The Story of Stuff

[William Lucas]

Hi everyone

I discovered a link to this great 20-min documentary about consumerism and sustainability called The Story of Stuff.  Absolutely vital, useful, eye-opening and interesting.  Well worth watching and passing on.

William Lucas

[Leigh Blackall]

WILLIAM!! You were right (as usual) that is a great movie! One of many excellent films you have pointed to. The Story of Stuff is one for all ages! That is the one video we should all try and watch!! 21 minutes of simple to understand information that should motivate everyone to want to join in on a sustainability effort. This video squarely points out so many areas where the Polytech can do something through its attempt at a holistic curriculum development. It talks to Midwifery!! Midwifery could be the one that drives everything! It points to computers, and as Sam has been writing about for some time, there is so much we could be doing about computing.

Many thanks for pointing me/us to the movie William. I found it on Google video if anyone else had trouble playing it in its original location. I've given up trying to watch media at work, and managed to grab it using Miro to download it at home. Considering the bandwidth we have at Poly, I think we should try harder at organising those film nights and aim to engage with the wider community through such an event. I hope that films nights could be one of many initial events that fit in a 3 phase effort to improve sustainable capacity in Dunedin/Otago... my blog has the diagram that was presented by the sustainability consultants to the leadership team. I have not had any feedback on the idea though, other than people there seemed to liked it... have had more feedback from outsiders from the other side of the planet!

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Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539
skype - leigh_blackall
SL - Leroy Goalpost
http://learnonline.wordpress.com

[Helen]

Hi William,
This is an excellent little movie. I would be happy to host a
screening of it at one of the first parent evenings at City Heights
Childcare Centre next year and use it to introduce our curriculum
focus for 2008 of sustainability. I may need some technical help
downloading the movie, actually I am having trouble watching it all -
it keeps buffering! If we can teach our children that it is uncool to
have new stuff all the time we might get somewhere.
Thanks,
Helen

On Dec 13, 10:40 am, "William Lucas" <williamottelu...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hi everyone
>
> I discovered a link to this great 20-min

> documentary<http://www.storyofstuff.com/>about consumerism and

[Samuel Mann]

A few words of caution...
http://computingforsustainability.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/stunning-but-sensationalist/
Cheers
SaM

[Leigh Blackall]

Helen, I also had trouble playing it from its website. Google vids plays ok. And using Miro to download vids from Google and Youtube etc is pretty reliable... have you checked out the resources to support the movie screening?

In response to Sam's words of caution, I think we have to prepare a number of follow throughs to support screening this film so as to maximise its effect. Not sure what exactly - a range of things... I've added some initial thoughts as comments on Sam's blog

http://learnonline.wordpress.com

[David McQuillan]

Hi all,

I'm considering using this clip in my sustainability teaching.
I like it's quick, punchy nature, but am likewise not particularly
happy with the sensationalist approach.

I'm considering getting students to
1) view the clip as an intro to sustainability
2) then running through some activities to increase their depth of
understanding of the principles of sustainability
3) revisit the clip, asking student to critique it.

I think that this would help students to develop the appreciation that
exaggeration does occur around such emotive issues, and to think for
themselves about what sustainability means.

Dave

On Dec 15, 1:09 pm, "Leigh Blackall" <leighblack...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Helen, I also had trouble playing it from its website. Google vids plays ok.
> And using Miro to download vids from Google and Youtube etc is pretty
> reliable... have you checked out the resources to support the movie
> screening?
>
> In response to Sam's words of caution, I think we have to prepare a number
> of follow throughs to support screening this film so as to maximise its
> effect. Not sure what exactly - a range of things... I've added some initial
> thoughts as comments on Sam's blog
>

> On Dec 15, 2007 12:39 PM, Samuel Mann <smanns...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > A few words of caution...
>

> >http://computingforsustainability.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/stunning-b...
> > Cheers
> > SaM

>
> > On 15/12/2007, Helen <HelenPLind...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Hi William,
> > > This is an excellent little movie. I would be happy to host a
> > > screening of it at one of the first parent evenings at City Heights
> > > Childcare Centre next year and use it to introduce our curriculum
> > > focus for 2008 of sustainability. I may need some technical help
> > > downloading the movie, actually I am having trouble watching it all -
> > > it keeps buffering! If we can teach our children that it is uncool to
> > > have new stuff all the time we might get somewhere.
> > > Thanks,
> > > Helen
>
> > > On Dec 13, 10:40 am, "William Lucas" <williamottelu...@gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > > Hi everyone
>
> > > > I discovered a link to this great 20-min
> > > > documentary<http://www.storyofstuff.com/>about consumerism and
> > > > sustainability called The Story of Stuff. Absolutely
> > > > vital, useful, eye-opening and interesting. Well worth watching and
> > passing
> > > > on.
>
> > > > William Lucas
>

> --
> --
> Leigh Blackall+64(0)21736539

[Bronwyn Hegarty]

sounds great Leigh and william.

It is a great model Leigh and so simple. We also need to invite our neighbours eg. Miranda Mirosa
Secretary, Sustainable Dunedin City Inc
http://www.sustainabledunedincity.org.nz
in...@sustainabledunedincity.org.nz

and the Hampden group -  Dugald MacTavish
and the The Natural Heritage Society
of Oamaru Inc at: http://www.oamaru.co.nz/nhs/index.htm who have been very quiet since the Peak oil energy descent weekend earlier this year.

and possibly the NZ transition towns email group at: http://groups.google.com/group/nztt

Bron

[Dave]

You'd need to be careful that both your credibility and the message
don't suffer. There are many things in the video that are just plain
false.

It would be good to present to a communications class as a way of
showing how you can take myths and half-truths, apply them to a
populist argument, and get away with it very well. But if you are
trying to present sustainability then the falsehoods and obvious spin
will probably result in some students adjusting their view of your
credibility, and then taking the message with a grain of salt -
perhaps even dismissing it as the fad de jure.

My favorite example is the implication that computer manufacturers
change the shape of the CPU so that you can't upgrade. When in fact
the shape hardly ever changes (yes there are a few different formats
but they don't change that often). You normally have to buy a whole
new motherboard for a new CPU because a HUGE amount of the motherboard
has changed (she implies only the CPU changes) and the modern/
replacement CPU requires those changed components for it to work.

The closed loop manufacturing process is a laugh too. You'd need to
hope that no one starts scoffing at the perpetual motion she seems to
imply.

It is useful for critiquing communication and raising awareness that
there's a lot of very slick snake-oil salesmen out there - but it may
backfire in a sustainability class when you actually want to get the
message across and have students accept it.

But hey - due to typical gullibility, in many classes I'd say that a
good 75-90% of students would fall for it. You just have to watch out
for a loud-mouth student not afraid to call B.S., and then take the
class with them.

daveb

[William Lucas]

Hi Dave

 

I can see what you mean Dave, and I go along with you on the various points that you raise.  The thing is, we can poke holes at it, but I don't think that we can shoot it down in flames entirely.  It offers an 'in' for discussion, even if that be instigated by the one of the 10--25%.  It's get the ball rolling . . .

 

William

 

[Leigh Blackall]

I agree William... I have so far showed the video to a number of people in the Poly who I wouldn't call "converts" to the sustainability campaign, and the majority say that it motivated them to want to know and do more. So, I think so long as we prepare the back up for both those that feel motivated by it, and those who want to shoot holes in it (and our credibility for screening it(?), then we will have maximised the educational value out of it, and things like it.

I plan to ask the Cinema next to the St Lees Church if they would be interested in hosting a regular screening night for a range of films to do with sustainability.. docos, movies, lectures and things like it.. I recon it is one of the few if only cinemas in Dunedin that has a warm and community spirit about it, that has easy parking, space for a BBQ and is set up with a data projector. I'd like to investigate the potential for a Sustainability film night that plugs into other community initiatives, and to-be-developed Polytech activities outlined in that brief we put to leadership..

At some stage soon I think we should nominate films for screening (including counter arguments) so that we can go about negotiating screening rights, prepare plugin events and resources, and do the promotions. Of course all this is just investigation of an idea, and does not commit the Polytech to anything. We wouldn't proceed on such an idea before consultation with people, including those who are absent from this email forum..

So if over the break those who are interested could do a bit of viewing and write their personal viewing list down somewhere, I'll ask around the cinemas and report back start of next year so we can discuss a possible line up.

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Leigh Blackall
+64(0)21736539