Life and Debt, directed by Stephanie Black, definitely tied in to the novel we read, Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid. Some of the narration was actually written by Kincaid herself.
This film shows the struggle Jamaica suffered after gaining its independence in 1962. Jamaica never thought that they would have such a hard time financially once they became independent. They didn’t have the economic strength to support themselves, and were unable to finance their own needs. It was actually cheaper to buy imported goods rather than buy goods produced in Jamaica. From trying to globalize their economy, man of the industries of Jamaica took a hit. The tourists that visit hardly get to see this down side of the economy, they tend to stick to the better areas of the island, the parts meant for tourists. The life of the visitors and the actual inhabitants are complete opposites.
The IMF tries to look like the good guys, like they are really trying to help Jamaica out financially with loans. But, what they don’t tell them at first is that they will have to pay these loans with interest much sooner than the Jamaican officials had thought. So rather than helping the economy out, Jamaicans were falling further into debt. But as for the rest of the world, they were benefiting. Other countries, including the United States were able to export to Jamaica and still sell a lot of goods and make a good profit. Then when the people came over to check on the potatoes of Jamaica so that they could be imported to the states, which would help the potato farmers make a profit. But after all of the hard work of transporting their crops, they came to find out that their potatoes didn’t make the cut.