Monday, November 4, 2013

Heather's thoughts on "Life and Debt"


Life and Debt made me realize that I really do not know much about the finer details of globalization. It is something I should care about, but never really was interested in, until now. I also never took the time to think about how a “destination location” or country and its people are like outside of the lavish resorts and entertainment. It was difficult to see the real struggle of the natives of Jamaica, a developing country. They could hardly make a penny off of their products, and most of the time not even sell, because the US and other foreign countries could do it for less expensive. People go to this country for a vacation, to forget about their troubles of work, school, and everyday life, while the natives are doing the very opposite of that. The commercials we have in America make it seem like Jamaica is full of happiness and worry free, and it certainly is not. It is not like Jamaica is full of sad people, it is just not how we imagined when we were little and wanting to vacation there.
            I really liked the excerpts of Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place added throughout the film. It added a lot of interest, astonishing facts, and took the documentary to the next level. She exposes the true emotions and strife of the country during clips of the beach and mountains, which creates an interesting juxtaposition. 

2 comments:

  1. Heather, I agree with you about not knowing much about globalization, which is a word heard often but rarely fully understood. In my understanding, globalization means to interchange cultures, ideas, and products throughout the world. The people in this country, however, struggle to be connected to the world trades, which is most likely a reason for their poverty. I agree with your other points as well!

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  2. I definitely agree with this post. You and I shared similar thoughts in our blogs about how we are ignorant towards these countries when we choose to travel. It is interesting that as college students, most of us have little knowledge on what globalization really is. Perhaps it is because we think it is something we do not need to be concerned about. We know little of the struggle these local people go through every single day.

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