Minimalism: Movie Review

Just finished watching this dcoumentary on Netflix. I recommend it. 

I have positive things to say about it, and some critical things to say about it. 

I agree with the general premise, that life's meaning doesn't come from certain goods or consuming certain goods, and that there is a culture out there that does kind of push us into there. The movie wants to call it "consumerism" but I think that's too cliche and doesn't really capture the nuances they themselves put forth later throughout the movie. I would just call debauchery. There is a culture of debauchery that does need to be resisted. I also like that they do explain that there isn't anything wrong with consumption per se (they make a great point that consumerism is anti-materialist because it devalues material goods by making them so dispensable), and so avoids a lot of the left leaning anti-capitalist messages out there that try to pontificate the same point. It does flirt with that message at the end, but it doesn't come right out and say it, so, it does make their message palatable to free market advocates like myself. 

All that being said, I do think they oversell their case. The lifestyle (they might insist it is more of a mentality but that mentality is supposed to entail certain lifestyle changes) doesn't seem to be very child friendly. They try to address that, but this seems to be the weakest part of the movie. In the beginning of the movie, one of the main characters is describing his life as having all these things in a nice home and how none of them satisfied him. The movie then soon pivots towards those who choose to a radically different home lifestyle, basically living in a space no larger than a shipping container. This minimalist lifestyle doesn't accommodate children very well. It might work for a single person, but not for anyone looking grow a family. They try to address this (and I'm glad they tried and acknowledged that issue) but their solution was to really emphasize the mentality aspect. They shoot one guy who says he has six kids, but you never see them and how he lives. You see one family with two kids, but they live in nice middle class suburbs, which is exactly the kind of environment they two main characters tried to get away from in the first place. So, we end up on square one again, only difference is, we have just learned to be frugal. 

But if that is the case, then, one needn't be as radical as they have. And they state this clearly, but that doesn't make for an entertaining movie I suppose. I liken it to an alcoholic who requires the drastic change in order to get sober and never touches another drink. Sure, other people don't need to quit cold turkey and swear off alcohol for the rest of their lives; maybe they like to have wine on the regular, but for some people, that change is necessary, and this movie follows the story for whom that was necessary, and it makes for a great story. 

Another point I think they overstated was the economical aspect. I don't buy that this is a cheaper way to live if you want to utilize your space. I've looked into some of the space saving furniture, and boy, is it expensive. Also, living in a cargo ship sized home requires private property, which requires a lot of money upfront anyways. So, I'm far from convinced that this is a frugal way to live. It only is frugal when it comes to controlling spending habits, but not as far as living situations go. 

I really enjoyed seeing Sam Harris prominently in the video as well. I enjoy reading him, even if he has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to religion. I was aware that he was a big proponent of meditation, and it was nice to see the somewhat spiritual aspect of him come out a bit.