ENTITY · CONCEPT / TERM

Moral-panic framing of dancehall

Probable

The 'moral panic' framing that scholars and commentators apply to episodes of public alarm over dancehall, from slackness scares to censorship drives and church campaigns, in which the music is cast as a threat to youth and public order.

No photograph yet — add one you hold the rights toOpenly licensed or your own work. We publish the credit and the licence beside it.

At a glance

Type: Concept / term →
Era: Dancehall and the digital turn →
Confidence: Probable
Sources: Carolyn Cooper; Donna P. Hope; Jamaica Gleaner archive; media studies.

Share a memoryWrite it, say it, or send a photo.Correct this recordA date, a name, a spelling we got wrong.Add a source leadA flyer, tape, article or photograph.

Connections

Media & sources

Articles & sources

Open source ↗

'Ban vulgar sessions' — church body on street dances and lewd lyrics (Gleaner, 19 Feb 2009)

WEB · rights discovery only · press source

Jamaica Gleaner archive reference.

Source link ↗

In stories

Story · Well supportedThe airwaves on trial: dancehall and the Broadcasting Commission

Jamaica's 2009 broadcast directives turned a dance craze into a censorship debate.

Debate & reception

What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →

Debate

The church, morality and dancehall

One side

Guarding public morality

The other

Silencing the authentic voice of the poor

A neutral account of a recurring debate: church and civic voices have framed dancehall as a threat to public morality, while defenders frame such campaigns as silencing the authentic voice of the poor. Scholars read these episodes through a moral-panic lens. No verdict.

Read the argument →