Rating: 
Summary: Milk, bananas, Asian workers in the free zone
Review: One of the bonus tracks on the DVD is a music video, "Mr. Heartless" by Anthony B. with kids, garbage trucks, cows roaming near a dump, the singer, and the kids playing violin look very young for that part. They sound great though, and the movie is basically educational in a manner that fits with a song that ends with the exhortation: Rastafari. Listening to the commentary by the directer, she seemed to be a little shy about things that she could not come right out and say in the film. She set up a camera by three men with a Bible sitting in front of a fire and cuts their comments into the film almost as much as the tourists, but in the end she admits that tourism is the number one industry in the global economy.
The really dirty secret that she spills the beans on, that none of the farmers actually say in the film, is that whenever a farmer tries to send something into the United States, it is held in Customs until it utterly perishes. I have been reading about a few trade imbalances, and I'm inclined to believe that powdered milk which appears in this film is subsidized at 137 percent of its price, as is stated in the film in the regular soundtrack.
I really wish that the fresh milk shown in this film could have been sold to Asian workers in the Kingston free zone, but they would not receive any money until they returned to their homes in Asia. Whoever has really big bucks is going to extreme lengths to keep real money from reaching regular people, and I no longer think that Americans are heading into the future with any wind at their backs. Debt is the biggest problem Jamaica faces as a deteriorating society, growing astronomically with each new year, but American policies of budget deficits, trade imbalances, and gross family financial incompetence throughout the middle class could make the negative net worth of the United States surpass anything the world has ever seen, particularly when the newspapers aren't reporting what Harvey Pitt has been doing since he was chairman of the S.E.C. Do yourself a favor and watch the video a few times, but be sure to see the movie, interview, and commentary, too. Credits at the end include some foundations set up by the world's smartest billionaires, so don't think this movie is all bad, however much real money you think your stock is worth.
Rating:
Summary: What every American should know about foreign policy.
Review: Price supports and international trade. Luxurious tourist fantasies and struggling subsistence economies. Multinational corporations who insist on controlling 100% of the market rather than 95%. People who can't afford to eat locally-grown food because our low-quality imports are so much cheaper. Look behind the mask of benevolent US foreign policy, and see the real consequences of forgetting that someone lives on that beautiful island. But you're just looking for a vacation bargain, right? You didn't really want to know (or see) the truth.
Rating:
Summary: A rude awakening
Review: Stephanie Black's "Life and Debt" is an eye opening account about the struggle of Jamaica's economy after being forced to chain themselves to the Wold Bank shortly after gaining their independence from England. After the Queen cuts off support money to the tiny country they are left to fend for themselves in the REAL world, but alas, as we all know, the real world does not have a level playing surface, and the countries who are blessed to have the most $$ get to make up the rules as they go along. SEE how a country with an abundance of arable land cannot afford to grow crops for their own people, SEE how the World Bank loans the country money with credit card-like interest rates (then won't even allow them to spend it how they see fit). SEE the bloated rich Americans vacation there and enjoy the bounty of fresh fruits, and vegetables, the resorts have to offer and realize that it all comes from a boat from the U.S. SEE the locals get screwed in the ground by NAFTA and get taxed by employers for services that don't exist to the locals. See this film and you'll know why people all over the world march in protest every where the World Bank and IMF meet. You'll see how corrupt the world really is, even the so called "good guys" like the United States.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Message, Questionable Aesthetics
Review: The film does well contrasting the Jamaica of the resorts with the Jamaica of its people. Within the faux atmosphere of the resorts, all is paradise. But within the country itself, the people suffer extreme poverty and hardship, principally the result of US neocolonial trade practices with Jamaica and the draconian economic policies of the IMF. In this respect, the film stays on message.But this is the only message in the film, and it repeats it endlessly in ways that do not create novel applications of the message. Some interviews are simply too long; others seem redundant. Although I am sympathetic to message of the film, I found myself saying, "Okay, I get it already." The sound track was wonderful. I also appreciated how the filmmakers had many ordinary Jamaicans describe the effects of neocolonial trade practices on their lives as well as the experts.
Rating:
Summary: It is what it is
Review: The other reviews here are elegant, and I'll ask you to trust them when they urge you to see and support the film. I will add, however, that it's strikingly clear we're witnessing a new era of slavery and servitude here, one that is less direct yet equally immoral. The argument that some critics have posted, stating that Jamaica's problems could be solved by a better tourism industry, is akin to contending that a violated woman ought to "pretty herself up and enjoy it more." Before we offer suggestions, maybe we should first put ourselves in her shoes - and that's what this film gives us a chance to do. And I'm indebted.
Rating:
Summary: Indebted
Review: The other reviews here are elegant, and I'll ask you to trust them when they urge you to see and support the film. I will add, however, that it's strikingly clear we're witnessing a new era of slavery and servitude here, one that is less direct yet equally immoral. The argument that some critics have posted, stating that Jamaica's problems could be solved by a better tourism industry, is akin to contending that a violated woman ought to "pretty herself up and enjoy it more." Before we offer suggestions, maybe we should first put ourselves in her shoes - and that's what this film gives us a chance to do. And I'm indebted.
Rating:
Summary: It is what it is
Review: There are no invisible slaves here, just arrogant caucasions who refused to accept the facts about being savages who killed their way to the top, and yet manages to call this being civilize. tsk tsk If anyone hasnt seen Michael Moore movie about the 911 I suggest that you all go see it to see the truth of the matter. Indeed, nothing has change with ol'Euro-corporate mentality ( survival of the fittest is a joke). Its more like who kills and gains first will be in control when the war ends. We all know that Europeans were not handed ppls resources, the Europeans took ppls resources and use ppl as slaves to enrich their own lives, as can still be seen today in third world countries were the ppl are kept in concentration camps and are forced to work in most cases and are under paid to survive even to the minimum level with their countries cost of living. There are a lot of European companies who are benefiting from these crimes against humanity. So, this movie is just one out of many showing the psychological differences between ppl based on how they developed and what they inherit to survive. It will be many more yrs before humanity is on the same page, and to get there, chaos cannot be in the equation. Nor excuses..................
Rating:
Summary: Preaching to the choir...
Review: This is a very good movie that shows the arrogance of the world powers by thinking that third world countries will be better off if they are introduced to world trade and new technology. It is a microcosm for many other third-world countries. Schumacher was talking about this some 30 years ago with his book "Small is beautiful," which is a must read.
The one thing that I see about this movie is Jamaica's possible resemblance to the United States 30 or 40 years down the line. Right now, labor intensive jobs are being exported to China, small farms and ranches are almost non-existent, we are in debt up to our wazoo, the value of our dollar is seriously decreasing, our prison system is overflowing, inner city violence is as bad as ever, we have no culture of our own, etc etc.
Peter Peterson's "Running on Empty" is a good read as well...
Rating:
Summary: Lost Dreams
Review: This is an excellent film about the realities of coming of age - independence - in a world dominated by the self-interests of the super powers. What makes this film so powerful is the juxtaposition of hard-nosed economic and political analyses by politicians, academics, local farmers and business people, with the homespun spirituality and wisdom of the rastafarians; all set against the brittle, relentlessly hedonistic backdrop of the tourist industry ... "welcome to my island home." Superb.
Rating:
Summary: Required viewing for all first world citizens
Review: 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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