Life and Debt (2001)

Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.

Director:

Stephanie Black

Writers:

Jamaica Kincaid (narration), Jamaica Kincaid (novel)

Stars:

Belinda Becker, Buju Banton, Horst Köhler

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Belinda Becker	...	Narrator (voice)
Buju Banton	...	Himself - Singer
Horst Köhler	...	Himself - Director, International Monetary Fund (archive footage) (as Horst Kohler)
Michael Manley	...	Himself - Former Prime Minister of Jamaica
Stanley Fischer	...	Himself - Deputy Director International Monetary Fund
Michael Witter	...	Himself - Professor of Economics, University of West Indies (as Dr. Michael Witter)
David Coore	...	Himself - Former Minister of Finance, Jamaica
Bill Clinton	...	Himself - President of the United States (archive footage)
Jean-Bertrand Aristide	...	Himself - President, Haiti
Yami Bolo	...	Himself - Singer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Lipetzky	...	Himself - U.S. Potato Board (archive footage)
Kathy Owen	...	News Anchor
Jerry J. Rawlings	...	Himself - Former President, Ghana (archive footage) (as Jerry Rawlings)

Storyline

Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.

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Plot Keywords:

globalization | farming | dairy farm | coffin | loan | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

lifeanddebt.org [us] PBS [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Life & Debt

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,902 (USA) (3 August 2001)

Gross:

$241,297 (USA) (22 March 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tuff Gong Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: "Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Not too long after, it was settled by human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble and exalted human beings from Africa to satisfy their desire for wealth and power. Eventually the masters left, in a kind of way; eventually the salves were freed, in a kind of way. Of course, the whole thing is, once you cease to be master you're no longer human rubbish, you're just a human being and all the things that adds up to; so too with ...

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Crazy Credits

Special heartfelt gratitude to the interviewees who share the truth with such eloquence.

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Connections

Referenced in The North Pole Deception (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Destiny"
Written and Performed by Buju Banton
© 1997 Songs of Polygram International, Inc./Germain Music/Gargamel Music (BMI)
Used by special permission Buju Banton and Donovan Germain Penthouse/VP Records

User Reviews

This is "why they hate us"

For anyone who wonders "why they hate us," watch this documentary and the mystery will be solved. It thoroughly documents how the US, the WTO, and the IMF have systematically destroyed every aspect of Jamaican economic opportunity and culture.

The US didn't abolish slavery in the 19th century; they simply outsourced it. Take a look inside the Kingston Free Zone and you'll see the slaves still at work. Visit a Jamaican banana plantation and learn about how the economy of a sovereign nation was subjugated in the name of "free trade."

In short, fellow fat Americans, pull your heads out of your globalizing butts and watch this film, and then try -- for just a moment, at least -- to put yourself on the other side of the coin. Imagine how you would feel about a foreign agency that took away your livelihood, that treated you like chattel, that demanded you stop making a living so that a transnational corporation could capture the last 5% of a market share.

Wouldn't you hate them, too?