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The Documentary Life and Debt & Economic Agendas Discussion

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The documentary, Life and Debt, is a fascinating commentary and quasi exposé on the

economic, monetary, and political state that the country of Jamaica is in during the making of

this film and in the recent past as well. The documentary shows what it is like to be living and

trying to survive in a country that is mainly controlled by outside forces and foreign economic

agendas who do not care what becomes of Jamaica or the Jamaican people due to this absolute

control and disregard for the well being of the general Jamaican population. The film discusses

many different aspects of the life and problems and struggles of the people and government of

Jamaica due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as well as foreign

powers such as the United States and major European countries. This documentary is also very

heavily into the topic of neoliberalism as a global framework of economic and political thought.

While there is some mention of the opposing argument (that in favor of neoliberalism and the

IMF), this documentary stays very on course with a strong anti-neoliberalism and IMF discourse.

Another interesting topic that this documentary is focused on is tourism in Jamaica and the affect

that has on the economy and neoliberalism that is rampant in Jamaican policies.

Life and Debt, the documentary by Stephanie Black, is all about the economic and social

situation in Jamaica. The film focuses on the serious impact that the IMF and the World Bank

have had on the country’s policies that affect the import and export and ultimately the economic

well being of the country and its peoples. The film explains that Jamaica is a struggling country

and required aid from international load agencies (mainly the IMF and the World Bank), in order

to get the aid that the country desperately needed though, the current Prime Minister, Michael

Manley, was forced to agree to drastically alter their economic layout by enacting huge

economic reforms which included free trade, privatization and even deregulation. While the

purpose of these reforms was to help Jamaica, they instead ended up leaving the country in major

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debt. The documentary also talks about how tourism to the country is not actually helping the

economy like it does in many major European countries, the products that these tourists consume

are all mainly US exports which don’t help the country at all because it does not bring in any

profit. Something that really stuck out to from this documentary was the fact that the US is

killing lots of the major industries that still exist in Jamaica today. The fresh milk industry in

Jamaica is being destroyed by American powdered milk being dumped into Jamaica at a super

low price, same thing is happening to the potato industry in Jamaica because of majorly

underpriced potatoes due to subsidizing in Idaho. This is something that is very detrimental to

the economy in Jamaica because small farmers and local producers cannot keep up or even try to

compete with the American products being sold at a loss.

A major thematic focus of this documentary is neoliberalism and how that has shaped and

affected the economic and political situation in Jamaica. The definition of neoliberalism is that it

is a form of liberalism that tends to favor free-market capitalism. What this means is that the

pricing for goods and services will be determined by supply and demand of the free market with

little or no influence or regulation from government, this helps to promote deregulation,

eliminate price controls as well as lower trade barriers between countries and territories. This

system then completely favors the one percent and helps to make the rich richer while the less

fortunate suffer and struggle to make ends meet in a system where there is no thought to how it

will affect anyone and the only goal is to make a profit. Many opposers of neoliberalism posit

that this disregard for the wellbeing of those who are struggling in a free trade market will lead to

unrest and violence (Weis). In his article about this topic, Tony Weis states that Jamaica is a

clear example of this tendency towards violence because the disruption from the peoples is being

met with harsh police force as well as an increase in incarcerations and guards all around

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The documentary, Life and Debt, is a fascinating commentary and quasi exposé on the economic, monetary, and political state that the country of Jamaica is in during the making of this film and in the recent past as well. The documentary shows what it is like to be living and trying to survive in a country that is mainly controlled by outside forces and foreign economic agendas who do not care what becomes of Jamaica or the Jamaican people due to this absolute control and disregard for the well being of the general Jamaican population. The film discusses many different aspects of the life and problems and struggles of the people and government of Jamaica due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as well as foreign powers such as the United States and major European countries. This documentary is also very heavily into the topic of neoliberalism as a global framework of economic and political thought. While there is some mention of the opposing argument (that in favor of neoliberalism and the IMF), this documentary stays very on course with a strong anti-neoliberalism and IMF discourse. Another interesting topic that this documentary is focused on is tourism in Jamaica and the affect that has on the economy and neoliberalism that is rampant in Jamaican policies. Life and Debt, the documentary by Stephanie Black, is all about the economic and social situation in Jamaica. The film focuses on the serious impact that the IMF and the World Bank have had on the co ...
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Tags: Life and Debt country of Jamaica international monetary fund Economic Agendas Jamaican population