March 3rd 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Global Economy and the Developing World

 

LIFE AND DEBT – A documentary by Stephanie Black; narrated by Jamaica Kincaid (80 min.)

“If you come to Jamaica as a tourist, this is what you will see…”

 

 

This award winning feature length documentary, screened at the 2001 Human Rights Watch Film Festival, explores the complexity of international lending and free trade in the developing world. It focuses on individual Jamaicans who struggle to survive amid US and multinational economic agendas.

Jamaica Kincaid’s narration is based on her nonfiction book, “A Small Place”.  As the film begins, she contrasts what the visitor to Jamaica sees with what is kept hidden, and her voice is coolly alluring as she says, “When you sit down to eat your delicious meal, it’s better that you don’t know that most of what you are eating came off a ship from Miami.”

Michael Manley, Jamaica’s former prime minister, was interviewed for the film. He speaks openly yet sadly about mistakes his administration made that led to the devastation of the country’s economy. The film outlines the path of economic decline after the first International Money Fund loan that was meant to improve development yet resulted in increased debt and dependency. It visits the Free Trade Zone with its deplorable working conditions, where workers are paid US $30 a week.

“…the overall impression left by this devastating film is of the global economy as a dog-eat-dog world where the usual culprits, the United States and its multinational corporate clients, have the advantage.” – The New York Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Film

BANANA SPLIT – A lesson in the history of the banana: its production, transportation and challenges. This lighthearted film stands in stark contrast to the devastation of Jamaica’s banana industry depicted in “Life and Debt”.