In the western world, the
accumulation of wealth has become the ultimate symbol of
success.
According to the new documentary
'Escape! from the Cult of Materialism', this unquenchable
thirst for more has made slaves of us all, and suppressed
the most basic human virtues of decency, solidarity and
compassion.
A mosaic of inventively edited
stock footage, animations and clips from various popular
films, this enlightening documentary provides a brief but
sweeping overview of materialism's origins, and its
continued clutch on society today.
It all starts with simple desire.
The drive to attain greater
resources is understandable from a survivalist's
perspective; after all, more sophisticated tools allow us
better access to food and protection from nature's harshest
elements.
But over the years, this need
has been manipulated by the corporatized machine of
materialism.
We no longer know
where our food is coming from,
and that impersonal relationship is making us sick and
weakening our once harmonious relationship with the
environment.
We purchase goods and services that don't nourish us, and
produce an endless stream of pollution-inducing waste as a
result. Our children die in wars that fatten the wallets of
big industry.
Even in the face of
the 9/11 tragedy, Americans
were urged
by their president to
respond by going shopping...
Marketing is the platform for
mass seduction, and we're entranced by its central message
that possessions increase our personal value and social
status.
The film argues that materialism's influence is
all-consuming and unsustainable.
The United States contains
5% of the world's population, but uses 25% of the Earth's
resources.
What will become of the planet
when more populated countries like China and India begin to
produce and consume at this scale?
In addition to illustrating the destructive brainwashing
tactics of modern consumerism, the film also offers
practical steps we can take to curb its ongoing dominance in
our daily lives.
These include a
renewed reliance on local farmers and
craftspeople, limiting our exposure to mass
media, and banning the swarms of advertising from the
vicinity of our schools.
Handsomely assembled and narrated with articulate insight,
'Escape! From the Cult of Materialism' is an intelligent and
thought-provoking film.
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