Preview

Life and Debt Documentary Reaction Paper

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
859 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Life and Debt Documentary Reaction Paper
Caitlyn Tait
Dr. Detraz
POLS 1501
Life and Debt Documentary Reaction Paper

In Life and Debt the director, Stephanie Black, sets the scene with how you would visualize Jamaica as an American tourist and proceeds to explain the contrasting views of the Jamaican people. For example, the voice over explains how many American tourists feel rich when they exchange money because their American dollars go for many Jamaican dollars due to the high inflation rates causing their currency to be valued so little. Throughout the rest of the documentary, Black’s main goal is to show what post-colonial Jamaica is really like since the IMF has given them loans and what the Jamaican people have had to sacrifice in the process. Within the documentary, they explain who the IMF was set up by and how it was set up for short term loans after WWII with the idea of rebuilding a devastated Europe. Now the IMF hands out short term loans with immense restrictions that are mostly impossible to reach. The main storyline of the documentary is showing many examples of just how the IMF loans have impacted the Jamaican economy. It provides examples from different food producers, such as banana farmers, cabbage farmers, and dairy farmers, as well as the factories in the free zones. One of the key strengths of this documentary is just how convincing their examples are. All of them fully show the struggles that the farmers and workers go through because of the actions of the IMF. It is said that the IMF thought that by raising the trade barriers it would help the economy but the reality is the exact opposite. With the trade barriers that protected what little of an economy Jamaica had before the IMF came in either reduced or absent, foreign food and other imports that could be produced in Jamaica are now cheaper than the Jamaican goods forcing Jamaicans out of business. They show videos of cabbage, bananas, and milk just being thrown away because too much is being produced compared to how

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Life and Debt, a documentary by Stephanie Black, with a commentary written by Jamaica Kincaid, looks at the effect of the International Monetary Fund on the economy of Jamaica, the third world country that was once colonized by the Great Britain. The film has offered the audiences different voices on this issue including the IMF officers, the Jamaican farmers and former Jamaican president as an overview to the issue The former president of Jamaica Michael Manley has been out of power for many years, yet his bitterness over his ouster and his country's subsequent decline remains palpable. His take on the primary cause of Jamaica's descent into hell is most interesting, considering the current conjuncture. The crisis of the early 1970s forced his government to take out loans to cover the rising expenses of fuel-based imports, from fertilizer to gasoline.…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    These individual organizations have come under much scrutiny for their involvement in the international economy. They have been accused of negatively affecting the economies of its participating countries instead of helping. Many policies set forth by these groups have shown a drastic change in the growth of the domestic economy and social policies. These policies mostly affect less developed countries’ economies since the IMF and…

    • 1524 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The film discusses the obstacles triggered due to Jamaica gaining independence from the United Kingdom. When Jamaica achieved independence in 1962, the country rapidly recognized that it could not continue to finance itself. They eventually turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which inevidently initiated Jamaica's spiral into endless debt. The IMF started off with restrictions…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    If you have read the story in the bible, explaining the lives of the Israelites , you can see some similarities in Jamaica’s history timeline. They have dealt with many rulers in their country’s era and still haven’t been able to fall back on a positive government. Their history holds horrifying massacres involving deaths of many innocent casualties. This once beautiful country now has become a struggle of survival. Jamaica had many hardships while Britain colonized the country, but now conditions have worsened and some Jamaicans are saying they would rather still be living under Britain’s rule.…

    • 1786 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    William, M (2003). Barbados: a brief look at Barbados’ financial system. Euromoney,. 31-34. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198920608?accountid=12085…

    • 2845 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Black Gold

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The film Black Gold was a very interesting and eye opening film. The film focuses mainly on the coffee growers in southern and western Ethiopia. The movie shows closely the journey that Tadesse Maskela goes through to promote his union- Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. The union was developed to cut out the middleman in the processes of trading and exporting the coffee beans. Tadesse Maskela also attempts to secure a living wage for the coffee farmers that her represents, and hope to have fair trade for social and economic justice. The union’s goals are to stabilize the local markets in and outside of Ethiopia, to improve the Ethiopian coffee market, and most importantly to improve the quantity of life of the coffee farmers. I find this very important because it really opened my eyes and realize that the farmers make very little or no money at all for every cup of coffee that we drink. The movie shows the drastic challenges that the farmers go through. Children are malnourished, uneducated, bad living conditions, and most importantly their work is not paying off. These farmers work eight to twelve hour shifts and make as little as fifty cents a day. The film Life and Debt showed similar issues like the ones in Black Gold. In Life and Debt we saw how due to regulations from the IMF and World Bank, farmers who produced bananas and milk lost profits due to trade regulations made and that other countries producing it at a lower price. This caused the bananas and milk to rot and the conditions and profits of the farmers worsen. The thing that I picked up form both films is that we need to be more aware of where and how we get what we have. We need to know who is affected through the process of getting this product. It always seems that the little farmers are getting hurt, while big corporations are just gaining the…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The documentary film, Poverty Inc., provides an inside look at the aid provided to foreign counties and the adverse effects of aid programs within developing countries. The following are some opinions and questions I have after viewing the film.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you are in debt, you need to get rid of this financial and emotional nuisance as soon as possible. Never mind your credit rating. Do whatever it takes to become debt free and never borrow again. There is no financial advantage to having debt. In years past, there would be people who would talk about good debt and bad debt. Of course, good debt was money borrowed for investment purposes and was usually a mortgage for a home. We learned in 2008, when the real estate bubble collapsed, that you can lose a great deal of money by having a mortgage. But even now, there are those who would make an argument to have a mortgage versus renting, and some of these people can make a good argument. I sit…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most of our income comes from the tourism industry. This has allowed our country to become a popular tourist destination. However the government constantly jeopardizes our main source of revenue. This was stated in paragraph 6, “Dead dolphins and whales beach daily like drowned slaves.” As a result of signing the Pipeline Contract, many tourists travelled to other countries due to the pollution of the ocean. This was emphasized in paragraph eight when he mentioned how Cuba took over as the number one tourist destination. In addition, Bahamians escaped to Cuba to avoid working under poor conditions at the amusement park and factories. This is quite ironic considering Bahamians love to travel to other countries for their amusement parks. The industry further declined when Junaknoo was abolished in 2015. It was no longer of tradition but of a trend. This was displayed in the twelfth paragraph, “A thoroughly diluted version on Junkanoo, Junkanoo Lite, is currently serving as the official mascot of the Miami Dolphins.” These instances show how our culture is constantly placed at…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Global economy is known as one of the most effective problems in Haiti, after all if Haiti had a great economic development the people in the country wouldn’t live in poverty with major critical issues. The Haitian government participates in many affairs such as free trade which are caused by globalization. The president knows that it is hurting the country but since these affairs benefits himself he does not worry much on how the citizen’s lives are being affected by globalization. Most of the country’s money is being used for other unecessary properties instead of going out to children in need. “The increasing economic inequality that exists between Haiti’s capital city and rural areas is a disaster”(6th Source Notes). I think the peasants…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.”- James Baldwin. When a person is living in poverty, everything they do daily seems like an accomplishment because it is difficult for them to possess. If a person never really have food, it feels like a blessing when the do receive it. Everything seems expensive because the have nothing. What exactly is poverty? Poverty is the state of not having enough money and/or materials to meet basic life needs such as food, clothes and shelter. Hunger and poverty are two aspects that go hand in hand with each other. A person can be hungry without being a victim of poverty; a person who is living in poverty is more than likely experiencing hunger as well. There are people all over the world who are victims of poverty and hunger. However, some countries experience it more than others. Poverty and hunger is present for more that one reason and those different reasons vary depending on the country.…

    • 1853 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Life and Debt Response

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Globalization has been a controversial topic for decades followed by the industrialization. The debate of whether it is positive or negative for the human race has caused much divergence, consequently leading to vast conflicts between different cultures, nations, and peoples. Although globalization brought convenience to the lives of a few on a daily basis in the industrialized countries, it also brought about world power monopolies controlling the trade system, exploitation of workers in developing countries, and victimizing the societies that are unable to self sustain.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you ever wonder how to stay out of debt? Its really not complicated at all! Learning how to stay out of debt, avoiding getting a student loan, and using cash instead of a credit card can help you now and in your future! Learning these three things can help you out in the long run and to stay out of debt!…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life And Debt Essay

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This condition caused major food and commodities deficiencies, resulting in civil unrest and people being killed. A bitter reminder of this time is felt in the loss of a 25 year old expectant mother who was killed in a cross fire in full view of her devastated family. One native Jamaican poignantly describes these changes by explaining that the Jamaica she knew as a child doesn’t exist anymore, partly because of time, and partly because global economic changes. Another citizen likened the food situation to the way slaves used to be given the refuse meat for sustenance, while the slave master got the better cuts. Obviously, the changes brought on by the conditions attached to the IMF loans have created bitterness among Jamaican…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    fuctions of imf

    • 2706 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The IMF has shown great interest in the economic development of under development countries. It has made a steady progress towards the establishment of a multilateral system of payment in respect of current transactions.…

    • 2706 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics