The 1980s: Long Live the President—The President Is Dead!
The 1980s: Long Live the President—The President Is Dead!
This chapter examines the President Forbes Burnham administration, and how he recognized the importance of public entertainment as a vehicle for the citizenry to let off steam, for diverting attention, for mobilizing the society in times of crisis, and for the promotion of a political regime. Under Burnham's leadership, the state acquired a range of assets with which to execute the panis et circenses tradition. By 1980, the nation's calendar of holidays, festivals, and anniversaries provided the framework on which to organize and influence “entertainments.” After governing the Guyanese society for the first half of the 1980s, the impact of his decisions remained evident throughout the remainder of the decade. The chapter also shows how the 1980s was not a great decade for European classical music in Guyana.
Keywords: President Forbes Burnham, public entertainment, political regime, panis et circenses, Guyanese society, European classical music
University Press of Mississippi requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
