Editing Dancehall (section)

=== Guns and violent imagery ===
According to Carolyn Cooper in ''Sound Clash'', written in 2004, dancehall music and its following were frequently attacked for frequent references to guns and violence in lyrics, with Cooper responding by arguing that the emergence of firearms was less a sign of genuinely violent undercurrents in dancehall and more a theatrical adoption of the role of guns as tools of power. That ties into the concepts of the badman, a defiant, rebellious figure who often use a gun to maintain a level of respect and fear.&nbsp; Said concepts, Cooper argues, originate in historical resistance to slavery and emulation of imported films, specifically North American action films with gun-wielding protagonists.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Carolyn |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52799208|title=Sound clash : Jamaican dancehall culture at large|date=2004|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=1-4039-6425-4|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=154|oclc=52799208}}</ref>

Adding to the concept of gunfire as theatrical element is the use of gunfire as a way to show support for a performing DJ or singer, which eventually gave way to flashing cigarette lighters, displaying glowing cellphone monitors, and igniting aerosol sprays.<ref name=":4" /> Gunfire as a form of cheering has extended beyond dancehall culture with the phrase "pram, pram!" becoming a general expression of approval or support.<ref name=":4" />

However, Cooper's assessment of the presence of guns in Jamaican dancehall is not wholly uncritical, with a discussion of [[Buju Banton|Buju Banton's]] 'Mr. Nine' interpreting the song as a denouncement of what Cooper describes as gun culture gone out of control.<ref name=":4" />

Part of the criticism of Jamaican dancehall appears to be the product of cultural clash stemming from a lack of insider knowledge on the nuances of the music's content and the culture surrounding said music.&nbsp; This struggle is something ethnomusicologists struggle with, even within an academic setting, with Bruno Nettl describing in ''The Study of Ethnomusicology'' how "insider" and "outsider" viewpoints would reveal different understandings on the same music.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nettl |first=Bruno |title=The study of ethnomusicology : thirty-three discussions|date=15 May 2015|isbn=978-0-252-09733-1|edition=Third|location=Urbana|oclc=910556351}}</ref> Indeed, Nettl later mentions growing questions of who ethnomusicological studies benefited, especially from the groups being studied.&nbsp; And even then, in ''May It Fill Your Soul'', Timothy Rice mentioned that even insider scholars required a level of distanciation to scrutinize their own cultures as needed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rice |first=Timothy |title=May it fill your soul : experiencing Bulgarian music|date=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-71121-8|location=Chicago|pages=6|oclc=28799339}}</ref>