matter. A Caribbean version of ‘Spitting Image’ has to happen soon. As a region, we love to joke around. If you read Wikipedia, satire is at the heart of our humour. The political cartoons in Jamaica are very good. Clovis is cruel.
But, we need to take on politicians and others in the public limelight with more vigour. The gloves have to come off and let them have it squarely in the teeth.
The last few weeks have provided tonnes of material. You need to tackle any politicians who tells the environmental lobby to “go to Hell”, as Clifford Everald Errol Warmington did over the Goat Islands. Better still, he’s uttered it before, when he resigned as an MP and took it to a CVM anchorman. (I should be careful: I read that he won a seat against my namesake!) The man is gold.
The PM, this week, nearly burst into flames, when she accused some critics of potential foreign investors of xenophobia.
We have the not-quite-on-yet leadership contest in the opposition political party. Leader Holness is often depicted as a baby in a nappy. C’mon! Work it up! We’ve had the overworked chicken back and oxtail and rice bowl eating of Agriculture Minster, Roger Clarke, who then lost completely his sense of decorum as he decided to try to do a piggy back over a very fluffy female supporter of his party.
The comics who get most attention, seem to steer clear of public figures. Is there too much reverence? Maybe. I think all should be treated the same. If they provide the material, then wrap it and send it back with a ribbing. Our heroes and heroines need to just watch out. DJs and songsters are game too. Imagine if Vybz Karkel and Queen Ifrica had faced the mockery.
Don’t let foreign TV company steal a march on us and get our stars to good it up in New york or LA. Get Usain to ham up his own style. ‘The Beast’ is injured, so let him do some other work and take on him fellow athletes.
Any budding writers and actors out there who can take this on?
