Ou 2

Zhaowei Ou

Professor Noga Shemer

ANTH 1000W

12/14/2021

Life and Death Film Review

Life and Debt is a short film produced by Stephanie Black in the year 2001. The background of the book is staged in Jamaica (Black, 2019). Stephanie Black, in her production, demonstrates in a unique way how people, places, and problems are represented in the media. She exhibits the life of Jamaica from the screen perspective that seems to be flourishing in ‘life’; however, their background, behind-the-scenes scenarios that are rarely exhibited on media. They are languishing in poverty and debt. Stephany Black features the change of policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the systematic modification of the World Bank, and the subsequent impact on countries similar to Jamaica. One major way Stephanie Black delivers her work to her viewers is through the juxtaposition of the economy and the social scenarios of the Jamaicans. Therefore, it is essential to understand what the film outline in the aspect of economy and the impact of globalization. Life and debt in its entity unveil the impacts of system adjustments to the greater economy and development through showcasing the globalization impact, eradication of conventions that facilitated Jamaicans free trade, and neocolonialism strongly inherent in the film.

The film employs scene shifts to portray the invented illusion and the real situation. One may be mistaken into denying the affiliation of the two. The Jamaican economy heavily invests in tourism activities. At a glance from the tourism viewpoint of Jamaica, the country appreciates mellow sunshine, crystal water bodies, immaculate long sandy beaches that are pretty catchments for tourists, and delectable foods which they shower their various globetrotters. From this beautiful display of social wellness, witnessed from the tourism perspective, Jamaica leads one to deduce a very healthy country; however, that is not the case.

Neocolonialism still plagues many countries at the moment. From the narrator’s choice of music, the lyrical setup of ‘G7 by Ziggy Marley’ indicates how superpower nations decide the fate of struggling countries (Black, 2007). Although Jamaica has gained independence from its colonial master, Britain, the Island is still more or less colonized by their financiers from the sizeable financial assistance bestowed on them over time (Black, 2007), a situation analogous in many thirds world countries. From the president’s speech, he is not a happy man at the turn of events; he states they are not for sale, and no one had the right whatsoever to budge into their country and order them around. The majority of states dependent on the global financiers often have to govern themselves with policies that excruciate them but are favorable to their neocolonial masters. Freedom of governance in many such countries is dictated by their masters, who require them to operate in a particular way to receive donations. The narrator states that despite the tourists enjoying their sumptuous meals, unknown to them, the food they are enjoying is not even from the country; instead, they had imported from their neighboring country Mauritius. Jamaica is exhibited to be in a dire state of dependence economically.

Structural change of the International Monetary fund and the World bank has resulted in abject poverty. The system changes advocate for change and development expansion which often is unfeasible considering circumstances in many countries. The small country is drowning in debt as it owes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over 4.5 billion dollars. The financier presupposes that decreasing the cost of life’s living standards would upscale production rate while subsequently offering employment to the residents. However, that is far from what is witnessed. Instead, what happens is a bizarre scenario of corruption, increased joblessness, barbarity, exorbitant food costs, and broken-down hospitals (Black, 2007). Jamaican employees selling for American cooperation at the free trade zone are underpaid. They earn a meager salary of only 30USD per week, equal to 1200 Jamaican dollars. With the high cost of living, exorbitant prices, and market prices fluctuations, that salary is a drop in sea that cannot cushion their needs.

Many financially dependent countries have become dumping sites of old and dead stock from their counterpart countries with a higher market strength than their own. In one instance, the film portrays Jamaica’s once-flourishing chicken firm as being acutely reduced to nothing. The destruction of the chicken plant is attributed to the dumping of low-quality chicken parts by the United States of America to the Island. As recounted by the Rastafarians around the heat source, they have been reduced to grappling with food once known exclusively for slaves; the chicken backs. The developed countries consider the exploitation of the developing countries for their development a necessary evil. The inequality experienced between Jamaica and their trading competitors leads to losing valuable labor to other nations at a much lower price. The Island’s incoming shipments from other nations are null-taxed. It deprives the country of the most needed revenue required to run their recurrent and developmental expenditures, leading to increased backward development of the tiny country and subsequent increase in dependency rate on global aids. Eradication of conventions that secure countries to trade with other strong states equally facilitates degeneration of the economic systems, a scenario analogous to the Jamaican eradication of the Lome convention by the United States of America. The Lome convention cushioned the Jamaicans, allowing them free entry into the European market; however, with the removal, the market is quite competitive and offers them low profits margins.

Despite the thriving beach and tourism life at the back scene, local producers are experiencing tension from the stiff competition from imports. Neighboring countries and Jamaican’s competitors have technological and scientific advancements in their production processes; these advancements facilitate them to produce more products at lower production costs and sell at lower prices. From the film, we see gallons of milk going bad from lack of purchase. In contrast, powdered milk amassed massive popularity due to its durability and relatively favorable prices (Black, 2019). Additionally, the unavailability of financial incentives leaves the local producers with no means of cushioning themselves against risks and running their businesses, leading to the termination of their ventures. This circumstance oppresses and curtails development in various countries.

Vision can be deceptive many times; however, the inclusion of narration becomes instrumental in displaying the untold stories of globalization. Jamaica strives to pose a beautiful and alluring image to ensure its tourism industry does not get extinguished. From the film, we see the broadcast of the calm beaches, the tourists laughing, relaxing, walking, and indulging in the delectable bananas of Jamaica. One of the tourists exclaims how superb Jamaica is. The sentiments are more ironic. The tourists appreciate the sweetness of the bananas; the contiguous scene showcases the troubles faced in production to the ultimate sale. The lack of diversity in the market compromises their ability to explore other available markets. Perhaps they could obtain commensurate prices compared to what the United Kingdom is paying them. Nevertheless, there is some form of dependency on the parent colonizers, a feeling that they are indebted to them, hindering their ability to cut loose and seek greener pastures.

Juxtaposed with optimistic tourism scenarios are empty abandoned and dilapidated houses. From the first-hand account of the residents, these houses tell stories of neglect, high cost of living that has pushed individuals to move away from their residences in search of means for survival. The houses tell a story of neocolonialism oppression that though the original perpetrator of slavery had left, the Island was still shackled and needed to be freed (Black, 2019). The dilapidated backyards tell of a story of helplessness; they are aware they need to make drastic changes to revolutionize their lives but are incapacitated (Black, 2007), arousing great empathy for the plight they are plunged into. As illustrated in the film life and debt, globalization and policies have been significant development setbacks for the majority of the financially dependent states. Even as they try to maintain an alluring perspective of the country and the richly endowed tourism sector, one cannot fail to determine the hard-pressed condition under which they are subjected economically and socially.

The film life and debt have been an eye-opener into the elucidation of the common renowned proverb, “Do not judge a book by its cover.” Often, we are exposed to the beautiful side and images of nations such as Jamaica, as it is portrayed as one of the scenic tour destinations; the narrator enlightens us to more than what meets the eye. Stephanie Black manages to portray the contemporary ideal image of what we perceive the nation to be and the actual situation on the ground: the unemployed, depression, violence, pain, and suffering of the local entrepreneurs in the event to stay afloat through juxtaposing of scenes. Even as it holds an attractive façade, we get a real insight far beyond the façade (Black, 2007). The title is quite symbolic that as one side of the same coin bubbled with life, the other side succumbed deeply into debts upon debts. The narrator also successfully illustrates the impacts of exports on local produce. The subsidized powdered milk was popular among the locals due to its relatively low prices compared to local dairy products. Subsidies are very critical in cushioning risks associated with business mishaps. In the Life and Debt film, the local producers lacked incentives to cushion them against risks resulting in termination of business, a situation inherent in many developing countries. Curtailing the equal capacity for developing countries to trade reduces competition freely; therefore, superpower countries develop at the expense of the periphery weak states. Finally, the life and debt choice of music stir up mixed emotions. They hope for redemption and that destiny would be benevolent enough to yield them ultimate economic and social freedom. Stephanie Black’s Life and Debt is the voice of the silent victims under the steel hand of IMF globalization policies that need to be liberated.

Works Cited

Black, Stephanie, dir. 2003. Life and Debt. New York, NY: New Yorker Films Artwork, 2001. DVD.

Cohen, Kfir. “Global Pedagogy: Critique of Appearance in Stephanie Black’s Life and Debt.” Telos 179 (2017): 49-71.

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