Views on the movie "Sugar Cane Alley."

Essay by cac1983University, Bachelor'sA-, October 2005

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If Adam Smith were to see the movie "Sugar Cane Alley", I don't think he'd like it. I think he would say that it was a good example of what happens when there is a monopoly in control. He would also look at the cane worker's labor value, since he thought that labor was a source of value, not nature. An example of that from the movie is when they are in the field and the foreman on the horse yells at the man drinking water, telling him that he's always "too thirsty" and the get back to work. Obviously, if this movie takes place in Cuba, it's hot and the workers are doing manual hard labor, they are going to get thirsty and need to drink some water to keep from getting heat illness or dehydration.

Adam Smith would also criticize the part of "Sugar Cane Alley" when Jose wins a scholarship to the school but is still required to pay 85 francs, which is outrageously unaffordable to Jose and Ma Tine.

Smith felt that education should be available to all. In the movie, all the kids did start going to school, but once they were finished, they were not opportunities to advance, so they were to go to work in the cane fields. They were left with no other options. In the movie, Ma Tine does not want this for Jose, so she manages to make it work for him. Smith would call this the pursuit of self-interest. Smith thought that the pursuit of self-interest should be given free reign and also pointed out that self-interest is a big motivator. I consider this self-interest because Ma Tine is looking to get something better out of her labor. Working in the cane fields is not...