The Real Life of Jamaica Essay Example

The tourists who come to Jamaica focuses on the beauty of the island. Jamaica is the island where Jamaicans suffer and want to escape. However, the local residents are too poor to escape the island. Jamaicans try their best to satisfy the tourists. The local residents are jealous at the tourists because the tourists have the ability to leave their boredom and turn Jamaica into a pleasurable vacation. 

Stephanie Black, the filmmaker of Life and Debt, is attempting to demonstrate that the tourist, through Jamaica Kincaid’s description, witnesses the beauty of the island while being oblivious from the harsher lives of the local residents. The major themes that Kincaid addresses include the influence of homeland on identity, culture, and the desire for independence.

The first concept that will be argued are the view of the tourists, the local residents, and the view on Jamaica. The first concept that will be argued is the tourists’ view on the local residents. In the tourists’ view they view the local residents as being relaxed, laid back people, without realizing that the local residents are working hard to satisfy the tourists.

In the tourists’ view on Jamaica, they are fond by the beauty of the island and the beautiful sunshine. The beautiful sunshine in Jamaica represents a lack of rainfall. This lack of rainfall is a lack of fresh water. 

This lack of fresh water for the local residents does not interest the tourists because the beauty and the sunshine of the island is all that really matters to them. Tourists who swim in the sea or beaches have no clue the amount of waste is in the water. Also, the tourists do not notice that the food that they are eating is from Miami.

The second concept that will be argued is the local residents’ view on the tourists. When the tourists arrive in Jamaica, the local residents automatically label them as being a tourist. In the native’s point of view, a tourist is an ugly human being because they do not look, eat, or speak the same way as the local residents do. The local residents view the tourists as people who make use of poor people for their own pleasure.

The local residents must work hard in order to prove pleasure for the tourists. The local residents are living in poor conditions wishing that they can be the tourists, because tourists have the ability to leave their country and come to a place such as Jamaica to relax. However, in Jamaica, visiting the island. 

The third concept that will be argued is the power view on Jamaica. The US and European countries may not have authority over Jamaica, but they push their influence and organize their authority within Jamaica.

The Negative Effect of Globalization on Jamaica 

The United States of America and European countries took advantage of the Jamaicans by creating a trade system in order to earn extra money for themselves. This puts businessmen and farmers in Jamaica because it is harder for them to compete with the US and Europe. Jamaicans are manipulated by the IMF, WB, and WTO. The US and European countries have power over Jamaica because the tourists asset and use the local residents by still treating them as slaves.

Globalization has made Jamaica completely and irrevocably dependent upon other countries. In other words, Jamaica is no longer able to sustain itself in terms of the economy, food, and other basic needs due to the long-term effects of globalization. In refusing to allow Jamaica to subsidize local businesses, the WTO is a self-interested organization that never had the intention of boosting Jamaica’s economy. This film suggests that the WTO and IMF took advantage of Jamaica by forcing it to compete in the global market. the film calls on Americans and Europeans to wake up to the realization of globalization and demand change within their home countries. 

IMF in Jamaica was to provide only short-term funds in order to make Jamaica available to global markets. With its extremely high interest rates, IMF has caused Jamaica to sink deeper into debt. WTO imposed heavy restrictions on spending, which has made it nearly impossible for Jamaica to support its local businesses. In my opinion, these organizations are only interested in boosting the European and American economies. 

They have caused Jamaica to sink deeper into debt, and become dependent on other countries for resources and funds. The actions that WTO and IMF have taken have disadvantaged Jamaicans, especially local farmers and other business owners they have advantaged. The United States and European economies, American and European businesses who exploit Jamaicans for cheap labor, and Americans and Europeans who can visit Jamaica as tourists because of their booming economies.

Tourists do not recognize that the local residents’ history, culture, and religion and what Jamaica is all about. All that the tourists care about is their vacation time to relax and be treated like kings and queens. This is similar to the way they were treated before their independence. 

In conclusion, “Life and Debt” shows the ignorance of tourists who travel to Jamaica for their own enjoyment and satisfaction. Stephanie Black, the filmmaker of Life and Debt, is attempting to demonstrate that the tourist, through Jamaica Kincaid’s description, witnesses beauty of the island while being oblivious from the harsher realities of the natives. The major themes that Kincaid addresses include the influence of homeland on identity, culture, and the desire for independence. 

The lives of the natives have no interest to the tourists because the tourists come to enjoy the beauty of the island. In the native’s perspective, they view tourists as ugly human beings because tourists are oblivious to how the natives live their lives. The Government is abusing their powers by wrongly placing funds. The United States of America and Europeans took advantage of the Jamaicans by creating a trade system in order to earn extra money for themselves. The Government is also taking advantage of his power. The library is very important to the Jamaicans because the library represents a symbol of education, culture, history, and independence.