In Fight Club, a most excellent movie I've seen dozens of time, Tyler Durden says "The things you own end up owning you." At this time of year, we all go into zombie mode and accumulate stuff. We're not buying stuff for ourselves necessarily, at least not directly, but we're buying stuff for others and we feel obligated to do so.
I used to own a great deal more stuff than I do now. I went through a minimalistic period in which I started giving stuff away and throwing stuff out. I still have stuff, like an MP3 player, digital camera, and other entertainment-"necessities", but there's very little I need.
Alexi, hockey-poolie and future neighbour, encouraged me to visit The Story of Stuff. "That hippie has opened my eyes", he wrote. "I'll never buy anything again... I'm gonna go punch some industrialists in the face".
It's a whopping 20 minutes, but it's got great animation and it's truly eye opening. We're all about consumption in this culture. Do we really need to consume this much? How do we stop this vicious cycle?
Watch The Story of Stuff and get back here and give me answers. It's American-centric, but it applies here in the Great White North as well. Don't sugar coat it, I want the truth.
