This ‘wannabe’ reggae star only finds poverty, corruption and a thriving casual drugs, trade ironically controlled by the police force and local petty criminals. He briefly finds solace working for a Preacher, but when he falls for and seduces his young female ward and assaults a local bully, he finds himself drifting. He makes a record, but it is stolen by the producer (who controls the radio stations and clubs because he is the only supplier, and in the pay of America). Eventually he becomes a drug courier, and on seeing the huge profits being made by dealers in America decides that he wants a larger piece of the action. He has a confrontation with his own superiors, and then with the police, which finally makes him a celebrity. His record suddenly hits the charts and he becomes elevated to the status of a folk hero. The stage is set for a violent confrontation with the authorities as the army closes in for a final showdown on a sandy beach.
Ivan’s desire for wealth, respect, popularity and power are themes that all school boys today can relate to. Often they are the qualities that we see kids seeking to achieve at any cost, but the path that one takes to get to this sought-after status can ultimately come back to haunt you. None other than English and world heartthrob David Beckham can vouch for this.
Beckham’s choice to childishly lash out at Simeone in the 1998 World Cup and consequently get sent off could be related to the actions of Ivan. Just as Ivan made the choice to follow crime, we see that Beckham’s violent behaviour is more like the action of an errant child than a mature adult, and though he is held up as a hero, we realize that in the end justice will take its course and he must learn his lesson. Beckham learnt his lesson not only through the red card he received but also through the public disgust.
‘The Harder They Come’, in its own gritty, urban way, shows how Jamaica as a country, and music, as a cultural way of life are fighting to gain recognition for their talents. However, ultimately America’s oppression controls what comes in and out of Jamaica and signs of oppression are expressed in many ways such as the scene in the church. A preacher continually hits the Bible as he turns the crowd into a writhing congregation of ‘orgasmic’ joy. The common people uses this time to express their sexual frustration they feel because of their lack of freedom to fulfill themselves. Ivan Martin in the same way suffers this sense of oppression during the time he works for the Preacher. He turns to his talent of music; however any wealth he came to grasp was not going to come through music. The success he finds is through crime and will inevitably lead to his death.
When Ivan says “the hero never dies before the last reel” he ultimately sums up the dream world in where he lives. In a time when it seems that America is Big Brother and oppresses, violates and leeches the talent that could bring money into Jamaica, the movie could be portraying the clear message that black Jamaicans will no longer be marginalized and silenced by the super powers of this world such as America.
The motifs of sex, drugs and music are all easily understood by people in the lower fifth, but it is the oppression and poverty that are much harder to grasp. While watching you see some street level shots which plunge you into the frantic and chaotic street world of Kingston, with its rusty tin roofs identifying the city’s vast rotting black ghetto.
In conclusion, this cultural movie portrays the dire circumstances the country finds itself in, because of the actions of not only America but the western world too, and that’s you and me.
By: Alastair Colin- Jones