Affluenza Homework and Video Links
Answer one of the following questions in paragraph form:
1. How do you feel towards the program and why do you feel this way?
2. Does the program confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.
3. Write about something important you learned from the program.
4. What stayed in your mind after the program was over? Why do you think that happened?
5. What made the program effective (or ineffective) in your opinion?
Here are the links to Affluenza and the Barry Schwartz and Jill Bolte videos.
Affluenza: Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six
Barry Schwartz: The Real Crisis? We Stopped Being Wise
Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight
20 comments:
#2:
While watching “Afflunenza” from YouTube in the classroom, I can’t help but to think “is that why we are having recession now?” It’s true after the WWⅡ,the golden age came and since then, the economy has been booming, and the Americans influenced, no rather encouraged most of us to buy more through commercials, and eventually we’re suffering from “afflunenza.” And, since we’re so “keeping up with Joneses,” we’ve been starting to buy more. Because we think, we’re so “materialistic,” and have to have everything instinct, that would make us feel to be in high status, or seem like it. One example would be; when I was in high school, I went back to my country every summer with casual clothes, but as soon as my family greeted me, everyone, including my family stared at me because my country don’t wear casual clothes. They only wear fancy brand name clothes, in which seemed so ridiculous because the clothes are all the same and they don’t make us feel any in higher status.
-174 words.
What stayed in my mind most was the thought that simplicity was something I had once had, and have now lost in my life. The co-housing community portrayed near the end of Affluenza (where people shared child minding and meals) was much like the house I shared with four others in the early 1980s. For every technological advance, I have acquired a new toy: first a cell phone (a Nokia “brick”!); next high speed internet (and the need to be online all the time); and recently, high definition television and a PVR. I’ve also acquired the bills; I estimate our family’s communication costs at about three thousand dollars a year. The program made me think of a time when we had a single telephone, shared, with a sturdy rotary dial and our one innovation—a longer cord so we could retreat into another room for privacy. Our total communication bill shared by five adults: about 300 dollars a year (plus long distance). We cooked for each other; we ate together nearly every night. I can’t imagine any young person living that lifestyle now. We live our lives on the edge of each new innovation and each one de-simplifies our lives. Affluenza made me remember the simplicity I once had and made me want to live that way again.
—218 words
The program taught me a new word, Affluenza, which has unpleasant definition. I learned about an epidemic disease with contagious aspect that influenced our society. We are all suffering from this social and spiritual sickness caused from search of material possessions. We as adults desire to have more material’s possession, teenagers want to be heroes and own fancy things, and kids love to buy things through commercials, so all population in our society are related to the negative effects of affluenza. As I watched Adam family’s story in the video, I believed that is the story of most of us who are addicted to buy things on credit and get stuck with tons of problems. Wishes to become wealthier and more famous caused us to ignore the value of school and education, forget our family respect and management, and refuse and disregard the effects of this chronic social condition in our life. What big mess greediness has made in human life. I think poor countries are free of this chronic disease because there is no gap between rich and poor as well as no exist of credit companies there. Affluenza woke me up and warned me that I am a victim of this common problem too, so I need to get myself out of this outbreak condition before I regret.
220 words
#1
The material things actually take away the happiness from us. After being a mother for the last five years, I was considered outdated in most of my single friends’ mind. I went Shanghai - my home town - last year. I met with my high school best friend. She dressed the latest fashion, using the latest cell phone, dining in the most expensive restaurant, doing hair in the coolest fashion salon. She showed me her success by the material pleasure she obtained. Somehow, I felt we had lost the kind of close connection between each other. I was commented to “be shabby” for the clothes and accessories I wore. I seemed that we no longer belong to the same class. It made me cry. I still remember we used to have no money, but we went different places together, we cooked together and talked until midnight. We don’t have money, but we have close relationship and happiness. But now, whenever I called her, she was either too busy working overtime, or she was busy shopping her latest fashion in the mall. Even when we dined in high class restaurant, she was still busy checking her stock on the laptop and messaging with someone on the cell phone. When I saw the incidences described about “Affluenza”, I felt that was talking exactly about the life happened around me. Material thing would never bring you joy and satisfaction. During this economic recession, it is time to set back and think; maybe, we need to have a simpler life.
256 words
After watching the videos on afluenza, I have realized just how important this “disease” really is. We now live in a society where people always want the latest clothes and gadgets. Consumers think that spending their money on the latest fads will make them feel great about themselves, but it’s really having the opposite effect. When a consumer makes an impulse purchase, they might feel regret once they get home and realize that they wasted their money on a purchase that was unnecessary. People are not only spending their own money, but many are also spending money in which they don’t have. Spending money on credit cards has become very common. Credit Cards make it easy to fall into debt. Once someone puts themselves into debt, this can be one of the most stressful times in their life. I learned that this epidemic has a name, and that it’s called “afluenza.” It’s highly contagious, as the video mentions. Once we see advertisements for the latest products, we want them instantly. Most people in today’s society are never satisfied with what they have, and they always want more. I think that we need to learn how to appreciate what we already have, instead spending money on frivolous purchases.
4. What stayed in your mind after the program was over? Why do you think that happened?
After watching the program, what stayed in my mind was how affluenza affects our future — our children. I noticed that almost none of the symptoms of affluenza was not relevant to children. It should be no wonder that consumers become younger and younger, because the fact that “Americans shop six hours a week and spend only 40 minutes playing with their children” gives the answer already -- the shopping fever of adults has influenced their children directly. In addition, the all-pervasive commercials fill up the space of the kids’ lives. That’s also why the “material girls and boys” cannot resist the temptations of the various magic products. And then, I felt sad when I saw the scene about “fractured families”: mom was upstairs watching a movie on the VCR; dad was on the internet; and the kids were downstairs playing video games. “Everybody was connected to something outside the home; even though they were physically within the home.” If family members never worked together, how could they build stronger bonds, and how could the children not be more and more selfish and impassive? Affluenza frightened me already, but the huge influence from it to the future generation made me more shocked than ever.
--203 words
The world economy has developed to higher and higher without war from 1945 to 21 century. Let’s consider the World War Second had started (1939-1945) only 21 years after the end of World War First (1914-1918). The economy of United States of America was the leader among many countries. The main reasons are the country’s rich resources, advanced science and technology, and its political systems-democratic and capitalism. Great capital built big factories and manufacturing mass products and high incomed people could buy the products and it is going on and on. Every family has washing machine, dishwasher, colored TV, refrigerator, micro oven, personal computer and started with one car at the beginning but increased to three or four cars now. But good things always accompanied with bad things. Mass consumption make a lot of waste and it contaminated the global environment. Mass consumption cause more expenditure than income and it makes people under debt. During the process, affluenza has come to our living or society. One of the last symptoms of affluenza is stealing goods in the department stores or malls by wealthy ladies who was addicted habitual purchase. I believe one of the bad results is coming recession. Nobody knew how the recession will be serious to us. After recession, new living method will be settled. 217 words
2- Does the program confront or confirm your ideas?
Once Zarmina, an Afghani classmate from PALC, looked at me with wonder and said: “Are you really Iranian? You don’t look like Iranians!”- I felt insulted, but I knew why she said that. People, mostly, see Iranians as fashionable, well dressed up people with heavy cosmetics and expensive fragrances and apparels, right come out of the modern One- Thousand- and-One Nights stories. But, I am not among those Iranians and never will be one of the similar and typical characters.
When I was just six year old girl, my eldest cousin, Parvin, a philosophy student gave me a story book, “The Little Black Fish,” written by a famous Iranian writer and teacher, Samad Behrangi. There is a little black fish in that story that never accepts the norms that all people follow as usual. From that point, I, an almost different child, realized that could not follow the others’ accepted patterns for life. I chose to not be a rich person, as well as not to be a fashion follower.
I do not say that I don’t like to dress well, but in all my life, I do not buy from the exact companies that are mostly engaged with sweatshop labour or slavery. Many big companies like Nike, Guess, Gap and Walt Disney and so on are engaged in that dirty environment. I taught myself that always ask for reasons and circumstances and not to be a blind and deaf follower. If I am a human and a guardian to my brothers and sisters as God wants (Genesis 4:9), I cannot be a consumer, a follower or a fashionable person. I want to be a human, in a pure meaning.
For example, I do not buy inexpensive Persian hand crafted rugs. In fact, I wonder where and by whom, they have been woven. Why people do not ask these questions? In the globalized world people supposed to be the slaves of this world’s authority. Maybe, because of that God is against it (Genesis 11:1-9). I think God is right, and I want to be His follower, not the world’s follower. As humans, we are responsible to ask these questions and do not let this world’s authority put his mind in our brains and control us as his slaves - consumers.
Genesis 4:9 - “Afterwards the LORD asked Cain,
‘Where is Abel?’
‘How should I know?’ he answered.
‘Am I supposed to look after my brother?’”
Genesis 11:1-9 –“At first everyone spoke the same language, but after some of them moved from the east and settled in Babylonia, they said: ‘Let’s build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We’ll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We’ll become famous, and we won’t be scattered all over the world. But when the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower, he said: ‘These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. Come on! Let’s go down and confuse them by making them speak different languages- then they won’t be able to understand each other. So the people had to stop building the city, because the LORD confused their language and scattered them all over the earth. That’s how the city of Babel got its name.”
I am very surprised to know that this program was made in 1997, and today is 2009 already. During these 12 years, there is no any improvement, but we see the even worse situation. This video is very convincing with plenty of professional comments, numerous statistic numbers, vivid practical examples, and visual-striking images – full of persuasion. But people are still addicted in shopping, wasting, and destroying their own environments and lives; simultaneously, the “affluenza” is spreading to the whole world. I can’t help falling in meditation about why this program is ineffective. A reality we have to recognize is every sector of our economy now has been controlled by fewer but very huge businesses. They are powerful, commonly world-wide, and terribly mighty, just like the big ten in the media industry – they are absolutely awesome monsters. Nowadys, it is not very hard for these cartels – in the past it was impossible for the hundreds and thousands of small businesses who sold products and services to the people – to lead the market, shake people’s value, change their lifestyles, and even manipulate the whole world. They are completely profit-driven without conscience or moral limit. That is why the commercials are everywhere, the temptations are everywhere, and both of the commercials and temptations appear at any place even where they are not appropriate to appear: the children’s world. As a contrast, the government is very impotent to this situation if it has only several laws or rules, and even it itself is being supported or funded by these monsters. Actually, people know subliminally that over consumption must be a bad thing, just like the mother in the video told her little son, “We can’t have anything we want”; however, they can’t resist the temptation around every corner. So, I don’t think just revealing the terrible consequences to people can arouse a voluntary return. And either, I have no any idea about how to make an essential change to the present situation or to start up a revolution – from which part or which chain. Who knows? Maybe when this program is displaying on TV, some commercial ads will pop up too because even the program makers also need money to fabricate their works and carry on their further research. Please forgive me to say so; I am a pessimist.
Write about something important you learned from the program.
After I watched, ”Affluenza” I had “aha” moments. Basically as a daughter, I used to argue with my parents frugality in life. Like for instance, since I was a kid our Christmas décor never changed at all! Years, after year, and until now still exists. As a kid, I don’t understand it. Meanwhile, in the video, “Affluenza” presents, kids are (truly) lured with enormous advertisements—that influenced them to be materialistic! I am so scared about this fact. Actually, many of my friend’s kids are lavishly provided with toys! And my son, Noah is not but, has lots of books. (rented from the library.) Yesterday, one of my friends invited me for a coffee at the Royal City mall. As we stroll with coffee on our hands, we passes by a store, “the Dollarama” so they went in with my son! Her three years old son bought stuff that costs $10. So, my friend asks my son, what he wanted in the store, but my son said,”No thank you!” My friend was happy and saying, “How could you teach your child to be frugal? And that I consider “aha” moment and made me proud of my son. I thought, it runs in my blood! But, through the help of “affluenza” now I’ve finally realized and acknowledge —frugality is a good stuff! And, it is definitely an earth friendly attitude!
229 words
After I watched this program, I feel uncertain to human’s future. Through the program, we can get the conclusion that people in the modern society are eager to earn more money, spend more money and buy more things. They think that’s their target of life. Unfortunately, the society encourages this kind of behaviors. Now the standard of success of a person is that how much money and fortune he owns. In this kind of atmosphere, people’s consumption habit has been changed. They maybe buy many things which are not so necessary. For example, people now use more and more electronic products such as cell phone, laptop, MP3, etc. Because of the development of technology, there are much more new electronic products but their price is lower than before. People change them more frequently. I know some people who change their cell phones every half year or use three cell phones. The result is that more resources have been wasted and more garbage has been produced. Can we image what will happen in the future if we keep on consuming like this? Maybe the scene in “Wall-E” will turn into reality.
The most important thing I learned from the video “Affluenza” is that money couldn’t buy any happiness. “Affluenza” make people involve in a strange and unending circle, spending, buying, working, then spending, buying, working, never stop. But, spending more money, more time shopping, are people happier? Of course, not. In fact, they feel empty and spent. While they are busy on these, they lost something most important in the life---happiness. As we know, happiness is just a kind of feeling coming from the bottom of the heart. It is not in the same stage with fortune, social standard and marriage. Lots people are rich, but they are not happy. Some people get married then they miss the happy time to be single. I used to ask my husband, when you feel happy? He said, cooking with me, hiking in St Baker, even watching me enjoying the cheese cake he baked, all these moments he is happy. It is so easy and simply to be happy, right? Once I win 649, I could travel around the world with my husband. So far we don’t win lottery , but we are still happy. We travel in some places we could afford, and it is so much fun. As the video showed, to have a dinner with your family, to play with your children, to share your mind, emotion with the people you love, helping them as you can, is the simplest way to be happy. It is also the safe way to avoid “Affluenza.”
After watching the program, “Affluenza”, what stayed in mind is the simple living and how comfortable people feel when they live simply. A few years ago when my family and I moved to Canada, we lived in a three bedroom apartment and we were very comfortable until my sister came from Halifax to live with us. My niece and I share our room with her, but she wanted a fancy room to herself. She complained every day about how we she wanted a room with huge bed and TV like her friends because “it’s shameful if her friends find her sharing our room”. That’s when we changed .we moved to a five bedroom house, which was more expensive. We changed our worn out furniture to leather sofas and a huge black TV stand. Now we moved to another fancy house, a bit more expensive and so on. I missed that simple living and hope to rewind my life to that time, but I know I wouldn’t because the people I live with__my brother and his wife__are very into living in a place where people would come in and say “wow”. I can only hope that I don’t become like them__my life is already simple when it comes to clothing.
205 words
After watching “affluenza”. I began thinking about how things have changed in a such a short period of time. One of the examples used in the video, the size of some household garages today were once the size of most homes, really stuck with me. The greed in a democratic society is truly ruining the middle class and its core values. In a simpler time, a man (or woman) was judged more on how he kept his house, the life he made for himself and how hard he/she worked and not for how many toys and how much square footage he accumulated. Affluenza pushes weaker willed individuals into living beyond their means, creating a downward spiral for those not able to maintain this type of lifestyle for a long period of time. On the other side of the coin, those able to maintain are thrust into a higher middle / lower upper class, leaving only those that value a middle class lifestyle, leaving the remaining middle class to carry the burden of taxes paid. I hope that one day, the world will realize the hole they have dug themselves in to before its too late.
2. Does the program confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.
Watching the program on "Affleunza" definitely helped to solidify my beliefs. I think it has been a well known fact that our society has become driven by consumerism. The proof is all over the TV, billboards, radio, buses, etc. Where can you turn and not be bombarded by advertisements? Advertising space is sold almost anywhere nowadays. Their goal is simple, convincing people to buy products. I challenge anyone who tells me that this barrage of media doesn't affect them. I can turn to the trends of our youth and see the kind of legacy that is being left for them. There are kids in elementary school with cellphones expensive enough to pay for two months of a mortgage! Every kid I know wears the trendiest clothes and has the latest electronics. But what I don't see is an increase of happiness as a result of those material things. Sure, getting something new and shiny will give us temporary satisfaction. But that satisfaction quickly fades and we are one the prowl for the next new thing. So who is to blame for this behavior? Is it the parents that have passed down the hunger for accumulating more? Or do we have to point the finger at the big companies that are forcing products down our throats? I wish I had an answer; I wish there was a solution. What I do know, (and it's something the program eluded to as well) is that the society's desire to buy and consume can't last forever. There are lasting consequences that are surfacing and need to be dealt with. If we don't find a solution, there will be little left to pass on to the next generation.
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Before I watched this program I totally did not know about 1960's or past years' consumer economy which what they buy, make, how they utilize products. During the economic booming, people started to enjoy shoping. As the brand new things coming out each day, people automatically think that they must change or buy the new things. Then the old products become unnecessary. Affluenza definitely causes wasting matters and global warming. People surely understand this worst problems. However, they keep shopping again and again and they think as a casual matter. After the program, I tried to think my life as a consumer and I found that there no differences which means I was kind of involved in this problem as well. My level or rate of consumption was just like the other people. Since today's society has imprinted the idea of "buy more" into our heads through every form of media possible, I bought every new things such as cellphone, MP3 or the other electronic equipment when they came out. To me, spending hundreds dollars was totally nothing. I thought that the new thing has more great specification compare to the old one. I won't say that only this advantage made me to buy, but a feeling of satisfaction was the best reason. I believe affluenza creates many problems ranging from personal to societal. It causes hardship in all types of relationships especially families. In concluding, because affluenza is so dangerous it is important to track and gather information about it and how one can become infected with this terrible disease. Informing and educating oneself is always at the heart of preventing anything bad from happening, however, with affluenza it takes precedence. I want to say we should remember to always take time when making a major purchase, use common sense, and ask the question to your ends meet your needs. In the end I would warn that although affluenza can be prevented and even cured, it should not be underestimated it can do irreversible damage to families, and financial statements alike. We have to use all the things to get use things done or enough. Lastly, we must change the society's roles especially recycling, waste regulation and should control the amount of producing.
Question #2: Does the program confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.
The program Affluenza confirms one of my personal beliefs – to enjoy an appropriately simple life. The ultimate target of most human activities is to seek happiness, but many people mistakenly repose their happiness on material wealth. As a result, the recent decades has “luckily” seen Affluenza, a disease which sounds and smells luxuriant, raging through a significant portion of the world. I’m not going to express any sympathy to those patients who are suffering various symptoms, even though I myself could have some moments struggling with the “swollen expectations” to luxury material stuff; I’m not going to blame the overflowing commercial ads either, even though I have to frequently deal with my son who can hardly resist those tempting TV commercials. As an individual person, I cannot change a certain culture, but at least I’m able to control and select a simple life style for myself. Pursuing too much material wealth has proven to be an endless hard task, especially when most people tend to weigh their life based on comparison. So, why don’t we turn to buy less and focus more on some other factors of life such as family, healthy hobbies, and religion, as the program advises, which are not necessarily associated with money. I totally agree with Mr. David Shi, the president of Furman University, who suggests in the program to find a “middle point between luxury and deprivation”. That’s exactly what I’m trying to say. Enjoy a life I can afford, and not to become slave of material stuff.
(265 words)
Watching the video links of "affluenza" is a learning experience. Before I don't know the word affluenza means, but after watching the video, I can't believe that it's a disease. It is hard to believe for me that there is a disease in over buying stuffs. In the links it shows that some people have three or four garages just to put their stuffs. And I say "wow" how that could be possible.It also explains how people are gradually end up to debts without knowing it. They just buy stuffs using their visa and other credit cards without realizing that they are just borowing the money. Lastly that I was scared of the most is people buy stuffs to be happy and feel good but gradually it will come to an end and nothing will make them happy or feel them good anymore. I was so glad that I watched the video because I learned a lot. After I watched the program, I started watching what I'm buying and I always think twice before buying them. Before watching "affluenza" I used to spend my money in buying clothes and other stuffs. Thanks to the video because now I changed a lot.
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