02 - Ghett' a Life Review

1. Who was your favorite character (s) from the film? Why?

My favorite characters from the film are: Derrick and Dawn Thompson. I really admire Derrick's perseverance and his fight to become the best boxer in Jamaica. But also I like how he realizes how the dons and the corrupt politicians are only looking out for themselves and not for the people. I really like Dawn Thompson because she was a good representation of a woman fighting sexism and patriarchy. Throughout the film she shows that she is an independent woman, not only a mother or a wife, but a strong woman and complex female character.

2. How do we see the political conflict portrayed in the film? Remember to use the article Michael Manley's Vision to help you.

The rivalry between the two most important political parties is key in the film narrative.

The People's National Party (PNP) is involved because both Derrick parents belong to it, and the garrison where they live belongs to the party, but the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) owns the gym where Derrick trains.

Derrick acts as a role model during the entire story, because he never compromised his vision and ideals,-as old politicians did on the past decades-, only when he was pushed by the Don Sin, who ironically, it's the leader of the PNP gang. This aspect of the film shows how deep the corruption goes into the system, transforming the parties in isolated branches of the neoliberal system. In the film, the jamaican people is treated as riffraff by the gangs, because they don't care who gets hurt in their armed war in the garrisons.

The political violence isn't only a fictional representation of the poverty and injustice in Jamaica, it has happened since the end of the seventies, when Michael Manley assumed the presidency, but had to confront an economical crisis. And the violence displayed by then was the symptom that contributed to feed the belief that the PNP wasn't able to lead the country.

3. How are woman portrayed in this film? Is it a little or big advancement compared to The Harder They Come?

In general, women are still portrayed to stereotypical roles throughout the film,  Camella as the secondary love interest, the women who were objectified during the boxing matches. Only Dawn Thomson was really able to break some of the traditional stereotypes. But compared to Elsa's lack of protagonism, they have a lot of protagonism and can be considered main characters.

However, it's important to remember that this film is a representation of Jamaican society, which remains very conservative and sexist, so therefore the film unfortunately could not be any different.

As I said before, I think that Dawn Thompson was one of the best characters of the film. She was one of the most developed and compared to the other films, she was a protagonist. Camella, however, was a secondary character and even though she was able to act like a bridge between Derrick and the people at Bruising Gym, she was not given that many lines of dialogue and served as a typical love interest of the main male character. We never know if she also competed with the other boys or was just there because of her grandfather.