Film Review

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Film Review
The documentary “Life and Debt” by Stephanie Black presents an alarming picture of Jamaica`s
struggles in post-colonialism times In comparison with the world wide tourists who come to visit Jamaica
with their driving license, we find out about the difficulty of the Jamaicans to leave the country.
And from that moment on, the documentary focuses on the economic/educational and labour problems
that the island faces.
I think that the main argument regards the post-colonial development of Jamaica, as they are forced to
enter the world-wide market and to compete with well-established markets. The lack of an internal
agriculture with the possibility of selling their goods in their own markets, makes the development
stagnant.
American ways of production are far cheaper than the Jamaican ones. (One example would be the
surplus of the milk which has to be thrown away due to the fact that it has not been sold – the American
powder is not as expensive as the milk of the Jamaican farmers.)
But the problems extend to a larger variety of matters. Another example is the labour. Americans created
a free zone in which Jamaican can work for USA companies. Instead of using autochthon materials, they
import everything and pay the workers in Jamaican money, creating a bigger deficit in their economy.
Moreover, as the labour is cheap, Americans are keen of paying people 20 dollars per week, instead of
the usual 30 dollars required in USA.
The situation complicated in the moment which people became aware of the fact that they are bind to
pay taxes from which they don`t benefit (the education tax which is drown but there is no improvement
regarding the education system.)
Additionally, there were brought Asian workers to replace the native ones. As people protested in the
street, demanding a place to work, the American companies made a statement regarding the situation:
They could no longer hire Jamaicans due to the fact that they were not as qualified as the Asians workers.
While the American tourists are pleasantly surprised by the taste of the bananas in Jamaica, they
question the lack of such delicious product in their country. It is latter explained that Jamaicans banana
producers cannot compete with the Americans in USA market. Consequently, they send all their
production to United Kingdom. As the Americans made impossible the completion, 9 000 tons of
bananas are sent to England.
Europe has guaranteed the market for the former colonies in order to help the development of their
economy.
Mail Online, posted an article based on pool made only one year before the 50th celebration of
Jamaica`s independence. Out of 1.000 Jamaicans which have been questioned, 60% of them approved on
the need of the British influence.
With only 2% economic growth on average, a doubting justice system and the homicide rate among the
highest in the world, the article states that during the last few years “violence by drug gangs has made the
island one of the most dangerous places in the world”. Inevitably, “As painful (…) as these statistics may
be to Jamaican nationalists, they are quite understandable – and even logical.”
The Economist marked Jamaica`s 50 years of independence by showing its economic situation to date.
It states that “in real terms Jamaicans are no richer today than they were in the early 1970s”, as 3 billion
of people are living with less than a dollar per day.
The fiscal deficit is an outcome of the absence of tax payers. “Only about 3,000 of the country’s 65,000
registered firms are thought to contribute.” The failure to collect taxes slows the economic growth.
Page 2 of 3

The bureaucracy contributes as well. “Filing taxes requires 72 separate steps and over 400 hours a year.”
Thus, it is easier to avoid paying taxes. And as it was stated in the documentary, private companies are
only interested in maximizing their profit.
Regarding the crime rate in Jamaica, it reached an alarming point. The drug cartels are a real problem
and the failure of the police to stop it contributes to their economic power and instability. “Many hotels
spend over $100,000 a year on guards. The island’s crime problem long seemed insurmountable”.
IMF, the “bank for the black days” has been helping Jamaicans to overcome their financial struggles.
But the debt only increases as IMF restricts and helps in short term solutions.
The power in IMF is based on economic means, 17% of it is allocated to the USA, and the next two are
Japan and Germany. Naturally, Jamaica cannot implement a project without their approval. In this light,
BCC presents an article that the employment is around 12% and “the country is one of the world's most
indebted, owing about $18bn.” In hope of gaining more economic independency, IMF approved “an
injection of $1.27bn in 2010, and the fund may provide more if certain conditions are met.”
In order to prevail a food crisis, the government turned its attention to food polices for the development
of the internal market. “A decade ago, the government unveiled a national food security campaign with
the slogan ‘grow what we eat, eat what we grow’.”(NY Times)
Therefore, they used experimental means in order to expand the agriculture: “Schools are heavily
involved in the effort: 400 in Jamaica now feature gardens maintained by students and teachers” (NY
Times). In addition to this, the backyard farming actually helps the society and gives the children a sense
of belonging. “She noted that many of the children came from troubled backgrounds and struggled in
class. Farming gave them a reason to come: attendance and achievement have soared since the school
(…) started offering free breakfast for students, usually stews made with ingredients they grew
themselves.” (NY Times)
In my opinion, the post-colonial struggles of Jamaica are an effect of an overwhelming worldwide
market, as the population was not ready to face a massive import of goods from American and not only,
putting their own business at risk. A worrying example is McDonalds.
In the documentary, it is clearly stated that America owns the brand, even though McDonalds in Jamaica
was name of its own. USA declared that, by francizing the brand in Jamaica, they were helping the
economy develop by creating jobs placements. The impediment came when the meat used for the burgers
was imported from America, because it was cheaper.
Researchers found out that de meat was 20 years old and it contained cancer agents. When asked about
this issue, the officials claimed that the products were for Haiti.
Bibliography:
1. Daily Mail, Bring back the British! Most Jamaicans say they would be better off ruled
from London, 30 June 2011 “http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009487/Westayed-Britain-Shock-poll-reveals-60-Jamaicans-think-theyd-better-colony.html”
accessed Friday, 28th November 2014
2. New York Times, As Cost of Importing Food Soars, Jamaica Turns to the Earth, 3 rd
August 2013 “http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/world/americas/as-cost-ofimporting-food-soars-jamaica-turns-to-the-earth.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0”,
accessed Saturday 22nd November 2014
3. BBC, Jamaica struggles toward a sound economic future, 27 th April 2012,
“http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17811751”, accessed Monday 1st of December
2014
4. The Economist, Jamaica at 50 On your marks, get set…oh, 21 st July 2012,
“http://www.economist.com/node/21559348”, accessed Tuesday 2nd December 2014

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