The Harder They Come: Glimpses of fathering in Caribbean cultural memory

I am often struck by how widespread narratives and experiences of Caribbean fatherly indifference are in the region. So much so, I have frequently argued, that they often cause us to miss the quietly attentive fathering of many Caribbean men; often hidden behind the more visible performativities of masculine personhood (dressing nice, telling tall tales of adventure, playing the role of provider). This trend can be historicised too. It is easy to get the sense that the intimate and actively involved fathering we see is something new, something that emerged recently in the Antilles: attested to by the materials and activities of family planning organisations (see pic below), the UN and men's groups (p.5 Father's Inc) in the region.

Yet, a look a across the region's popular cultural record reveals numerous everyday examples of paternal connections, dedication and love. Yesterday evening I screened Perry Henzel's The Harder They Come, Jamaica's first and most famous feature film, for a class with my students.

I was struck by the loving paternal commitment of the main character's friend, a Rasta man named Pedro - who provided for his sickly son (medication and food) and became a 'hands on' father after the boy lost his mother. These images of fathering came across as mundane, non-patriarchal and cooperative, alongside Elsa (the main character's kind and loving girlfriend) who becomes the boy's foster mother. Henzel's depiction of working class fathering felt neither staged nor anomalous; but rather, was commonplace and intuitive, alongside Elsa's care.

Here's a clip from the film:

About the film:

Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff) arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton (Bob Charlton), soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.