it was certainly rubbing elbows with the elite of the elite . . .
bourdain being called dumb or stupid? he seemed to let it slide . . .
found the character "carl" very creepy and domineering the fishermen who were trying to speak the truth. . . . all in all, very little of interest for us ppl who love to do more of the local flair . . .
Part of the show certainly was about the high-end tourist destinations like Blackwell's place and the Trident Hotel. However, I think he gave fair exposure to the local lifestyle when he visited the locals beach and ate ackee & saltfish and whole fish from a cook shop. I believe his words were something like, this an ideal beach that is "free of douchery and has cold, local beer".
Having never seen "Parts Unknown" before, I thought he would focus a little more on the food. But yeah, I do think the show was good exposure for Jamaica.
The overall message I got from the show was what Bourdain summed up at the end. In the future will not only Jamaicans but also "us regular folks "not be able to enjoy the beauty of Jamaica.? By highlighting Trident and the segment with Chris Blackwell and his plans for expansion and business model of high dollar establishments its only going to be for the elite.
I was a little baffled by the tacky tourist they kept showing, since thats not really the type of traveler that will be able to afford to go if his prediction comes true. An example of this is Blackwells property The Caves . As a splurge I stayed there once for a few nights. Nice experience but no better than other places I've stayed on the cliffs for a lot less $$. what if in the future all of the cliffs was bought and developed by Blackwell or someone with the same business model? And of course the question of what development does to the residents of the area.
And I may read too much into things, but I felt the "guide" Blackwell sent with Bourdain had an agenda set by Blackwell but he himself had other ideas. At least thats how I felt he was portrayed. I really enjoy all of Bourdains shows but I take them all with a grain of salt. They're making a show..
I hope Mr. Blackwell realizes he needs to peek outside of his bubble now and again. If he only markets high end tourism, I'm sure he's aware he is cutting out the other 99% of the market. He seems to think the trickle down theory will work and folks will go out and visit local restaurants and bars, but I don't think he really cares if they do or not.
I'll have to watch this again. I've been following Bourdain for many years, and while this episode didnt show as much food and as many local haunts as I would have liked, I think they did a good job showing the juxtaposition. You have to get to know your enemy somewhat before you can fight him. I feel like he let Lee-Chin and Blackwell dig their own hole and posited that it doesn't have to and shouldn't be that (for elites only) way. If this was ten years ago, he might have gone after them a little more but even he's admitted getting softer over the eyars.
Here is a link to the episode. http://vimeo.com/112030689
Yeah, he set Chin and Blackwell up perfectly to look like villains. Right down to the camera work. It was uncomfortable at several points, but I enjoyed it, and I agree with the point he's making overall.
Why would he care when he can cater to the 1% and get results? It's business, and business is about making money. PERIODOriginally Posted by goldilocks
Having Carl Bradshaw there as Tony's off compound handler didn't help Blackwell look any better. I guess he forgot his mic was on when he basically told the local to sit down, shut up and put on an irie face in order to make things "work."
Agreed, but I really think that was his intent from the beginning. You could see the glimmer in AB's eye when Chin said he had thought he was brilliant, but his actions showed he's just dumb. He set them up to look bad, and very much succeeded IMO.
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