Set in Jamaica, Pink and Purple is a limited series drama/thriller that tells the story of John James, a 17-year-old teen, turned vigilante who must bring those responsible for the murder of his boyfriend to justice all while fighting his descent into madness caused by the trauma of the murder and subsequent cover-up.
John James (17) has it all. He’s well-educated. His family is wealthy and powerful. And he’s mixed. Unfortunately, in Jamaica, having light skin is as good as gold.
But he harbors a dangerous secret; he’s gay. And being gay in Jamaica is a lethal problem. The island has been dubbed the most homophobic nation in the western hemisphere. But John stifles it well. This repression creates a seething rage directed at the conservative world he’s trapped in. He pines for the day his island will accept his kind. Luckily for everyone around him, that rage is diffused in a variety of martial arts that he dominates.
But he’s not totally forsaken. His childhood friend Lewis Dawes (17) is gay too! What started as a friendship blossomed into teenage love. One day John will be able to live free with Lewis. Without fear of violence or intimidation. Lewis is John’s polar opposite. He’s small, effeminate, dark-skinned, and not a great follower of rules. Not even the rules set by his conservative father. The same father who uses his fists to beat the batty boy (faggot) out of him. And when black eyes, sprains, and broken limbs don’t work, Lewis’ father throws him out.
But Lewis’ spirit isn’t easily broken. Especially when he has John at his side, bringing him food, visiting him on the streets, and promising him a future free of all this hate. And that day will come soon! John’s mother is the Governor General of Jamaica. And she’s vying for Prime Minister. She’s promised John that when she’s in office she will start the change he hopes to see!
If you’re somebody, you’re attending Dubfest, an annual Dancehall event held in downtown Kingston. This year Lewis has decided he wants to go. But in drag. Lewis is uncompromising in his decision to attend/ So John joins him for his protection. John’s anxiety vanishes when he sees that no one suspects Lewis of being a boy. And this ability to be out and open with Lewis, for all to see, is a new and invigorating feeling for John. It’s a taste of what’s to come. But this joy is quickly dashed when Lewis reveals that he’s not going to Dubfest as just an audience member. Lewis plans to compete. In the women’s dance competition. John finds Lewis’ reasoning quixotic. John is convinced change will come through his avenue, not through Lewis’ use of shock and awe. But Lewis is disaffected. He no longer believes that John’s mother will make good on her promise to help the LGBT when she takes office. And he doesn't believe she’ll allow John and Lewis to come out as a couple. Lewis makes the mistake of giving John an ultimatum. Either John joins him at Dubfest or leaves. And John makes the mistake of leaving Lewis.
The next morning John goes to the junkyard where Lewis lives. He wants to apologize for last night and congratulate Lewis on winning the top prize at the competition. But instead, John discovers Lewis dead. He’s been murdered. The horror and pain are indescribable. John expects this pain to be shared by all who find out about this horror. He expects those in power, including his mother, The Governor General, to rain justice down on the perpetrators of this crime. Instead, he’s met with an unmovable force of homophobia hiding behind political ambition.
So no, the murder of Lewis will not be investigated. For two reasons. Firstly, this murder will sully a very carefully executed campaign of political machination by his mother to become the Prime Minister. In fact, it happens on the day she’s going to announce her use of an obscure constitutional power that allows her to dissolve the current government. And secondly, the reason no investigation into Lewis’ death will take place is because the killer is already known. The killer is Z Crew, a massively popular Dancehall posse that Zane, John’s older brother, is the leader of. The death will be ignored. Lewis’ death will be attributed to crime and drugs. He'll be a victim of the inadequate government that Vivian hopes to usurp. And John must grow up! He must swallow the bitter pill of reality and play his part next to his mother as the young martial arts prodigy. She never intended to help the LGBT community of Jamaica. It was a lie. It was a way to get John to shut up about his burgeoning homosexuality. It was a way to hold off his coming out. But the time of babying has come to an end.
This breaks John beyond repair. Whatever was keeping his rage at bay, breaks. And what comes out isn’t a teenage tantrum. It’s a simmering calculated John who now knows that he must bring the change he wants to see. And to do it, he’ll have to bring these people, including his family, to their knees. And the breaking includes his psyche. John starts to see Lewis in moments of great importance. Lewis is always accompanied by the colors Pink and Purple. Their nicknames for each other. Pink for John and Purple for Lewis. The color manifests as a gossamer mist that the specter of Lewis inhabits. It isn’t clear to John if this is a hallucination or a real ghost. But he knows he must keep it a secret.
So starts John’s journey to becoming the hero he and Lewis needed. We see this represented in two timelines. The A story takes place in the present day. Specifically, it evolves over the course of one night. The night of Dubfest the following year. The anniversary of Lewis’ death. And the B story is told in a series of flashbacks of John's life including the year leading up to this one epic night. Each flashback serves a narrative purpose in explaining John’s life and the specific actions he takes in the present to enact justice. We are always one step behind John as he brings his plan to fruition. But when we catch up, we see his moves are incredibly poignant, meaningful, and most importantly devastating to his enemies.
The flashbacks take us through John’s childhood as a high-yellow boy in a predominantly black country. And how much he hated it. We see how his skin color allows him special opportunities that his peers aren’t privy to. This is a commentary on the role colorism still plays in Jamaica over 180 years after the abolition of slavery. But John learns that this colorism is what makes him specifically poised to bring about the change he wants. It’s not fair. But it’s the cards he was dealt and this is how he chooses to use them. What he once saw as a disability he now sees as a superpower. And the tragic irony of that isn’t lost on him.
The second conflict the flashbacks showcase is John’s relationship with his sexuality. This is illustrated through the incredibly innocent love between John and Lewis. And the wildly different ways they suffer for their “nature”. John, being more straight acting is able to hide his gayness and survive. He’s also beloved by every girl in school who wants a ‘pretty skin’ boy. And his mother Vivian is more forgiving than Lewis’ father; Mr. Dawes. Lewis is abused, thrown in the dirt, and made to feel like trash. And John can only look on helplessly. But Lewis, despite it all, still remains a bright ray in John’s life. His ability to smile through broken teeth and black eyes makes his story more tragic.
And then finally the last storyline explored in the flashbacks is John’s planning after the murder of Lewis. John goes from a scared teen to a brutal vigilante. And we see that he has help. First and most important is Lewis’ older brother Cook. Cook comes from America after he finds out his little brother is dead. Cook, just like John, hates Mr. Dawes: his father. And his instinct proves right when John tells him the truth. Cook is no stranger to the shadier parts of the world. And he gives John access to the more adult parts of the world John can’t get to. And then there are the Gully Kids. The Gully Kids are a real group of LGBT youth in Jamaica that are forced to live in the sewers. John galvanizes them into action. With their knowledge of the underworld, they become John’s foot soldiers.
The final episodes of the season shift to mostly the events of the night of Dubfest. By the time we reach Act III John has dolled out each person’s punishment except the final three. And the final three are the most important. They are Mr. Dawes, Zane, and John’s own mother. They are the tip of the sword. Up until this point, John’s punishments have been brutal but not lethal. He wants to leave the perpetrators with lasting physical and or emotional scars. He doesn’t want to stoop to their level of taking a life. But his anger towards the ones whose betrayal burns the hottest makes John unstable. And the specter of Lewis has gotten more active. It’s pushing John to do it. Kill them! But this is the telltale clue that this ghoul isn’t real. The real Lewis would never say that. Whatever this haunting is, it’s not Lewis.
The closing episode of the season is a race between Cook and John. John is going over the edge. He’s going to do something he cannot walk back from. Cook must stop him before John kills his brother and his own mother. Before madness truly sets in. Cook suspected John was unhinged. But now he sees the proof in front of him. And if he doesn’t act fast then their plan will fail. This whole plan was supposed to end with Cook and John walking free. So murder wasn’t on the menu. But thankfully John overcomes the inner demon that’s been haunting him this whole time; his crushing guilt. Murder is not the answer. John makes the right decision and spares the lives of his mother and brother. Instead, they are given the punishment prescribed to them by John.
#6. Z CREW
is Zane’s (John’s older brother) posse. They are young men reveling in international stardom for their fierce success in the Dancehall scene. The crew consists of twins BOOTS and BONES, the scrawny BIRDLEG, and the larger-than-life ERIC THE GOLIATH. It was Z Crew who had a fateful encounter with Lewis in drag on the night of Dubfest. It was Z Crew who jumped Lewis. And they took it too far.
#5. GREEZER
is, well, Greezer. He provides some of the much-needed levity in this heavy series. He’s a young, obnoxious American pop star who’s in Jamaica to engage in the tried and true American pop culture tradition; appropriation. Greezer is the next in line to collaborate with Z Crew. Having Z Crew in his video will give him major street cred. And he was there when Lewis was murdered. How much blood is on his hand? John will find out. So confident in his ability to avoid the law in this 3rd world country, Greezer has come back to Dubfest the next year. Where John will serve him his punishment.
#4. MS. BUDDING
was John’s mentor. She is his martial arts coach after all. Her extracurricular passion for combat sports doesn’t distract her from her real responsibility. She’s the Chief of Police. Ms. Budding is committed to cleaning up Jamaica. And she understands that some sacrifices need to be made. And she’s made a lot of them to get to her current position. Her failure to bring Zane and Z Crew to justice is what seals her fate.
#3. MR. DAWES
(Lewis and Cook’s father) is a silent omen. He rarely appears. But when he does, it quiets the room. He’s a man who never yells and seldomly argues. His power is in his wallet. He wields his influence over the entire city of Kingston. He has the adoration of the people. After all, he IS bettering their lives. Mr. Dawes is also devoutly Christian. And any sin in his house will be expelled even if it comes from his youngest. And he’s instrumental in getting Vivian into Government.
#2. ZANE JAMES
is John’s older brother. He has a long scar on the side of his face. We find out in the story that that scar was delivered to him by John. John was defending Lewis from Zane’s attacks. Zane is a charming gentleman. And that’s what makes him so lethal. Just like his mother, Zane dishes out abuse to John in the guise of brotherly love and support. The tragedy is that Zane genuinely believes beating the gay out of his brother is the right thing to do. Zane is the one who instigated the assault on Lewis that night of Dubfest.
#1. VIVIAN JAMES
is the black Claire Underwood. Vivian’s ability to hide poison behind a smile is a true gift. She, like her eldest son, will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She loves her boys. She loves John. But she knows sacrifices are necessary to gain control. And control is required in order to improve Jamaica.
GULLY KIDS
The high-yellow boy. He was abused for much of his life for being ‘girly’ by his older brother. Johnathan has developed a wave of boiling anger inside of himself. And it’s siphoned into his martial arts. In his teen years, John has mastered the ability to appear ‘masculine’ in public. He passes for straight. And he enjoys the spoils of being in the ‘in’ crowd. Why can’t Lewis just act straight too? Why does he have to be so effeminate? John has asked himself that countless times as he stood by and watched helplessly as Lewis was being abused.
Was John’s childhood friend. They met at the wee age of 8 and have been close ever since. Lewis went the opposite path of John. His inability to stifle his gayness made him a pariah. Forced out by his father, Lewis like most of Jamaica’s gay youth became a streetwalker.
Cook is Lewis Dawes’ older brother. He’s Mr. Dawes’ eldest son. Cook has had a tough time with the law in the United States. The Dawes are from New York. Mr. Dawes abandoned Cook for a new life in Jamaica when Cook’s downward spiral began. Cook has always maintained as close a relationship as possible with his younger brother. He has always admonished his father for his mistreatment of Lewis. But unfortunately, Cook wasn’t there when Lewis needed him the most. Cook and John share that guilt.
Porcha is the IT girl of Kingston right now. Before the events that lead to Lewis’ death she was Zane’s (John’s brother and leader of Z Crew) main squeeze. But she was there when John was killed. And she wanted to go to the police. But she was pressured into silence by Ms. Budding (The Chief of Police). John has recruited her to do the right thing. And she’s in his crew now to right a wrong.
The Gully Kids are a real group of LGBT youth in Jamaica that have been forced to live in the sewers. For all of them, the choice is simple. Live like this, in filth or die. Lewis, when he was kicked out of his home, found a welcoming family in the Gully Kids. He became one of them. And when he died he was added to their long list of friends who’ve died because of their nature. John galvanizes them to fight the system. And with their expertise in the underworld, they become a powerful force.
SWORD
“That’s my mom’s sword from being knighted as the Governor-General.”
“What’s a Governor-General?”
“Mommy says it’s like an, um... a figurehead position. Since Jamaica is, like, owned by the Queen the Governor-General is like her person in Jamaica.”
John is not a fencer or master swordsman. But he understands the importance of symbolism. Which is why he chooses his mother’s sword as the sigil for his new form. What better weapon to wield than the one that was meant to symbolize justice? John’s mother has betrayed her position as the Governor General of Jamaica to feed her selfish political ambitions.
This sword also serves several other narrative cornerstones. John and Lewis met when Lewis discovered the sword in John’s house. And the sword was young John’s weapon of choice when he defended Lewis against Zane. Zane had found them kissing. And he blamed Lewis for corrupting his little brother. John couldn’t stop Zane from pummeling Lewis. So John grabbed the closest weapon and swung his mother’s sword at Zane. Leaving Zane with a vertical scar that runs down the length of his face.
‘In the past two years, two of the island's most prominent gay activists, Brian Williamson and Steve Harvey, have been murdered — and a crowd even celebrated over Williamson's mutilated body. Perhaps most disturbing, many anti-gay assaults have been acts of mob violence. In 2004, a teen was almost killed when his father learned his son was gay and invited a group to lynch the boy at his school. Months later, witnesses say, police egged on another mob that stabbed and stoned a gay man to death in Montego Bay. And this year a Kingston man, Nokia Cowan, drowned after a crowd shouting "batty boy" (a Jamaican epithet for homosexual) chased him off a pier. "Jamaica is the worst any of us has ever seen," says Rebecca Schleifer of the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch and author of a scathing report on the island's anti-gay hostility.’
- Padgett, Tim. "The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?." Time Magazine, 12th April 2006
Believe it or not, you already know what Dancehall is. And you’ve been listening to it for the last two decades. Don’t believe me? Check it out.
That’s 10 BILLION views on Dancehall culture.
Rihanna is the only one doing it authentically. The others are the pinnacle of appropriation. Dancehall is a form of music originating in Jamaica. It has blossomed over the decades to encompass a whole culture of music, partying, and dance. In short, Dancehall is Jamaica’s Hip-Hop. “Depending on who you ask, Jamaicans basically invented hip-hop, the remix, pretty much everything you’ll see a DJ do during their set at a festival, and the whole idea of the huge sound system you’re listening to.” - Gilkes-Bower, Taliesin. The Outline 2018 .
When hearing of a dance crew it’s easy to think of West Side Story or Grease. But for Dancehall crews, the culture is far more serious and the stakes are much higher. To be a successful Dancehall crew is a big deal. You become a celebrity. And the fame leaves the borders. There are internationally known Dancehall dancers that frequent many mainstream American artists’ music videos and entourage. It’s a nightlife affair. And with any nightlife affair there comes danger. Though crime is not a central part of Dancehall culture it can be, at times, a close neighbor. When money and reputation are involved anything can happen. In Pink and Purple, Z Crew is the biggest Dancehall crew on the island. They are poised to break out internationally. Their reputation is their livelihood.
It’s hard to fully contextualize an entire culture’s art form in a succinct way. So let me show you my version of Dancehall. This is the Dancehall I grew up with in Jamaica.
Thankfully I didn’t have a boyfriend that was murdered or a machiavellian family committed to keeping me down. But Pink and Purple still comes from my lived life. My name is Jazeel Gayle and I’m a writer and director based in Los Angeles. I was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the states at 8. I grew up in a culture that called for the explicit burning of Gays in our pop music. My father disowned me when I came out to him. Because to be Gay in Jamaica is the greatest sin. I’ve been beaten for acting too effeminate. I’ve been shamed for my nature. I’ve heard every member of my family call for violence against the LGBT. And that’s why I want to make this story.
I’m well-adjusted now and have a loving family who accepts me unconditionally. But I count myself lucky. Jamaica has this dirty secret of hatred that it hides behind soothing syncopations of Reggae and the carefree lifestyle of Caribbean living. Our cultural exports come with fine print. Too small to read. It says “except gays”. We export a message of one love, unity, color, and harmony. Except for the gays. And I’m sick of it. I’m sick of people enjoying the fruits of Jamaica while ignoring the human rights violation that goes on there.
But the truth is. Pink and Purple scares me. Because I am indicting an entire island of people. I am airing out our dirty laundry. I am, in the same breath, introducing the vibrancy of the culture while also criticizing it. But it must be done. We as Jamaicans need to be embarrassed. We need to have our secrets revealed. We need to be called out. It’ll hurt. We’ll be defensive. But the pain is necessary. Because as a culture we have yet to ask ourselves, is this okay? Do we want to be a culture that has Bronze Age views on race and sexuality? If not then we need to change. I know I’m going to lose more family members because of Pink and Purple. But, I need to do it. If not for my own absolution, for the kids living in fear in my homeland.
Me on the right. My childhood friend on the left was lauded for his light skin. While I was scolded for my feminine mannerism.
