Life and Debt Documentary Film

The documentary film Life and Debt was written by Jamaica Kincaid and directed by Stephanie Black. The film portrays the complexities of economic globalization on developing countries in the world. It digs deeper on the mechanism of debt and how it destroys local industries in third world countries. Some of the conditions set up by international financial institutions before offering loans disadvantage developing countries and prevent them from participating in potentially profitable endeavors.

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The Colonial past of Jamaica makes it clear why they have an enormous amount of public debt. According to the film, the British colonizers left Jamaica when the country lacked enough economic strength to stand alone (Life and Debt, 2001). As a result, they immediately resorted to borrowing to sustain the economy. The initial debt lead to a cycle of continually increasing debt as IMF and other international financial institutions made the nation join the global market only ending up to be exploited by economic superpowers. At present, the country owes over 4.5 billion dollars to the international financial institutions (Life and Debt, 2001). Despite the huge amount, the development that the loans promised are not evident as the country faces numerous economic challenges.

Jamaica experiences intense economic hardships that have resulted in vast unemployment and other social problems. The international financial institutions set up strict conditions for the Jamaican government before issuing the loans. One of those conditions was to reduce trade barriers making it easier and cheap for economic super powers to import goods into the country (Life and Debt, 2001). However, the integration of Jamaica into the global economy made them easy targets for manipulation by the global superpowers. The cheap and subsidized importations to the country negatively affected local businesses and resulted in increased unemployment, corruption, criminal activities and other vices. The public debt has kept on increasing and consuming more than half of government expenditure leading to insufficient funds to address these social problems.

From the documentary, it is evident that the influence of international financial institutions devalued and exploited Jamaican people. The people who have been adversely affected are farmers. They explain that the reduced trade barriers led to increased importation of vast amounts of subsidized food from economic superpowers (Life and Debt, 2001). As a result, they have been put out of business because they cannot match the low price of the imported subsidized foods. In villages where farming was the primary source of livelihood, the fields remain unplowed with many people abandoning their houses. Since agriculture provided jobs to many people, they are forced to give up the businesses and move to the city to look for jobs. In another scene of the documentary, a hotel guide warns vacationers in Montego Bay about thieves who stroll on the nearby streets (Life and Debt, 2001). Most likely, these thieves are youths who have come to the city to search for jobs, but they end up being disappointed.

Life and debt clarifies the impact of economic policies by international financial institutions on the lives of people who are to benefit from them. The policies which are supposed to spur economic growth end up making developing countries languish in economic hardships. While the structural adjustment programs set up by international financial institutions before offering loans are aimed at strengthening the economy, they seem to favor global super powers who end up exploiting developing countries. The less powerful countries end up having no choice but to rely on loans to sustain the economy. It is sad to know that few individuals have control over the lives of many people in the pretense that they are supporting economic growth.

Reference

Life and Debt. (2001). [video]. Stephanie Black.