As an assignment for Topic in Media, my classmates and I had to watch a 20 min video published on The Story of Stuff website. It is an interesting video about the process of production and how it affect our world. In this video Anne Leonard says that the product process consist in 5 basic steps – extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal – and each step of this process affect the environment in a particular way.
This video is a criticism to the American life style. It is common sense to related the U.S.A. to the act of consumption. It is also true that the American marketing is the best example of capitalism and its demand, but we have to be conscious that this system in crisis has been followed by most of the developed and developing nations.
For developing countries as my home country, the false necessity of own stuffs can be seeing as a generation problem. While my parents grew up having minimal stuffs, the essential to live, my sisters and I had more than parents did. Each one of us had at least 3 or 4 Barbies, thousands of table games, different styles of dress and more. And now, when I look at my cousin's kids, I just can't believe how many toys and clothes they have. And most of the time how easy they get tired of some thing. They want more and more... More than theirs parents wanted... Who wanted more than their parents...
This generation gap can be caused by globalization or the capitalism demand. Nowadays, we have way to much advertises... and those make us want more... The marketing also makes us have a felling of status. Specially for the western nations what you own says who you are. Clothes, shoes, cellphones, houses, cars... everything tells about you. At least, that is what they sell to us. In this vicious cycle, each process causes dangerous effects and each of us is responsible for this situation. As Leonard says in the “Story of Stuff”, we are only the top of the iceberg, but I believe that we can do our part and start to change our habits. These changes will contribute to create a sustainable economic growth.
1 comment:
Hebe~
I felt happy when I read your blog, because what you are saying is the same feeling as me. In my country, also, we produce so many stuff to people. For example, my sister has three car seats...because my parents friends who came to my home always give her a present. We cannot reject other's gift so that there has lots of useless things...
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