Example Of Minimalism

“There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.” -Jackie French Koller
Minimalism: How Owning Less Can Make Your Life Worth More Minimalism is defined by the Marriam-Webster dictionary as a “style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity” (Marriam-Webster). A minimalist lifestyle has many similar characteristics of the definition of minimalism, yet you can choose the sparingness of material items to something a measure that best fits your lifestyle. In pursuing a life of a minimalist, one must learn to let go of unimportant clutter in their life--materialistic or not --and grasp a better understanding of their own life. Minimalist’s

Over recent years, Americans have gone mad for what they believe is a “bang” for their buck. A perfect example of Americans obsessing over the latest savings would be the society-created holiday Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving--now the night of Thanksgiving-- where most stores have sales on their items at simultaneous times. The topic of Black Friday and how Americans will shop until they drop leads into the discussion about how people are spending more on these material goods than they actually make. In this scene of the film, Ryan Nicodemus discusses the American shopping problem and shows saddening scenes of how overspending money has ruined many peoples lives. Whilst the film is showing montages of shopping madness and people struggling to make ends meet as a result, Ryan says “You don’t really have control of how much money you make, but you have full control over how much money you spend”

When people buy new goods, they often have trash that comes from the packaging or the goods that they buy create trash; after we use these items until we feel the need for a newer version, we often just throw the used item into the nearest garbage can for it to sit in a landfill and cause harmful effects to our environment rather than recycling it or finding someone in need to give the item to. The topic of how Americans are producing excessive trash as a result of their compulsive-consumer lifestyle is brought to attention in the documentary in a scene where Nicodemus is discussing global warming as a result of this lifestyle Americans have adapted to. In the documentary, Nicodemus is voicing over a video montage of landfills with trash stacked as tall as city buildings, while the visual aspect of the film is showing how much of this waste is from packaging of goods; the auditory aspect of Nicodemus’ voice is discussing how much we could reduce our carbon footprint if we reduce how many items we compulsively