My wife claims I'm a minimalist. I disagree whole-heartedly. Sure, I'm able to easily part with stuff, but I still have a lot of stuff. I have my baseball game wear, football game wear, basketball game... you get it. Even with the amount of clothes and other things I have I still strive for less. So, naturally, I was attracted to the title and subject of this documentary.
In general, I favor documentaries. The simplicity of them, the unscriptedness and raw truth--even if it is only from a certain perspective. This documentary was no different. I am not a minimalist but I wouldn't mind being one. It is a lifestyle that I see as quite fulfilling and sustainable. It was exciting to hear from minimalists and how they arrived at that lifestyle. Some were single (as the featured duo were), some were married with and without kids so as to show how this way of life can work for various family structures.
Some may have viewed the different participants in the documentary and only seen the myriad of things they would have to part with, or they may have seen a huge void. Me, I saw freedom. Freedom from stress, freedom from clutter (which is a big contributor to my stress), freedom from the pursuit of space for the stuff and freedom to move around or just be. It was a very nice documentary that is not wholly unique.
The idea of anti-consumerism/anti-capitalism has been around for decades. Movies and documentaries in various forms have already been done condemning the idea of consumerism. This documentary does the same thing in a different manner.
One thing I would've liked is to see a minimalist approach to those who accumulate stuff by other than purchasing--such as the junk mail collector, the memento collector or those who otherwise collect other largely useless trinkets. Their argument for keeping their stuff will always be that they never purchased it so how harmful can it be?
In any case, the documentary is marvelous. I'm not a minimalist, I may never be a minimalist but it is still something I can greatly appreciate.
In general, I favor documentaries. The simplicity of them, the unscriptedness and raw truth--even if it is only from a certain perspective. This documentary was no different. I am not a minimalist but I wouldn't mind being one. It is a lifestyle that I see as quite fulfilling and sustainable. It was exciting to hear from minimalists and how they arrived at that lifestyle. Some were single (as the featured duo were), some were married with and without kids so as to show how this way of life can work for various family structures.
Some may have viewed the different participants in the documentary and only seen the myriad of things they would have to part with, or they may have seen a huge void. Me, I saw freedom. Freedom from stress, freedom from clutter (which is a big contributor to my stress), freedom from the pursuit of space for the stuff and freedom to move around or just be. It was a very nice documentary that is not wholly unique.
The idea of anti-consumerism/anti-capitalism has been around for decades. Movies and documentaries in various forms have already been done condemning the idea of consumerism. This documentary does the same thing in a different manner.
One thing I would've liked is to see a minimalist approach to those who accumulate stuff by other than purchasing--such as the junk mail collector, the memento collector or those who otherwise collect other largely useless trinkets. Their argument for keeping their stuff will always be that they never purchased it so how harmful can it be?
In any case, the documentary is marvelous. I'm not a minimalist, I may never be a minimalist but it is still something I can greatly appreciate.