Film Analysis Essay on The Life and Debt in Jamaica

Introduction

Critics of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank believe that the two bodies tend to exploit the fragile economies, people, and the natural resources of the developing countries. This allegation prompts Stephanie Black to showcase and tell the world about the story of her native country, Jamaica. Therefore, The Life and Debt in Jamaica is based on the critiquing of the international organizations and how they conduct their operations in various developing countries. In the documentary, Stephanie Black has interviewed International Monetary Fund executives, former Jamaican Prime Minister, an economist, village farmers, and the fire-side Rastafarians, and factory workers in the quest of finding a range of diverse opinions about the success of such operations in the developing countries. Therefore, the documentary is based on the impact of World Bank and IMF policies that are directly impacted and determined by the G7 countries and how they affect the growth of the poor developing countries around the world.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The Life and Debt documentary focus on Jamaica as a sample of the developing countries that have been affected by the policies of the IMF. Jamaica has encountered numerous challenges in its growth. The state has managed to overcome slavery and colonialism. In 1973, a decade after the country had gained independence, the country underwent through a deep financial crisis due to the rise in the prices of oil. This prompted the country's leadership under the late Michael Manley to seek for financial support from IMF (Black, 2007). However, the country's representatives were astonished to with the message they received from the IMF in Washington. The IMF was categorical in their stand and was willing to lend money to the country but were not ready to find a long lasting solution to the problem. The IMF told the Jamaican representatives that they would provide the state with a short-term loan under their conditions but were not willing to discuss the long-term solutions to the problems that face the country (Black, 2007). Surprisingly, one of the requirements for the Jamaicans to get the required loan was to overcharge their farmers an interest rate of 23 percent which is way above the country's projected rate of 12 percent.

The government of Manley was against the idea and he resorted to seek support from other presidents such as Fidel Castro and the Non-Aligned Movements hoping that this will prompt Washington to change its stand about the conditions of the loans, However, the action of the country and the activism process did not impact on the IMF, and Jamaican financial crisis continued (Black, 2007). Therefore, the nation was forced to get the loan from the IMF and from then the country continue to experience the challenges associated with IMF and the organization has managed to make the small developing country dependent on its loans.

Black believes that the constant challenges experienced in Jamaica are a result of the policies of the World Bank and IMF set for the country. Jamaica has one country that has been continuously affected by financial crises, lawlessness, social turmoil, and increased rates of unemployment. These challenges continue to hinder the growth of the Caribbean nation (Black, 2007). However, according to the documentary the political, societal, and economic problems faced by Jamaica are caused by the policies of the IMF and World Bank. The two international bodies complicate the growth of the country and force the governments of both the right and left wing to accept and adhere to the policies for over two decades.

Moreover, these policies have had diverse effects on workers, farmers, and SMEs in the country. The documentary graphically illustrates the adverse effects of the policies on the Jamaican society. Due to the high-interest rates on the number of loans offered to the farmers by the government after receiving direct orders from the two international bodies, farmers can barely make a profit from their farms. The process has led to the collapse of the farming industry in the country and rendered most farmers jobless. Furthermore, the local farmers go through numerous challenges that make it impossible for them to compete with imported goods. Jamaica imports onions and carrots from the United States of America and the farmers who grow the products in Jamaica cannot compete with the importation because they are cheaper (Black, 2007). The consumers always go for the most affordable product in the market because of the financial crisis and challenging economic conditions. Therefore, the importations have managed to kill the market for the products of the local farmers. In granting loans to Jamaica, IMF demanded the country to remove tariffs on imported goods. This led to a significant decrease in the price of imported agricultural commodities.

Moreover, the actions led to the killing of the local agricultural industry and made a market for products from the United States. These actions illustrate how the IMF has managed to work for the benefits of the G7 countries and overlooked the importance of the development of the developing countries (Black, 2007). They create markets for the products from the United States of America and place stringent qualifications on the goods from Jamaica to the United States. Therefore, the process results in a trade imbalance favouring the G7 countries and undermining the growth of the developing nations.

The other person interviewed is a dairy farmer whose milk is not competitive in the Jamaican market, and he is forced to pour the milk because of the increased number of cheap milk powder that is imported from the United States. This is the same story across all farmers including those from the poultry industry. Some of the interviewed individuals believe that the United States is exporting substandard products to their country because the products cannot meet the threshold to be sold in their nation. These challenges have led to increased unemployment in the country because most of the farmers are rendered jobless for lack of market for their products due to stiff competition from the United States (Black, 2007). Furthermore, the products from the United States are competitive in Jamaica because the country has been forced to accept policies created by the World Bank and IMF to advance the interests of the G7 countries.

The film effectively uses the juxtaposition effect of how the United States do not entertain foreigners from Jamaica who tries to enter their country. This is an entirely different scenario when a tourist from the United States want to visit Jamaica. Jamaicans are exposed to numerous rules and bottlenecks in the quest to enter the United States. Additionally, in the international media, Jamaica is painted in a bad light, but the people who enjoy their sorrows are individuals from the United States who profit from their markets (Black, 2007). The documentary illustrates the failure of the IMF in helping the developing countries. Furthermore, the film shows that the primary objective of these international organizations is to boost the economy of the developed nations by creating surplus markets for their products through restricting the local industries and forming governments to accept laws that favor the foreign products. Jamaica continues to be in financial crisis because of the conditions set for the repayment of the loans (Black, 2007). Additionally, the nation will continue to experience increased rates of unemployment and underdevelopment because it has been forced to abandon most of its projects. The purpose of this documentary is to advocate for a more equitable economic order that will favor the growth of the developing countries like Jamaica.

The growth of the developing countries is hindered by the IMF and World Bank because they force policies that do not favor the success of countries like Jamaica. Contrary to popular beliefs by most people, the two international organizations act as agents of the developed countries and push for their interests in the pretence of helping the small countries to be stable. Furthermore, they advocate for offering loans based on their conditions and are not willing to help the nations in their quest for long-lasting solutions. Through their investments, they have managed to paralyze development projects in the developing nations. Moreover, conditions of the IMF have managed to kill agricultural industries in Jamaica and led to increased unemployment in the developing nations. However, G7 countries continue to enjoy the fruits of the policies because they can export their products to such nations. The process has led to a trade imbalance between the developed and the developing nations. Additionally, the imbalance favors the developed countries. Therefore, the IMF and World Bank should advocate for more equitable economic order in the world that supports all the parties in the process.

References

Black, S. (2007). Life and debt.