The Film Life And Debt, By Stephanie Black

The documentary ‘Life and Debt’, directed by Stephanie Black, goes behind the facades displayed for tourists in order to highlight the financial struggles Jamaica is forced to face one after another—without the economic strength to resolve any crisis. Due to the methods Jamaica uses to confront its problems, they only ultimately repay enough to barely sustain a short-term lifestyle. Although the government-led interventions are restricting solutions that could bring opportunities for long-term development, Jamaica fundamentally has no other choice but to abide to constantly playing catch-up towards an unreachable equilibrium. I would like to argue that the complexities of economic globalization has allowed foreigners to trap Jamaica through the ‘mechanism of debt’, hence can only better the Jamaican economy via modifying the agreements of IMF lending.

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
The documentary comments on the fact that one of the Jamaican security company used to have around 120 guards. Now, they have 800-900 guards, 300 trained guard dogs, and numerous security branches scattered throughout the island due to the increasing crime rate. Theft is progressively increasing owing to the lack of income people can obtain as markets continuously close down. However with Jamaica's climate, it lures an abundance of tourists to travel to Jamaica, which additionally requires more security. Although globalization has created innumerable holes in Jamaica's market, it has allowed the country a chance to flourish from