Deborah A. Thomas, John L. Jackson Jr., and Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn helmed this compelling documentary on one of the most controversial episodes in modern Caribbean history, the so-called “Coral Gardens incident” in Jamaica during the Easter season in 1963. The event, according to official reports, was triggered by a land dispute, which quickly devolved into a police action that led to fatalities—in addition to the arrest, jailing, and torture of more than 150 members of Jamaica's Rastafarian community. Bad Friday argues that the arrests were the culmination of decades of harassment and violence against Rastafarians, noting that even the transition from colonial British rule to Jamaican independence in 1962 failed to quell the anti-Rastafarian policies on the island. Interspersed among contemporary and archival footage/stills are interviews with survivors, who offer a tragically eloquent record of the abuse that the group faced at the hands of their fellow Jamaicans (the current government is uncomfortable with openly addressing the incident or showing remorse for the brutal aftermath). While the wider world knows about Rastafarian cultural expressions, this documentary presents their story as the target of state-sanctioned discrimination. An invaluable addition to Caribbean cinema as well as an important work about the region's tumultuous history, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens
(2011) 63 min. In English & Jamaican Patois w/English subtitles. DVD: $59.95: public libraries & high schools; $225: colleges & universities. Third World Newsreel (tel: 212-947-9277, web: <a href="http://www.twn.org/">www.twn.org</a>). PP August 27, 2012
Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens
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