Life And Debt Summary

The documentary “Life and Debt”, directed by Stephanie Black, aims to reveal that globalization with the help of international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, has destroyed Jamaica’s economy. As a result of the policies of the IMF, Jamaica’s agricultural industry has been destroyed, they’re no longer self-sufficient, and they’ve lost a part of who they are. I stand with Stephanie’s viewpoint on the fact that IMF and their structural adjustment policies are to blame for Jamaica going downhill. If they would’ve listened to the prime minister and attempt to provide long term goals, perhaps there could’ve been a better outcome.
Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among the people, companies and government
Jamaica also had lots of debt to pay, however they didn’t have the capital to pay the debts so they turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support. International institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank and WTO, have all shaped globalization through their policies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created in an effort to provide financial support on a short term basis to destabilized countries after the economic disaster of World War II. The IMF had a “one size fits all” remedy whenever a country‘s economy needed their help. They enacted Structural Adjustment Programs which consisted of economic policies put in place which had to be followed in order for a country to qualify for loans from the IMF and World Bank to pay off their debt. Some of the policies included balancing budgets, privatizing all industries, reducing trade barriers, and deregulating industry. These policies were meant to enact major economic reforms in Jamaica but they proved to be unsuccessful, leaving them in more debt than before. A result of the Structural Adjustment Programs in Jamaica was a destruction of certain industries, such as their dairy industry. In the United States, powdered milk is cheap because it is subsidized by the government so it’s not only being made for cheap, but it’s also sold to Jamaica for cheap. Since Jamaicans were suffering
To be honest, I have thought of Jamaica as somewhere I would like to visit one day because it is a beautiful place to go on for vacation and never really thought much about the harsh reality. However, through the narrator’s satire tone, I realized that what I thought of Jamaica is far from what it truly is for the people living there. It isn’t about the beautiful weather, resorts, and parks. In reality, behind the façade, is poverty. As a tourist, you don’t see death, poverty and misery, because frankly you’re there to enjoy the vacation, but it’s important to know it’s not all that it may seem, and Stephanie Black does this by depicting the hard lives of the locals compared to the luxurious lives of the tourist. She also does a great job of showing why Jamaica is in the conditions they are in, by interviewing all sorts of people- workers, business owners, farmers, the former Prime Minister, and the deputy director of the IMF. This allows us to get every single perspective so that we can hear all the sides to this “story”. Although we hear all sides, I think the film is definitely biased, because we hear more sides and opinions of those who disapprove of the IMF and globalization as oppose to those who favor it. We only got to hear from the deputy director of the IMF, and with the smirk on his face it was hard to actually agree with the things he was saying. However, I think it was