Carnival: Decline or evolution?

SO MANY people keep saying the Carnival is dying. I don't think it's dying. It's just becoming something else – something that looks like a pumpkin-vine relation to its former resplendence. In the words of one dissatisfied customer, "It wasn't as vibsey!"

Others vented on social media about the soaring costs of participating in the melee. Many arguments inferred the emergence of economic apartheid "in de cyannival." Bands and event promoters stand accused of intentionally purging the mas of the masses. One woman used the term white supremacy, which seemed a bridge too far.

Wendell Manwarren, rapsonian and titan of the arts, was captured in a frank expression of disgust about the changing face of Carnival. He alluded to the growing trend of segregation and bemoaned the roping off of our cultural identity so some could identify as more equal than others.

It's tragic because we're already riven with divisions along racial, socio-economic and political lines. Carnival used to be the one force rendering those lines porous, bleeding different social strata into one.

There are some residual aspects of this once-dominant ethos. The unifying, gravitational pull of Panorama remains. All within its influence, regardless of ethnicity, or income bracket, are called to celebrate one of the highest arts and expressions of raw genius this country ever produced. The steelpan is more than a mere instrument; it's a spiritual tuning fork.

With that said, we must face the music. It's part of human nature to crave separation; to feel apart and above others. Carnival isn't immune to such proclivities. Even among those who pay top dollar for recognition as members of the perceived cream of society, some pay a bit more to be one tier above.

You bought your platinum pass but seeing others with diamond passes makes yours look like a brass pass. Must do better next year. Too many peasants in the exclusion zone.

Much of the swing towards exclusivity is led by consumers. Entrepreneurs see new ways to make money by reading the temperature of the market. Some folks have spoken pejoratively of the fashion show-cum-Carnival fete trend. There's usually an endless parade online of people preening in front of photography backdrops draped in ghastly dinner gowns. In the case of men, it's the gaudy, undersized shirts. These premium events, though, are typically sold out.

All this pompous pageantry feels anathema to the cultural underpinnings of Carnival. The masquerade was born out of mockery of the colonial elite by the once enslaved. Now the elite mock the re-enslaved. The circle is complete.

How do the masses take the power back? It was suggested in the radio chattersphere that the Soca Monarch product, a festival of the proletariat, should be revamped.

To even utter this is to steups in the face of history. International Soca Monarch was a resounding failure suckling on state largesse for decades. As I wrote some time ago, that show couldn't depend on private businesses for survival. Money follows money, and that's why Carnival today looks less like a cultural extravaganza and more like a cash grab.

It was interesting to read the musings of a government minister on the sad path the festival has taken – an orgy of the banal, the death of creativity, and crass commercialisation.

It would seem the minister has forgotten that the Government has resources and agencies to shape what Carnival looks like. The National Carnival Commission (NCC) receives countless and uncounted millions. Why isn't that money invested in creating a cultural spectacle more closely aligned with the historic vibrations of our people?

Why isn't the State funding attractions worth spectators' time? Traditional mas characters like the midnight robber, the fireman, sailor mas, bat mas, minstrels and more should be on the streets everywhere – supported by the NCC rather than treated like filler.

These characters are the only assets distinguishing our Carnival from any one of a million other festivals all over the world. Pretty mas is designed to be played. Traditional mas is designed to be displayed.

What we're seeing now is the manifestation of a simple truth – the business community is good at making money. The Government excels at losing it. Entrepreneurs are organised. Anything state-powered is chaos.

Consequently, the dollar-sign vision of the Carnival entrepreneur will prevail in the absence of a vision from the State. No one tief de Carnival. Even in the way we jump and prance, the glitter, beads and faux feathers can't mask the wider dysfunction that defines us.