Thomas Grace
4/27/22
AICE Media Studies
The Heineken beer commercial pokes fun at the average tourists views of a stereotypical Jamaican person. The stereotype is that Jamaicans live an easy life and are always relaxed, something that a tourist that is coming to Jamaica wants to seek. When the tourists come around the Jamaicans transform into what the tourists would believe they are. A myth is a traditional story usually concerning the early history of people. It’s a traditonal stereotype passed down about Jamaicans, a myth if you would. The Jamaicans in the commercial aim to sell a theme about themselves. They are selling the “Jamaican experience”. In the commercial they change aspects of the bar to appeal more to the standards of the tourists. The grandpa who is using the internet is dragged off of it and the bar is essentially “dumbed down” as glasses are replaced with coconuts and normal decorations are replaced with Jamaican merch that would appeal to tourists like flags. I see the commercial as a critique of tourist’s views on Jamaican people. They want foreigners to see past the laid-back, smoking, beach-going, drum playing expectations that tourists have for Jamaica. Theses expectations are sold by tourist companies and long-standing traditional expectations globally known. The comments on the YouTube video from Jamaican people confirm that they believe many tourists see Jamaican people this way. A comment from an account named Drummond Studios says “Haha, love this video it’s true tho Jamaicans use technology a lot now and tourist just think the oppositr way…” This comment and belief are confirmed in the video by the Jamaicans telling the grandpa to get off the internet and even getting rid of something as simple as a checkers set. I believe Jamaicans find the commercial itself funny, but the ideas and standards real to life and point out a real issue. Another comment says “this is not how most Jamaicans want our people and our island to be viewed.” The Jamaican people in the comments express that they just want to be viewed a normal people and not people living in a twenty-four-seven vacation dream or living to serve tourists. They are as regular of a country as any other country the tourists are from. The problem of how tourists view Jamaica isn’t helped by tourist companies in Jamaica as they would happily sell the Jamaican experience to tourists for some cash. The problem of tourism lies deep as tourism makes up roughly a third of Jamaica’s income. In 2019 Jamaica made $3.64 billion off of tourism. For the people not working in tourism in Jamaica, they would probably despise people who essentially put on a show for Jamaica. Instead of bringing nationalism and pride it brings the opposite as we’ve seen from the comments on the YouTube video. Think about it in your own perspective, the idea of someone selling t-shirts of your own country or city and essentially flanderizing the personality of it does not sit well with me.
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