14 December 2000, 803 words
I was impressed that, in the aftermath of the Real Unity disaster, Machel Montano did not get all legalistic. Instead, he took full responsibility, even going to the extent of saying he couldn't blame anyone who decided to sue.
This, however, is the only time I have been impressed by Machel. I like some of his songs, but I consider all his music to be entirely trivial - and especially his big hits, like Toro, Toro and Big Truck, which I doubt will be played 30 years from now, even in back-in-times fetes.
Machel, however, is without a doubt the most popular performer in Trinidad and Tobago today. Not even David Rudder, I think, could get people to pay $600 to see him perform (although that is probably because Rudder's fans are more fiscally responsible than Machel's). The fundamental reason for Machel's popularity is because he embodies some quintessentially Trinidadian qualities. But those qualities are, in my opinion, mostly the negative ones.
First off, while I do not underestimate the value of entertainment, I think it takes a shallow mind or deep pockets to pay $600 to go to a soca concert. But superficiality is an integral part of the Trinidadian ethos. Several commentators have tried to gloss over Machel's musical shallowness by emphasizing his professional progress and international exposure. But that, too, is a Trinidadian trait: financial or foreign success excuses everything.
A superficial culture is usually a deluded one, and the Trinidadian penchant for self-delusion was well-expressed by Machel at his press conference. He found it impossible to attribute the collapse of the stands to mere inefficiency on the part of the builders, or the lack of deaths to plain luck. No, it had to be part of God's plan (after all, if God is a Trinidadian, then Machel must be one of His favourite sons). So Machel's rationalisation was that God made the stand collapse in order to give people the chance to display real unity, and to demonstrate to the authorities the need for a Performing Arts Centre.
It is congenital insecurity that makes people unable to accept the obvious fact that pure chance determines a lot of what happens in this world, good or bad. It is that same insecurity which accounts for the popularity of Play-Whe and Lotto and other forms of gambling in our society, for all such games are attempts to control chance.
From that perspective, gambling and prayer are close cousins. God figured largely in Machel's public statements after the disaster, and he ended the press conference by proclaiming his faith in his Lord Jesus Christ. I notice, however, that Machel's strong religious beliefs haven't persuaded him to marry the mother (or mothers) of his two children.
Like most Trinidadians, Machel is incapable of understanding that, if your morals never inconvenience you, then you have none. This particular irresponsibility, though, ties in with the several pregnant women who attended Machel's concert. There were also some persons there, I am told, with babies in prams.
The latter individuals I understand: they themselves didn't have parents willing to babysit the grandchildren, and that parental indifference was obviously passed on to them so that they are now treating their own children in the same manner. Their irresponsibility was also reflected in their reluctance to spend money on their infants: they had paid at least $80 for tickets, but couldn't spring for a babysitter.
The foetuses, at least, won't get hearing damage as the infants probably did. Amniotic fluid is a wonderful protector. Still, I cannot for the life of me understand the mentality of a gravid woman who goes to such an event. A crowd automatically increases one's risk of injury, but these pregnant fans either didn't understand this, or felt that going to the concert took priority over possible injury to themselves and their unborn child. Any woman who can be so irresponsible when merely carrying the foetus is obviously going to find it difficult to face the challenges of actually raising the infant.
Now I am not saying that Machel Montano causes, or even persuades his fans to behave like this. I have argued in other columns that people's minds are not tabula rasas which can be controlled by films or music or books or other cultural expressions. However, people do have certain basic inclinations and attitudes which can be reinforced and, since Machel's music is intended purely for entertainment, it brings out all that is most shallow in the Trini psyche.
If this shallow mentality applied only to teenagers and young adults, who have a right to be irresponsible and irrational, then it wouldn't be worth noting. Trouble is, it seems that most Trinidadians never grow out of such traits. And that is cause for concern.
Copyright ©2000 Kevin Baldeosingh