Culture

From Seminar 2: The Peopling of New York City

Walking through Flatbush on any given day, it is not unusual to feel transported to a grand paradise, minus the sand. The sights, sounds, and smells along with the warm greetings of locals contribute to a decidedly island feel. But the West Indies are more than vacation spots and Flatbush is a not the West Indies. The illusion of "home" created by the community's treatment of accented english, the smell of jerk and callaloo, and the blasting of tropical tunes as mundane conceal the true value of West Indian culture in Flatbush.

Once a year, Flatbush is rich with culture, a culture that has attracted a few million people from all over the world to the humble neighborhood. This, of course, is Carnival, an elaborate display of cultural pride and identity as well as creativity. However, even when it is not Labor Day, West Indian culture is still easily visible in the more subtle forms of food, music, and art. West Indians have successfully imported their culture and traditions from thousands of miles away and with little, if any, objections from non-West Indians in Flatbush. They are able to maintain their identity and are encouraged to maintain that identity indirectly through the popularity of their cultural elements. In fact, people are attracted to this culture. Carnival is a celebration inviting everyone to celebrate while West Indian food, music, and art are enjoyable to all peoples. For anyone looking for authentic West Indian culture or to understand such a unique people, a visit to his vibrant neighborhood is a must.


Contents

Introduction to Carnival

Bing Shao

Brooklyn Carnival 2007 1

Carnival has always been known for its extravagance and colors. The elaborate cultural elements of Carnival reflects the prevalence of West Indians in the Flatbush community. This research project focused on the significance of costumes and traditional clothing as a way of creating a national identity for individuals from different homelands, while simultaneously revitalizing the sentiment of being back home.

Introduction to Food

Samema Sarowar

2
The significance of food as representation of cultural expression and individualism explores the interconnectedness of countries from all over the West Indies.

The West Indian area of Flatbush is rich with culture and diversity. It has various ways of expressing distinct traditions and practices. Food is one of the major ways that West Indians retain their history. It allows them to connect deeply with their homeland, even though some are second and third generation West Indians. It helps us to understand the ways that West Indians view themselves as individual countries and also as a whole. Each individual has pride in their own ethnic foods, and it helps us to understand the reasons behind nationalistic pride and ethnic identity. This research on food helps us to understand migration and identity of West Indians living in Flatbush and also their transnational ties to their homelands. Even though the West Indians retain their ethnic foods, some foods have been blended into the everyday American diet. The study of West Indian food allows us also to understand the influence of West Indian culture on the American diet, and also the American influence on West Indian food, especially in the area of Flatbush.

Introduction to Music

Lisa Liu

A Cross-street in Flatbush

Medicine. Life. Love. These are just some terms Flatbush Afro-Caribbeans used to describe music. It is clear that music is an integral part of daily life for West Indian people. It defines their small, humble nations, and is a representation of cultural pride. It is a means of relaxation and fun. It is a rebellion against societal norms. But music is also a way of understanding change in immigrant lifestyles and provides insight into social dynamics of the neighborhood, especially tolerance and the ability to maintain cultural traditions in a culturally mixed neighborhood.

Introduction to Art

YooJin Lee

A Mozaic of Afro-Caribbean Flatbush

What do we mean by "Art?" Art is a vague term that we use to describe anything that is produced by a creative process. In this section of "Expressive Culture," Art is going to be narrowed down to visual art; "Art work, such as painting, photography, or sculpture, that appeals primarily to the visual sense and typically exists in permanent form" (dictionary.com). Because Flatbush is a residential area, traces of visual art are not easy to find--you have to look very carefully in order to find how visual art is evident in the neighborhood, into places such as T-shirt stands, store facades, brick walls around the corner, etc, narrowing visual art further into commercial art; in such places exist creations and designs that quietly provide emotive transnationalism between the immigrants and their home countries. Commercial Art, because of its relationships to economic transaction or public experience, appears very integrated into daily life and active interaction within the community, making the experience of transnatioinalism all the richer. "Art is everywhere, except it has to pass through a creative mind." - Louise Nevelson

"I believe it is impossible to make sense of life in this world except through art." - Daniel Pinkwater

Works Cited

1 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2007/09/04/gal_ w.i.d_parade14.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/galleries/west_indies_ parade/west_indies_parade.html&h=356&w=575&sz=127&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=FgC pWZFMRAhrHM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrooklyn%2Bcarnival%2B parade%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official %26sa%3DG

2 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/ 206/465661879_71194008ca.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.toliveandeatinla.com/ 2007/vegan-jamaican-caribbean-food/&h=375&w=500&sz=181&hl=en&start=7&um =1&tbnid=4ybv1aIy7sRBBM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcaribbean%2B food%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN