Is Our Consumer Culture Leading To Disaster

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Recommended: Consumer culture problems

Andres Maduro
Suffolk University
P.AD 201
Feb 27, 2014
Social Change Video

Consumed – Is Our Consumer Culture Leading to Disaster? Is a thought-provoking documentary that reveals the astonishing secrets of the human mind that contribute to the destruction of the world. The documentary explores the issue of consumerism, which has become significant in the recent times yet many people are not aware of its harmful consequences. This documentary uses theories of evolutionary psychology to highlight the issue of consumerism, which is affecting man because of his desire to satisfy his insatiable appetite. The psychology theories used in the documentary help to understand human psychology and the modern society. The documentary mainly targets to address consumers, with the goal of enlightening them on the adverse effects associated with consumerism, which is deemed to be caused by the deep-seated secrets of the mind. The populations covered in this documentary are in England and the United States.
The documentary shows that by understanding the mechanisms of our brains, we are then able to understand our culture. I have learnt that once man has satisfied his most basic needs, such as food, shelter, sanitation and medication, he moves on to satisfy other needs such as sexual and social needs. To satisfy the sexual and social needs, man relies on the use of language. Man obsesses a lot more on these two later issues, than anything else once he has satisfied his basic needs. In a bid to seek status and appreciation from others, man uses products, which serve as symbols that help to define his position in the society. This means that products have become a significant way through which man promotes himself beyond language or talking. Th...

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...f consumerism, discussed some of its consequences and provided a way forward for people to change their behaviors and attitudes toward consumerism, which is highly detrimental to the society.
Through this documentary, consumers should appreciate the fact that consumerism is a scheme by marketers and advertisers to sell their products and maximize on their profits. I have learnt that consumers need to shift their focus from consumerism, especially of the cheap products to products that are more sustainable in a move to control the negative effect that consumerism has on the environment. This documentary has enabled me to comprehend the magnitude of the problem, including the numerous negative consequences of consumerism, which places me in a position where I could have a positive influence that could possibly bring about the change required to mitigate the problem.

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