Streaming Life And Debt Online
Samedi, mai 22nd, 2010 |
Streaming Life And Debt Online.
Movie Title: Life And Debt Life And Debt is available for streaming or downloading. |
Narrated by Jamaica Kincaid based on her non-fiction book, “A Small Place,” her familiar honey-toned voice captures the cadence of the islands. “If you come to Jamaica as a tourist, this is what you will see…” The camera then focuses on well-fed and happy tourists. They eat sumptuous meals. (”You’d be surprised to find out that every bite of food you eat comes off a plane from Miami.”) They enjoy the view from their rooms (”You probably don’t know that the sewage from the hotel is going straight into the ocean”)
Basically though, this film is about economics and the changes that have occurred in the years since the British left in the 1960s and Jamaica had to borrow money from international lending institutions. Former Prime Minister Michael Manley describes how the interest is so high that it keeps the economy constantly in a debt that keeps growing. And Jamaican money is so devalued that it is cheaper to buy imports rather than produce them itself.
Just a few years ago, farmers got good prices from raising chickens and there was large plant to process them, giving people jobs. The factories are closed now and the farmers can’t sell their chickens because of cheaper imports. Also, there is a special free trade zone where garments are put together for such companies such as Hanes. Everything is delivered to the factory pre-cut and ready to sew and the workers toil long hours for no more than $30 per week. During the course of the filming, even that factory closed to reopen in another third-world country where the labor might be even cheaper.
All this is contrasted with constant cuts to the tourists who are frolicking at the hotels and enjoying themselves in such silly games as beer drinking contests.
The film is done well, and the cinematography and direction are excellent. I was able to follow the points being made about the economic issues and, although I know I don’t have enough background in the subject to really understand it completely, there was no doubt about how the economy is collapsing. Even their banana exports are being threatened. This film is definitely worth seeing.
This is an extremely poignant view of how our thirst for luxury puts the majority of the world at our whim, making them our invisible slaves. The people who sew our shirts, pick our bananas, and make our shoes are caught in a vicious cycle that keeps them bent to our oppression. It is something we never see — and because of that, we never care. In this film we are forced to look at things we’ve never been told about and to understand the reasons and events behind our global poverty crisis. This is a fantastic film for youth groups and it sparks great discussion. Every highschooler should be required to view this in their economics class. Every adult should be required to view this before they decide to take an all-inclusive vacation. This IS the real Cancun — ahem, Jamaica. We need to learn that our decisions as consumers and as a country affect the lives of millions of people, and that we, as consumers, could make those lives better by choosing to live differently. This film can do that, and it is absolutely required viewing for all first world citizens.
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