|
Volume CXXXII, Number 22 |
 |
Life and Debt: Filmmaker Black speaks
KYMBERLY LEVINE
CONTRIBUTOR
 |
| A beach in Montego Bay: an image from the film Life and Debt by Stephanie Black. (Courtesy of Stephanie Black) |
In Bowdoin's ever-increasing and constant effort to increase diversity on campus, this past weekend offered a unique opportunity to learn more about Caribbean culture and areas of study. Bowdoin hosted the first Caribbean Studies Conference titled, Borders, Boundaries and the "Global" in Caribbean Studies. Last semester Professor Patricia Saunders of the English department was awarded the Emerging Voices New Directions Grant from the Ford Foundation. In her effort to increase interest in Caribbean studies on campus she has used the Ford Grant to help bring this conference to Bowdoin whose participants and main lecturers hailed from as far away as the University of the West Indies at Barbados and Trinidad, as well as Boston College and Clark University.
The conference offered a unique opportunity to the attendees, as they were able to discuss current topics within their areas of interest under the encompassing blanket of Caribbean studies. In addition to several panels that addressed a range of issues of globalization across the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities, the conference featured the work of filmmaker Stephanie Black. Her two films, Life and Debt and H2 Worker both explore the underbelly of the spread of globalization in poorer countries in the Caribbean region. The screening of Life and Debt and the live performance of MUTABARUKA, one of Jamaica's premier performance poets, brought out well over 150 people who included members of the Bowdoin College community, faculty from Bates College, and USM, as well as local organizers and activists from the Many and One Coalition and other Maine based groups.
A Q&A followed the film screening where many members of the audience raised questions about the moral and economic implications of current International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies for poor countries like Jamaica. Following the screening Stephanie Black took some time out to talk with me. She addressed some of the questions raised by viewers, particularly those about the contradictory narratives circulating about globalization.
One question that arose while viewing the film was why the IMF would not subsidize the local Jamaican farmers so their goods, produce and milk, would be cheaper than foreign imports, as the prices are currently not even competitive with foreign produce and milk. This step, seemingly small would have a big impact on the Jamaican economy as they would be able to decrease their imports and by supporting local businesses would keep money flowing within their country. Black responded saying: "The IMF is concerned with trying to incorporate Jamaica into the global economy but takes time for the farming industry of Jamaica. With the kinds of demands on the farming sector, they can't compete because theirs is a different economy based on agriculture and irrigation systems that are not as updated as those in more developed countries. The IMF is placing the same structural adjustment programs on every country with very little regard for the specificities of each economy and society. If Jamaica could export its bananas to the US we'd be eating better tasting bananas!"
Black, however, does not want to paint a totally dismal picture for her viewers. Instead she encouraged people in the audience to begin to write government officials and to read more about IMF and World Bank history so that they could better understand the motivations behind the creation of these institutions and the power of G-7 nations on the economy and future of poorer nation states. Black recommends the website www.lifeanddebt.org, which lists organizations in which people can get involved.
According to Black some of the promising sectors in the Jamaican economy include ganja farming, and exporting bananas and other fruits that are not available in the US. "If they legalize herb, they can produce ganja. There are some countries where ganja is not an illegal drug and consuming it is also not illegal and so if Jamaica were to export to those countries it would help their economy." Popular culture in Jamaica has had a worldwide reach as exemplified by the country's reggae music, specifically of musician Bob Marley. In the past decade dancehall, another product of Jamaica, has gained a huge national following. Black also sees the music industry as promising to the future of Jamaica, "I think music would be another important product that could be exported. Unfortunately Jamaican music is not owned by Jamaica, all the artists are signed to American labels. So the money doesn't really go back to the country to the degree that it could, if the record labels were operating fully and the distribution were coming to Jamaica that would be a big resource." Black also sees tourism as continuing to be a big resource, "but it's not good for a country to depend on it because it's too vulnerable." She continued saying, "if they could just be allowed to export mangoes, papayas, and other agricultural goods, they would have a better chance of competing on the market."
As a student just beginning to study and understand the complex cultural diasporas of the Caribbean nations the opportunity to meet with and discuss these issues first hand with scholars in the field and to discuss current issues of globalization with a film maker in this field was invaluable. The two documentaries, Life and Debt and H2 Worker offer a personalized and politicized view of life in Jamaica not from the perspective of a tourist, but that of a global citizen. The many students who have seen this film ask what they can do for Jamaica and similar countries that need economic assistance from the IMF. Jamaica has been struggling for years with the IMF and other international economic assistance programs and it appears that combined action by the countries and outside sources are these countries best hope in bettering the economic policies afforded them. A key factor in effecting change is creating greater awareness. I would encourage students to view this film if they are interested in Caribbean studies or questions of globalization. One thing is certain; the propensity for change within the IMF and other global lending institutions is growing and students like those at Bowdoin College have a part to play in these changes.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |