NO PANORAMA! NO RESPECT FOR PAN!

By Jerry EM George;

There will be no Panorama this year. Again! And one of the main reason, I understand is that money promised has not been paid for competition since 2008. I could not believe my ears. Can someone confirm for me, please? If this is indeed true, it is, indeed, a sad state of affairs.
Pan has always seem like the bastard child of our culture, despite its position at the apex of Caribbean innovation, having earned the accolade as “the only musical instrument to be invented in this century”. The humble birth place and the early history of Pan may have had something to do with lingering image of “badness”. But Pan has elevated the status of every Caribbean person for its amazing versatility and uniqueness. So why the disrespect? Only two nights ago, I listen to Chalkdust deliver a lecture on NTN and he intimated that every time we respect Mas and Pan we pay homage to our African ancestors who were the original Mas makers and Pan-men/women. We are standing on their shoulders.
Pan has come a long way and the possibilities for its future developments seem endless. Pan is no longer be seen as seasonal and just a carnival time extravaganza. Pan is year-round. And to me the only persons who can articulate this are Panmen and women. Pan is more than a “side” but should now progress to an organization that offer youth more than just pan playing.
The shortcomings I see in Pan can be equated to what I see in media where those who are “in” these two sectors refuse to see themselves as professionals. There are a few professionals in each sector, I must admit, but both sectors are not professionalized. And because of this we give others the permission to disrepect us in many ways and to treat the majority of media workers and Pan men/women collectively as being less than their true worth and value.
In this regard there is back-biting, back-stabbing, petty jealousies, price gouging, laisse-faire attitudes, acceptance of mediocrity and declining standards, and an overall lack of pride in the profession. However, I must compliment those who remain committed to the struggle and to the unification of media and pan.
The strangest thing is that the prototypes for success in both these areas are already available. The sad thing is that we are moving nowhere in a hurry because of the human factors.

That is my 2cents.
Jeremy em George