Shop Till You Drop Consumerism Analysis

The documentary “Shop ‘Till You Drop: The Crisis of Consumerism” was quite effective in proving that consumerism is more than what it seems at first glance. It was a shocking reminder that our actions have consequences that might not be immediately evident, but they will be witnessed some time, some way and by someone. Our society’s materialistic mindset is spiraling out of control and unless we do something to rein it back in, Earth’s inhabitants will be facing dire consequences which may change the world as we know it. Clearly our society has become too materialistic. Gone are the days when our esteem was determined not by what we had, but what we were, by the content of our character, not the content of our houses. In our affluence and comfort we have found it easy to move beyond basic survival and have gained the ability to seek out that which brings us comfort and pleasure. Yet that pursuit of pleasure has been driven by competition that moves in a spiral leading to a never-fulfilling state. Personal emotional competition exists as …show more content…
Almost without our knowledge, it has forced us to assume values which, if consciously evaluated, we would shun, yet without question we accept. The control marketing and advertising has on individuals is extensive. We are so distracted by the glitz and glitter advertising uses that we are almost robot-like in our behavior. We purchase more and more, bigger and better, all in the quest for the magic formula that will transform us, yet it eludes us because it was never there; it never existed. We were fooled by the clever manipulation of the world of advertising. How clearly we could see, if we were only to pause to truly analyze our circumstances, that we are being manipulated. Yet the manipulation is so subtle and devious that it is hard to recognize and combat. We are cleverly being fooled into buying into values established by Madison