The story of stuff

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Movie
Original title The story of stuff
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2007
length 20 minutes
Rod
Director Louis Fox
script Louis Fox,
Annie Leonard ,
Jonah Sachs
production Erica Priggen
cut Braelan Murray

The Story of Stuff is an animated short documentary film about the life cycle of goods . The documentation criticizes excessive consumption and advocates sustainability .

The script was written by filmmaker Annie Leonard , who also acted as a spokeswoman. The film was funded by the Tides Organization, Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption , Free Range Studios and other organizations. The film was produced by Free Range Studios and shown online for the first time in December 2007.

The video is used in elementary schools, arts programs, business courses, and corporate sustainability programs, among others. By February 2009 the video had already been viewed in 228 countries and territories. According to the Los Angeles Times (July 2010), the film has been translated into 15 languages ​​and viewed by more than 12 million people.

content

The 20-minute video shows a critical view of consumer society , with a focus on the United States. It is intended to "reveal the connections between a multitude of ecological and social problems, and call for us to work together to create a fairer and more sustainable world". The film is divided into seven chapters: Introduction , raw material extraction , production , distribution , consumption , disposal and an alternative .

The video describes the economy of material goods as a system that can be divided into raw material extraction , production , distribution , consumption and disposal . To illustrate the problems of the system, Leonard also extends this model to include people, governments and companies.

Leonard's thesis “ you cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely ” ( Annie Leonard , German: “a linear system is not sustainable on a finite planet”) is supported in the video with statistical data . Although the video itself does not contain any sources for their statements, the production company does provide an annotated script that contains footnotes with explanations and references for the claims:

  • " ... more than 50% of our federal tax money is now going to the military ... " ( Annie Leonard , German: "... more than 50% of our government spending goes to the military ...") She quotes the War Resisters League website , although the number differs from official reports by the American government. The latter rates the proportion at around 20-25%. The WRL explains the difference by not factoring in trust funds like Social Security (since that revenue doesn't come directly from income taxes), viewing veterans' support as part of previous military spending, and also factoring in 80% of debt interest payments on the grounds that that most of the debts could have been avoided by less military spending.
  • “ Of the 100 largest economies on Earth now, 51 are corporations. "( Annie Leonard , German:" Of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are companies. ") She quotes Anderson & Cavanagh (2000) , who based this claim in turn on the figures published by Fortune and the World Development Report in 1999 on GDP and company sales supports.
  • “ We [The US] have 5% of the world's population but we're consuming 30% of the world's resources and creating 30% of the world's waste. ”( Annie Leonard , German:“ We [the USA] stand for 5% of the world's population, but we consume 30% of all raw materials and cause 30% of the world's waste. ”) She quotes Seitz (2010) and a chapter in Global Environmental Issues , which ascribes the USA to a waste production of 10 billion tons per year before the turn of the millennium.
  • “ 80% of the planet's original forests are gone. ”( Annie Leonard , German:“ 80% of the original forest has disappeared. ”) She cites the National Resources Defense Council website, which claims that only about 20% of the original forests exist, and the website of the Rainforest Action Network .
  • “ In the Amazon alone, we're losing 2000 trees a minute. ”( Annie Leonard , German:“ In the Amazon alone we lose 2000 trees per minute. ”) She quotes de Seve (2002) , who put the deforestation rate in the Amazon region in 1995 at 20,000 km² per year.
  • " Each of us in the US is targeted with more than 3,000 advertisements a day. ”( Annie Leonard , German:“ More than 3000 advertisements are aimed at every American per day . ”) This number comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics , which in turn takes this from an Albuquerque Journal article from 1999 by columnist Ellen Goodman.
  • " Each of us in the United States makes 4 1 ⁄ 2 pounds (2.04 kg) of garbage a day. ”( Annie Leonard , German:“ Every US American causes about 2 kg of garbage per day. ”) She quotes the US Environmental Protection Agency website, which states that in 2005 245.6 million tons of household waste were produced. Taylor & Morrissey (2004) confirm this figure.
  • “ Dioxin is the most toxic man made substance known to science. And incinerators are the number one source of dioxin. "( Annie Leonard , German:" Dioxin is the most toxic, man-made substance known to science. And waste incineration plants are the main sources of dioxin. ") She quotes Mocarelli et al .

Leonard also quotes what Victor Lebow said about economic growth in 1955:

“Our enormously productive economy ... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption ... we need things consumed , burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate. "

“Our enormously productive economy ... requires that we make consumption our way of life, that we make buying and using goods a ritual, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, the satisfaction of our ego, in consumption ... We want Consuming, using, replacing and throwing things away, and that with ever increasing speed. "

- Victor Lebow

reaction

The Story of Stuff became a topic of public discussion, especially after The New York Times published a cover story about the video on May 10, 2009. Even before The New York Times article, The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook called the film a successful portrayal of the problems of the consumer cycle , and Greyson (2008) said it was a compelling attempt to convey the ideas of cyclical economics. Ralph Nader described the film as “ a model of clarity and motivation ” ( Ralph Nader , German: “a model for clarity and motivation”). John Passacantando , managing director of Greenpeace , called it a “ mega hit on three levels ” ( John Passacantando , German: “mega hit on three levels”).

The documentation also drew the attention of right-wing reporters like Glenn Beck , who called the video an " anti-capitalist tale that unfortunately has virtually no facts correct " ( Glenn Beck , German: "anti-capitalist fairy tale that unfortunately contains almost no correct facts" ) designated. Influenced by right-wing opinions, the school authorities in Montana narrowly voted against broadcasting the film in class. The subsequent wave of public protests led to a change in the rules and an award for the teacher who had shown the video in a biology class.

See also

literature

  • Sarah Anderson, John Cavanagh: The Top 200: The Rise of Global Corporate Power . Institute for Policy Studies , Washington, DC 1996.
  • Sarah Anderson, John Cavanagh: The Top 200: The Rise of Global Corporate Power . Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC 2000 ( corpwatch.org [PDF]).
  • Karen de Seve: Welcome to my jungle ... before it's gone . In: Science World . 2002 ( findarticles.com ).
  • James Greyson: Sustainable Energy Production and Consumption . Ed .: Frano Barbir, Sergio Ulgiati. Springer, 2008, ISBN 1-4020-8493-5 , Systemic economic instruments for energy, climate and global security, p. 139-158 ( wiser.org ).
  • James Madison : Letters and other writings of James Madison . Volume 4 of Letters and Other Writings of James Madison: Fourth President of the United States, James Madison. JB Lippincott & co., 1865 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  • John L. Seitz: Global Issues: An Introduction . 1st edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2001.
  • Ros Taylor, Kathy Morrissey: Global Environmental Issues . Ed .: Frances Harris. John Wiley and Sons, 2004, ISBN 0-470-84561-9 , Coping with Pollution: Dealing with Waste, pp. 229-264 .
  • Jeana Wirtenberg, William G. Russell, David Lipsky: The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together . AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2008, ISBN 0-8144-1278-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Margot Roosevelt: Teaching 'stuff' about ecology . In: Los Angeles Times , July 13, 2010. 
  2. ↑ Story Of Stuff . storyofstuff.com. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  3. ^ The Story of Stuff . storyofstuff.com. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. ^ Studying "Stuff" Examining "The Story of Stuff" with a Critical Eye . In: The New York Times , May 15, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2013. 
  5. ^ The Story of Stuff . July 28, 2008.
  6. ^ Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget , irs.gov
  7. ↑ Where Your Income Tax money really Goes , warresisters.org
  8. ↑ Anderson & Cavanagh: The Top 200: The Rise of Global Corporate Power . 1996.
  9. ↑ Fortune Magazine , July 31, 2000.
  10. ^ John L. Seitz: Global Issues: An Introduction . 2001.
  11. ^ Taylor & Morrissey: Global Environmental Issues . 2004, p. 229-264 .
  12. ^ The Canadian Boreal Forest , National Resources Defense Council
  13. ↑ ran.org Rainforest Action Network
  14. ↑ de Seve: Welcome to my jungle ... before it's gone . 2002.
  15. ^ American Academy of Pediatrics: Committee on Communications Policy Statement: children, adolescents, and advertising . In: Pediatrics . tape 118 , no. 6 , 2006, p. 2563-2569 , doi : 10.1542 / peds.2006-2698 , PMID 17142547 .
  16. ↑ cited as Ellen Goodman: Ads pollute most everything in sight . In: Albuquerque Journal . June 27, 1999, p. C3 .
  17. ↑ Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures
  18. ^ Taylor & Morrissey: Coping with Pollution: Dealing with Waste . 2004, p. 247 .
  19. ↑ Paolo Mocarelli, Pier Mario Gerthoux, Enrica Ferrari, Donald G. Jr Patterson, Stephanie Kieszak, Paolo Brambilla, Nicoletta Vincoli, Stefano Signorini, Pierluigi Tramacere, Larry L. Needham: Paternal concentrations of dioxin and sex ratio of offspring . In: The Lancet . tape 355 , no. 9218 , 2000, pp. 1858–1863 , doi : 10.1016 / S0140-6736 (00) 02290-X , PMID 10866441 .
  20. ^ "Price Competition in 1955", Victor Lebow . July 28, 2008.
  21. ^ Leslie Kaufman, A Cautionary Video About America's 'Stuff' , The New York Times, May 10, 2009
  22. ^ Wirtenberg, Russell, Lipsky: The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook: When it All Comes Together . 2008.
  23. ^ Greyson: Sustainable Energy Production and Consumption . 2008, p. 139-158 .
  24. ↑ Debunking Story of Stuff , Glennbeck, com, September 22, 2009
  25. ↑ Viral video 'The Story of Stuff' Is Full of Misleading Numbers ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Fox News, May 14, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.foxnews.com
  26. ↑ Jesse Froehling, The Politics of Stuff , Missoula Independent, February 19, 2009
  27. ↑ Missoula School Board Ban's Story of Stuff , Yes! March 11, 2009
  28. ↑ Michael Moore: Big Sky teacher who showed 'Story of Stuff' earns EcoDareDevil Award . The Missoulian . September 12, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2010.