Neoliberalism And Globalization In Life And Debt

The film Life and Debt is a documentary filmed by the award winning film director, Stephanie Black. The film examines the effects of globalization in Jamaica, from the point of view of Jamaican workers, farmers, and government and policy officials. Life and Debt shines a light on how the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank's structural adjustment policies affected Jamaica. It shows how the impositions made by the IMF and NAFTA, crippled Jamaican industry and agriculture and caused the end of Jamaica’s a self-sufficient economy. The documentary also emphasizes the difference between the Jamaica that the tourists see, and the Jamaica that the native citizens see.

“The imposition of structural adjustment programs in the Third World since the 1970s has been characterized as a war against the poor, a process of [neo] recolonization” (Turner, 1994: 37). This statement is particularly applicable to the country of Jamaica. The island has been susceptible to a variety of neocolonial acts including the presence of multinational corporations, structural adjustment programs, and loan organizations that have sucked Jamaica’s economy dry. This neocolonial presence has devastated the population in more ways than one. It is apparent that neocolonialism has had and continues to have a large impact on society as a whole in Jamaica. This

In an article written in the Jamaica Observer, Haughton (2017) describes the state of Jamaica as an under-developed child who continues to depend on its parents for approval. “For many years colonialism milked Jamaica and other Caribbean countries by imposing a false identity on our people, diminishing resources that affected growth and development (Haughton, 2017).

“Life and Debt” is a documentary produced and directed by Stephanie Black, which describes the impact of international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in small developing countries. (About Life and Debt) The documentary focuses mainly in the repercussions of financial policies imposed in Jamaica and its effects on its citizens. Throughout the film, Black also emphasizes the different industries affected by these international institutions. From the agricultural activity to the construction of a new Free Trade Zone in Kingston, developing countries such as Jamaica did not obtain the aid they were seeking for. Instead, most of these organizations refused to help the country due to its declining economy.

The Jamaican economy in 1970 was 800 million dollars in debt and by the time of the year 2000 the debt had reached an alarming 7 billion dollars. In order to service its accumulated debts Jamaica set up Exporting Processing Zones or EPZ’s. The free zones created lots of employment to jump-start the economy. The free zones themselves were separate entities to Jamaica, similar to the US-owned cemetery for the WW2 soldiers in Normandy. In this way, the supplies needed for manufacturing never really enter Jamaica, thus allowing for cheap imports. The factories had their downsides though. Workers were only paid in Jamaican dollars about 30USD per week while some were paid that for two weeks. Every two weeks, money was taken out as taxes which angered the Jamaicans

Globalization is the process of integration arising from the interchange among people, ideas, and culture. Globalization shows that international trade between other countries has impacted the way the U.S is now. Most of the products we use today is made in other countries such as China, Indonesia, and South Korea. As beneficial it may sound to have products made cheap in other countries and sold in the United States at a much higher price. This is also known to have a problem to the factory workers.

Globalization is when international organization influence on other countries. It seems that Haiti is a country with a strong dignity that oppose globalization as a force that have an effect on most aspects of economic experience. However, globalization has had both positive and negative effects. Globalization has impacted poverty in Haiti by free trading and many workers works unpaid for many international factories. For many years Haiti was the center of tourism, which was helping the economy, but now it has declined as a source of income . Official data say Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere( Global Finance) . The free trade promoted by global financial organizations has involved the country's economy in a deep retrocession that obliges to neglect barriers and not obstructive goods of developed countries.

Living in debt has become the norm for most U.S citizens, with nearly 80% of the population in some kind of financial dilemma. Even the national government is trillions of dollars in debt, and the main cause is spending money we don't have. If everyone would stop using credit cards, taking out huge loans, and buying houses that they really can't afford, the economy might slowly regenerate. Many people don't understand how fast debt can build up and how much interest rates can increase that debt. Yes, life would be a lot more difficult for many people if they could only use money they actually have instead of paying it back later and adding on debt, but sometimes change is needed. No matter how difficult this change may be to implement, it may

In the film Sugar Cane Alley, the journey of a young orphan boy is illustrated in the island of Martinique located right outside France in the 1930s. The protagonist, Jose, must reside with his grandmother who must do the jobs of poor black’s which includes washing clothes and working the sugar cane plantations for the rich white’s in town. Jose manages to see the significant social and economic gaps through the multiple characters around him even after the abolition of slavery. This gap is further supported through the visits to the capital, Fort-de-France, where Jose gains the opportunity to further his education through a scholarship offer. As this educational journey progresses, the audience is able to see comparisons to Van Onselen’s article, traditional African roles, and the social tensions experienced by the mulattos in a predominantly black and white population.

Since “Sugar Cane Alley” was after slavery, not much seemed to have changed within the film. Many of the residents of Martinique appeared to be living under poor conditions. Several of these individuals were also still working in the sugar cane fields to receive an income as a living. Now, after witnessing this cinematic

      The film opens with camera shots portraying Jamaica as the beautiful and carefree place that most Americans view it as. The vast majority are oblivious to the fact that the delicious food they indulge in on their

The movie is supposed to be about the first four Jamaican bobsledders who dreamed of competing in the Winter Olympics, despite never having seen snow. With a disgraced former champion as a coach, who is desperate to redeem himself, the Jamaicans set out to become worthy of Olympic selection, and go all out for pride and glory. Although the characters do swear in this movie, the Jamaican bobsledders have to work hard in order to overcome struggle. This movie is most certainly funny from the characters saying cheesy things to having to surpass embarrassing moments. Not only is this movie cheesy, but it can also be quite educational by having an insight of the Jamaican culture.

The short film by the Stephanie black’s 2001, film life and debt takes us on a journey to the life of Jamaica. Shows us what people Jamaica had and have been going through. This short film focuses on the economic and social aspects of Jamaica. In the film, they state that they need Globalization to work the benefit of all. During the film, said “There will be no good future for the rich, if there is no future for the poor”.

Jamaica is not just white sand beaches and mimosas. Behind the thin veil of paradise lurk corruption, violence, and inequalities. Life & Debt illustrates the daily realties of Jamaica following IMF structural adjustment programs. IMF reforms have perpetuated a cycle of debt that Jamaicans have little hope to escape. Although IMF conditionality claims to develop nations so that they can grow and re-pay their lenders, Jamaica is still indebted $4.5 billion dollars and has little development to show for it. Measures of austerity coupled with devaluation, high interest rates, and drops in local wages results in greater unemployment, increased violence, and widening inequality. The bulk of the film focuses on how global integration has undercut

Lack of development in countries in the so-called `Third World' has many political and economical reasons. Historians explain the inadequacy of developing countries with the early imperialism and the resulting colonization of the South. Exploitation of mineral resources, deforestation, slavery, and the adaptation of foreign policies shaped the picture of today's suffering and struggling civilizations and natural rich continents. The omission of concessions and equal negotiations between dependency and supremacy give rise to the contrast of enormous resources and immense poverty in developing countries is. In the last years the outcry of justice and the emancipation of the Third World became louder throughout developing and industrialized