You may have heard of The Story of Stuff. Well, should you have 20 minutes to educate yourself, click on the movie at that site and sit down with some popcorn.
Annie Leonard is a bit perky for my taste, but she's got her facts straight and doesn't bother making assertions that aren't backed up by data. It's not exhaustive, but she had to keep this movie watchable after all. How many policy lectures have you actually remained awake all the way through, right?
This presentation gives you something rare -- the big picture. She covers planned obsolescence, perceived obsolescence, "national happiness", toxics, international manufacturing, closed-loop production -- solutions as well as problems. She does an excellent job of covering the material, not getting maudlin or evangelical about it, and connecting you through the website to other resources where you can research further, and get in contact with folks doing good work regarding the environment, materials, social justice, etc. It's quite excellent.
Enjoy gathering the information needed to back up your gut instincts,
Bp
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
OK, time for me to make one of my cranky comments.
Let me start by saying that I agree with most/all of the film.
Having said that, who exactly is the audience for this film? Sure, it can make the like minded nod their heads in violent agreement, but those folks are already on board.
There's a smug self-righteousness to the narration that bugs me, and a tendency to throw in off-topic editorial remarks that anyone who is not already in agreement is likely to be alienated.
I wish the filmmaker had put more effort into true communication. For me to effectively communicate with you, I have to have some understanding of how you think and feel, and some respect for that. If I come in with my rhetorical guns blazing, I'll do no more than turn you off.
Even whin I agree, I find polemic masquerading as information distasteful.
Post a Comment