Was it Really That Great?

    

     While the the documentary Minimalism: A Documentary on the Important Things was interesting to watch, the argument was overall ineffective and the main message was lost. After watching the documentary and reviewing my notes, I came to the conclusion that the film was trying to show people that they should try and focus on relationships and people, rather than products that only give temporary satisfaction. This is an inspiring and important message, but was lost in translation throughout the film. 

    The first thing that I believe could have been done to create a more effective argument was to focus less on Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Milburn´s trip. Although their trip around the country played an important part in the film, I feel that the time that was focused on the trip could have been used more wisely. Such as focusing on how their lives changed specifically after being a minimalist, or even how minimalism allowed them to be more present and happy. The people that talk about how minimalism is so great, never seem to mention the specifics of how great their live is, how their daily lives have changed, and even how they live that lifestyle. For example, Colin Wright says that he lives out of a suitcase, and travels full time. I would be interested to hear how he lives that lifestyle, and how he sustains it. 

    Along with this, I thought that parts of the film could have been seen as offensive. Specifically when A.J. Leon, a former Wall Street broker mentions that he was unhappy making six- figures. While I understand why they had him speak, and it showed that money does not equal happiness, it was naive of the creators to think that people would not frown at his comment. I respect and understand his decision to give up his job, and choose happiness, but I think it´s important to look at the other side. There are so many people that would dream of making six figures and working on Wall Street, and he said that he was willing to just quit his job. Although I am glad he is now happy, there are so many people that are stuck in unhappy jobs, but do not have the privilege to just get up and leave. It is also important to mention that being a minimalist is quite frankly a privilege. Although people with lower incomes can be minimalist, and even save money, everyone in the film seemed to come from a wealthy background. For example, Jacqueline Schmidt showed their beautiful apartment and how they had beds that turned into walls. While this is very nice, it is not cheap to convert your home to function like that. I think they should have re-evaluated t 

    The film did have some important parts and included ideas that made me think. The film conveyed an important message, but at the end of the day I am saying that their argument was ineffective for one reason. That reason being that I plan on changing nothing about my life. I feel that if a film was really effective and really moved me, I would want to incorporate it into my life. I´m not saying that for a film to be effective, I need to go and get rid of everything I own, but the film didn´t even make me think about changing my lifestyle.