The documentary “Life and Debt”, directed by Stephanie Black, is a film about globalization that illustrates an example of the calamities that can be wrought upon a developing country thanks to economic globalization. This powerful documentary is a clear exposé on how the United States has destroyed Jamaica’s economy and it serves as example for what has happened to several countries across the globe, which have been brought to their knees in part to countries with the greatest power including the United States.
The film starts with some images of the Jamaica that most of us known very well; a small island country of warm weather, breathtaking beaches, and inhospitable people. It is the land of the sand, the sun, and the ocean, Of course, these are some aspects that make a wonderful Caribbean vacation. This is what we see. What we are completely oblivious to is revealed to us in this documentary.
The roots of Jamaica’s calamity can be traced to the 1940s. World War II ended in 1945, a time when a movement decolonization …show more content…
In the film, a local farmer is interviewed on some of the effects that these policies are having on Jamaica. Just the same as many local farmers, he is not able to compete with the cheap, imported crops from the United States. He tried to diversify to growing honeydew melon crop, but the produce that he had did not meet the standards set by his American client. The farmer questions, "We use machete to farm... can machete compete with machine?”. The same can be said for a local dairy farmer that was forced to drain his fresh milk because it cannot compete with the subsidized, powdered milk from the United States. A chicken farmer’s enterprise is affected because his more costly chicken parts cannot compete with cheaper chicken parts imported from the United
The film starts with some images of the Jamaica that most of us known very well; a small island country of warm weather, breathtaking beaches, and inhospitable people. It is the land of the sand, the sun, and the ocean, Of course, these are some aspects that make a wonderful Caribbean vacation. This is what we see. What we are completely oblivious to is revealed to us in this documentary.
The roots of Jamaica’s calamity can be traced to the 1940s. World War II ended in 1945, a time when a movement decolonization …show more content…
In the film, a local farmer is interviewed on some of the effects that these policies are having on Jamaica. Just the same as many local farmers, he is not able to compete with the cheap, imported crops from the United States. He tried to diversify to growing honeydew melon crop, but the produce that he had did not meet the standards set by his American client. The farmer questions, "We use machete to farm... can machete compete with machine?”. The same can be said for a local dairy farmer that was forced to drain his fresh milk because it cannot compete with the subsidized, powdered milk from the United States. A chicken farmer’s enterprise is affected because his more costly chicken parts cannot compete with cheaper chicken parts imported from the United