review of documentary- The story of stuff. this documentary is on youtube.

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ASSIGNMENT- REVIEW OF DOCUMENTARY (THE
STORY OF STUFF)
COURSE:- PGDRDM (2020-2021)
SUBJECT:- RURAL SOCIETY, CULTURE AND POLITY
SUBMITTED BY:- AASTHA GARG
ROLL NO:- 18RDM01
SUBMITTED TO:- DR. SONAL MOBAR ROY
SOURCE: - Instagram
The earth doesn’t have an unlimited amount of natural resources to offer us. We can’t keep
“throwing away” precious resources into landfills where we can never reach them again.
We have to move towards a circular economy…

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A 21 minutes film (the story of stuff) was written by Annie Leonard, Jonah Sachs and Louis
Fox. The film uncovers the relationship between huge number of environmental and social issues. It also
gives a message to the society to come together and create a sustainable world. As stated in “the story of
stuff” material economy is: - everything that we have the propensity to consume is a share of linear
system. Annie Leonard explains the golden arrow of consumption. According to books all the products
we consume go through 5 stages: - extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. But
the reality is something different.
Extraction of raw material involves harvesting of natural resources like trees, water, minerals
and petroleum. It not only causes soil, water and air pollution but also noise pollution. If the company
will not do anything to alleviate pollution, the community will suffer the most. The procedure of
converting raw material into final product needs the use of natural resources such as metals; oil and
wood. We are running out of resources. In the past 3 decades, 1/3 rd of the planet’s natural resources
base have been consumed.
The next stage is production which involves taking the ingredients from the phase of extraction,
adding energy and other toxic ingredients to make stuff like computer, pillows, mattresses, couches and
other things. As long as we keep putting toxics into our industrial production system, we bring toxic
products into our homes, schools and work places. These toxics expand in the food chain and
concentrate in our bodies. People who are employed in the factories and work with these toxic chemicals
are harmed the most. People living in between the trees and hills do not have other option left with them
from migration. People living in slums and rural areas move to cities to earn money and attain their
livelihood no matter how toxic that work may be. As per the census, the urbanization in India has
increased from 27.81% in 2001 to 31.16% in 2011.
After production, these toxic products move for distribution to marts and other retail stores. The
salary people get there for working is not as much worth. According to Annie Leonard, we as a
consumer do not really pay for things we buy. It is the people who lost natural resources where they are
living from generations. The loss of those people cannot be compared to the loss of big cooperates.
The next stage is consumption which involves shopping, advertising and consumerism. After
9/11 when the country U.S. was in shock, the President Bush would have suggested grieving, hoping,
pray but he suggested to “shop”. The citizen identity is of consumer and not of farmers, workers,
teachers etc. The narrator describes that after 6 months of purchasing a product only 1% are in use and
the entire 99% of the stuff is proclaimed as waste. The two system that made this plan of increased
consumerism victorious are planned and perceived obsolesce. Planned obsolesce is when something is
knowingly made to only last for a certain period. Perceived obsolescence is hang on the shifting of
cultural perceptions and fashion, not the actually functionality of the product itself.
The next pace in the chain is disposal. In U.S. the average person produces 4.5 pounds of waste
every day. That trash is first sink and the rest is dumped in the ground. These create tons of
pollution. Annie Leonard highlights sustainability, green chemistry, zero waste, closed loop production,
and renewable energy, as methods that we are already working to help turn our present linear cycle into
a circular one.
The people living on earth depend upon this planet to drink, eat and live. But due to extraction
of natural resources people are getting displaced from the area they live in or the resources which they
own from generations. The society that abuses nature will inevitably abuse human beings. Protecting the

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planet isn’t just about the earth; it’s also about standing with the people who face injustice. We can say
that environmental and social justice is connected. Consumerism is a toxic distraction from happiness,
designed as a mechanism of converting our desire for respect into an insatiable hunger for new product.
The corona virus pandemic is an opportunity for us to build a better system that puts people
first, not to restart the same broken system fueled by consumerism and profit. Yes, we are in a crisis but
it is also an opportunity to start something new and better. The pandemic is teaching us that we can’t just
“go back to normal” because “normal” wasn’t working for us. We need a society that values people over
profits and a political system not influenced by corporate agendas. Human beings are worthy of respect,
not consumers whose life’s purpose is to make corporations richer.