Rasta Culture in New York

The Rasta culture is one that is rich in ideals, food, art, and music. It’s not surprising that its popularity has spread beyond the Caribbean and into the Western world. In our society, however, culture is seen as not only a way of life, but also a way to make money. This is very true for the Rastafari movement. When you come across something that’s “Rasta” all you see is red, green, and gold, Bob Marley’s face or Mary J stamped onto it. Because of Western commercialization, the Rastafari movement has been boiled down to misguided cultural expression without any acknowledgment of its roots. Its original doctrines, for example, preached a rejection of Babylon. If you observe the movement today, it blatantly contradicts this ideal. Western consumerism, the entity that Rastas perceived as the cause of their oppression, is now manipulating the movement based on a capitalist mindset. Bob Marley, a cultural icon, has become a standardized brand with the transformation of “Rastafari reggae” to “international reggae”. Even dreads, the Rasta hairstyle, have been sewn onto beanies, so everyone can be a “Rasta”.  The movement has suffered an oversimplification of its value as a cultural belief.