I’m lookin’ at you. Enjoy your clamshell packaging and seasonal wrapping, fella. ‘Cause Annie Leonard makes it clear that our consumer culture is heading us straight down the path to resource exhaustion and trash triumph.

The Story of Stuff is a 20 minute animation with on-screen narration by Leonard, explaining how weaknesses and manipulation at each step in the chain of production are producing toxic effects for the environment, workers, regions and customers.

Yeah, yeah. This sort of stuff is viewed with suspicion and animosity by most consumers in western economies. I certainly watched it with a jaundiced eye, what with all my economics training.

But my daughter was spellbound. Because her life does not depend upon an innate trust in the goals and motivations of a corporations. She does not feel the same sense of fear or unease at challenging the assumptions about corporate power and economic authority that underly popular understanding of our economic system.

So you should watch it as well. It has a good message, it’s a plain and clear piece of communication, it has a good beat and you can dance to it.

Oh - and try not to think of Steve Jobs, Apple and their six month product cycle when you watch the film.

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