There are more movies on at the moment that I want to see, than I can afford to see, time-wise that is.
What is that?
How come we’re all so pressed for time these days? How come there never seems to be much time to sit and do nothing for an hour, and if we do, we’re really spending it thinking about all the things we need to get done or “should’ be doing!!
One movie I urge you to see that helps explain this a little is …
THE ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS
… and it’s not a brand new release. I saw the film last week at Conscious Club and was so grateful for the experience.
Actually I’ve been percolating a post about another movie, one I saw over the long weekend, but that can wait …
THIS ONE’S IMPORTANT PEOPLE … AND IT’S GOOD!!
Have you ever wondered why you bothered spending ages cleaning up your house and making everything all organised and tidy, only for your kids or your other half to come and undo all your work in the blink of an eye?!
Recently we bought some new tableware – plates and bowls and wine glasses, that sort of thing. My nature is to assume everything is dirty, (which gets in the way of life sometimes), so I got busy, unpacking the boxes (so much packaging, ugh!), stacking the stuff up, washing in hot soapy water, drying, and placing in the dresser. It went on for hours, so that I ended up exhausted and I’d lost hours of my life to what felt like some kind of robotic trance. It was so hot and humid and I’d stayed up late feeling like I was pinned to the sink. I couldn’t stop ’til it was all done & perfect because I couldn’t face having to come back to it in the morning! I wanted a fresh new kitchen to wake up to!
Hours spent cleaning stuff that I knew the next day would be all dirtied once again, and would require more time to be cleaned up. We all do it in one way or another because, to a certain extent, it has to be done! This is our life, our routines, how we keep things ticking over. Some dwell in that world longer than others, perhaps placing more emphasis on it than is necessary. But basically that’s what we do!
Anyway, in the aftermath, my man and I had an amusing conversation, about how essentially, all we do as humans, is move stuff around, all day every day. Using energy to move energy around, it’s ripple effect eventually coming back to us and so we repeat. On and on it goes until we die. (And some would say it doesn’t end there either – we will come back and do it all again!) If you broke it down and looked at what we do in the world, our busy, important lives, it basically just comes down to moving shit around! (btw have you guys seen THIS?)
I was reminded of our conversation when I watched this movie.
And I wonder if we could move stuff around a bit more efficiently. Don’t you think it makes more sense to buy apples from down the road than from the other side of the world – that is stuff that doesn’t have to be moved around so much, ya know?!
SO WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Globalization:
1. the deregulation of trade and finance in order to enable businesses and banks to operate globally.
2. the emergence of a single world market dominated by transnational companies.
(Often confused with international collaboration, interdependence, global community
Localization:
1. the removal of fiscal and other supports that currently favour giant transnational corporation and banks.
2. reducing dependence on export markets in favour of production for local needs.
(Often confused with isolation, protectionism, the elimination of trade).
I won’t say too much about it, except to tell you it’s 68 minutes of your precious time that will be excellently spent.
And that basically, the documentary ‘describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposite directions. As governments and big business continue to “push for growth” in the form of increased global trade, we’re seeing an increase in climate chaos, senseless war, fundamentalism, financial volatility, income inequality, and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people around the world are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of both trade and finance. And, far from the old institutions of power, communities are coming together to re-build more human-scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization’
IMPORTANT: IT’S NOT ONE OF THOSE DOCUMENTARIES MAKING IT ALL DOOMY AND GLOOMY!
I really like how producer, writer & director Helena Norberg-Hodge has presented us with some easily identifiable facts and some gentle prodding to help us RECOGNISE some of the possible solutions to our problems. She does an excellent job of logically, calmly and clearly explaining how, in a sense, the global economy is an extension of colonialism. And manages to leave us with a sense of optimism, rather than feeling ripped off by the schemes and cons that clearly we are all a part of in our own way!
This softly-spoken and charming lady has spent the better part of 35 years as an analyst of how the global economy impacts cultures worldwide, and as a pioneer in the localization movement.
If you’d like to see the movie:
You can download it to rent for a week for $5 or buy the movie download for $15 HERE if you have/set up a Vimeo account.
Or buy the DVD at Pure-Li Market place HERE
So don’t forget … buy SOMEthing – it doesn’t have to be much, but every little helps, from your LOCAL FARMERS MARKET/SMALL BUSINESS!
AND DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WATCH THE MOVIE!
Contribute your thoughts in the comment boxes below, I’d love to hear from you!