stuff
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
The Story of Stuff
The first time I saw this little film must be pretty close to when it first came out, because I notice that Annie has just celebrated the first anniversary of The Story of Stuff. Go Annie.
I’ve often pondered the pointlessness of the work so that you can consume so that you can work treadmill and it’s so well illustrated in this film. It’s very American and Monkey says I should find some Aussie stats to go with, but you get the idea. We’re just as bad (or worse) than they are.
Now I have to say that when it comes to stuff, I am guilty as charged. I love stuff. I love shopping. Christmas is my favourite time of year and I am in my element, hunting for gifts and wrapping them up. Monkey is pretty “meh” about the whole thing, but I actually had a nightmare last week that I forgot to get him a Christmas pressie. Frankly I think that the whole shopping thing is an expression of our hunter/gatherer ancestors and I have a really atavistic gene.
Which doesn’t excuse me at all. So I’m making more of an effort to not be embarrassed about second hand Christmas presents, presents that have to be eaten up or drunk, or donations to charity given as gifts (like those nifty Oxfam cards.)
Thing is, I want those grandchildren (the ones that exist only in my imagination so far) to be able to enjoy Christmas, too. So I know I have to make a bigger effort with the stuff.