Economics
"Against All Odds"
Poverty. Unemployment. Domestic violence. A Shattered national economy.
Raising a family in Peru means struggling "Against All Odds."
This program explores the struggles of three families in three different
areas of Peru. What they share is the recognition that hey can make a
difference for themselves and their families; they have the power, with
the help of God, to lead transformed lives. (2002/suitable for all
audiences/ 56 minutes)
“Banking on Life and Debt”
This Maryknoll production takes viewers to three continents for reports on
how World Bank and International Monetary Fund policies affect the lives
of the people. In Ghana, touted as a World Bank model of success, poor
villagers cannot afford necessary medicines. In Brazil, people eat from
garbage dumps while crops are sold to pay off the world's largest foreign
debt. In the Philippines, a woman heads a grass-roots coalition in the
fight against paying the debt. (30 minutes)
“Cancel the Debt, Now! The Jubilee 2000 Campaign”
Jubilee 2000 is a worldwide movement to cancel the unpayable debts of the
most impoverished countries in the world. This video explains the origin
of these debts and explains why they should be canceled. It shows the
impact of debt on the environment in poor countries, and invites people in
the United States to work in solidarity with people from the developing
countries to help alleviate the suffering caused by debt. (24 minutes)
“A Contemporary Meditation on the Cross”
How is Christ crucified in the contemporary global community with growing
gaps between the rich and poor? Helping us discern how we are to stand at
the foot of the cross today, Jim Hug, SJ, presents a visual meditation on
the cross with images, music and prayerful reflections. (25 minutes)
“Deadly Embrace: Nicaragua, the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund”
This is an excellent case study of the devastating effects of World Bank
and IMF Structural Adjustment policies on the economy of a country and the
lives of its people. In the case of Nicaragua, as in all of the
so-designated Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), a country is forced
to mortgage the lives of the people, the future of the children, and the
health of the environment to attempt to achieve debt sustainability. (27
minutes)
“The Debt Game”
This video traces the history of imperialism and debt in Latin American
countries from the conquest through the present. It explains how debt,
adherence to structural adjustment policies demanded by the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund, and trade policies hinder economic growth and
stunt the development of effective social programs. (60 minutes)
"The
Debt of the Dictators" DVD
How Multinational Banks Supported Dictators in DR
Congo, South Africa, the Philippines and Argentina. The story of
how one-fifth of all developing countries' debts are the result of loans
given to support brutal dictators and their regimes in the past. The film
asks whether it is fair that poor and innocent people in the world today
have to repay the debts of former dictators. Meet the global debt
movements rooted in local civil society: dynamic, popular movements
eagerly campaigning for debt cancellation.
“Demythologizing Economics”
This is a seven-part video series taped at Saint Mary’s in July 1996. It
contains the lectures of Dr. Jo Marie Griesgraber, the presenter at the
Congregation Justice Committee’s Summer Workshop on Global Economics.
The presentations are designed for those who want to learn more about the
global economic scene but are wary of economic “jargon.” The jargon is
deciphered and the debt crisis is explained. The presentation pays
particular attention to the countries where CSCs live and minister.
Opportunities for advocacy on economic issues are also presented. The
video series is accompanied by a study guide, jointly prepared by the
Center of Concern and the Congregation Justice Committee. (Tapes vary in
length from 40 to 70 minutes.)
“For Poor and Rich Alike — Understanding Globalization”
The world is being shaken by an economic and cultural revolution more
far-reaching than any since the industrial revolution a century ago. Will
globalization benefit the common good? Or will it further marginalize the
poorest peoples of the world? This video spells out the perils and the
promise of globalization, and a strategy for harnessing its forces for the
good of all humankind. Presentation by Amata Miller, IHM, produced by
NETWORK. (Two 50-minute segments, handouts and discussion guide included)
“Global Village or Global Pillage?”
This documentary shows constructive ways ordinary people around the world
are addressing the impact of globalization on their communities,
workplaces and the environment. Narrated by Edward Asner. (25 minutes)
“Jesus and Jubilee: A Biblical Study on Economic Justice”
This is a two-part study with an accompanying guide. Presentations given
by Sarah Henrich, associate professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary
in St. Paul, Minnesota, include: I. “Justice, Peace, and Life of the
Community — Exploring Acts and Luke to discover God’s will for human
communities” (18 minutes), and II. “Proclaim Jubilee Through All the
Land — Isaiah and Leviticus help provide an understanding of Jubilee as
restoration.” (21 minutes)
“Jubilee of the Excluded”
This video speaks about debt with the voices of the people of Brazil, one
of the many countries struggling to overcome its colonial legacy and take
its rightful place among the community of nations. Produced in Forteleza,
Brazil, by Instituto Nosso Chao in collaboration with the Sisters of Notre
Dame de Namur. (14 minutes)
“Jubilee Spirituality”
Jim Hug, SJ, and Maria Riley, OP, guide viewers through reflections on the
spirituality of Jubilee/justice, with prayers, readings, music and images.
Segments on the Call to Jubilee, Our Dream of the Reign of God, Standing
in Contradiction, and Building Hope and Solidarity are included. Printed
material for a half-day retreat process accompanies this video. (1 hour)
Retreat sponsored by the Congregation Justice Committee that was held at
Saint Mary’s in July 2000. The six conferences explore the Jubilee
themes. Presented by Marie Dennis, director of the Maryknoll Office of
Global Concerns. (Two videos; each conference is 1 hour in length)
“Life
and Debt”
Adapted
from the book, “A Small Place, Life and Debt”, this PBS
Documentary from August 2001 is an unapologetic look at the “new world
order,” from the point of view of Jamaican workers, farmers, government
and policy officials who see the reality of globalization from the ground
up. (90 minutes)
“The
Luckiest Nut in the World” DVD
A lesson about the nutty economics of free trade taught
by a singing peanut and his hard-shelled backup group.
(8 minutes/ Iron
Weed Film Club)
“A Matter of Interest”
This animated video draws a parallel between life in debt-stricken
countries and the plight of individuals. It discusses how developing
countries incur debt, the consequences of the debt crisis, and the ethics
of demanding full repayment. (13 minutes)
“Money” DVD
Director Issac Isitan explores the economic crashes (circa 2002) that
occurred in Turkey and Argentina, asking how it is possible that these
relatively wealthy countries could go bankrupt in less than a decade.
Traveling to Turkey, Argentina and the US, Isitan creates a moving
portrait of citizens who have lost everything. Interwoven with these
stories, a lucid essay dissects the macro-economic policies, demanded by
the World Bank and the IMF, that have plunged entire nations into economic
crisis. Faced with a lack of money, the people have begun to reinvent it,
initiating credit and barter systems and inventing local parallel
economies. An essential and incisive look in to the hidden side of money.
(2004 / 65 minutes)
“The New Global Economy: A View from the Bottom Up”
This video looks at three elements of the global economy from the
perspective of those at the lower rungs of the economic ladder:
transnational corporations, structural adjustment programs and free trade
agreements. It also provides glimpses of some efforts to change economic
structures that offer hope for the future. (24 minutes)
“The
Silent Killer: Debt &
Honduras”
The Silent Killer details the debt experiences
of Honduras as a case study. It reveals the impact of debt on average
people, and the differing views of debt administrators and debt victims.
(22 minutes)
“The Story of Stuff”
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal,
all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet
most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute,
fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and
consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a
huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to
create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll
make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff
in your life forever.
“Two Trevors Go to Washington”
See the IMF and World Bank meetings and protests in April 2000 through the
eyes of two South Africans. On the inside, meet Finance Minister Trevor
Manuel, champion of South Africa's conservative economic policy and chair
of the IMF/World Bank board. In the streets, meet Johannesburg Metro
Government Councilor and African National Congress member Trevor Ngwane
from Soweto. He joined the protestors to call for immediate debt
cancellation and closure of the World Bank. (32 minutes)
“Who’s Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global
Economics”
Have you noticed that as the global economy grows, the environment and
millions of common people lose out? Marilyn Waring is noticing. A former
member of Parliament from New Zealand asks down-to-earth questions and
offers explanations about what is missing from the global economic
equation. She maps out an alternative economic vision, one that changes
the way we value women’s work as well as the way we live on this planet,
and does so in a thought-provoking and entertaining way. (57 minutes)
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