We had the opportunity to attend the Green Omaha Coalition's 2016 "Reel to Real" Film Festival in Oct. 27 at Aksarben Cinema.
Our friend Barb Thompson is on the organization's board of directors, and we did some work for the GOC the first year this event took place.
Here's the logo I created for them:
This year's event featured the film "Minimalism: A Documentary About Important Things," and a pre-show talk with a local "tiny house" family, Melody and Darren Mike and their kids.
Couple things:
1.) My wife can attest to the fact that I love documentaries -- my favorite documentary is called "Helvetica" (it's about the font, and the world of graphic design).
2.) I am fascinated with the socio-economic underpinnings of this whole "tiny house" movement.
Let's start with the movie.
"Minimalism" reminds me a bit of the urban-design documentary "Urbanized" that Gary Hustwit made a few years ago -- especially as it regards consumer habits in the 21st century.
The difference here is that "Minimalism" focuses less on the impact of an increasingly urban world, and more on a de-cluttered lifestyle, and living a life within one's means. It deals with the notion that the pursuit of "things" doesn't necessarily correlate to increased enjoyment, and can sometimes cause the reverse to happen.
It features personal testimonials wrapped in subtle advocacy. Many of the examples in the film are people who could afford more, but have chosen to pursue the minimalist lifestyle. Think of it as a diet for the soul. Less stuff equating to more freedom.
The documentary was created by Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. They operate the website theminimalists.com. Both friends had achieved financial success in their 20s, but felt discontented as they approached 30. The two left their corporate jobs in 2011, and started a 21-day program using the principles of minimalism to take control of their life.
They have written multiple books on the topic, and tour around the country giving seminars.
Finding ways to avoid "over mortgaging" your life -- and reduce debt load and expenses -- is a noble pursuit.
Along with the film, the Green Omaha Coalition had a "tiny house" family on hand.
(I'll tell you more about the Tiny House family in a future blog post!)
One correction, Barb Thompson is a former board member who believes volunteering is another way to feed the soul. 😉
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jon, for reviewing the movie and the evening. I really believe decluttering is a healthy behavior, which was well supported by multiple scientists and contributors in the film. I really like that they don't portray it as getting rid of things. The message is to keep the things you need and declutter your life from the rest.
From a socio-economic point of view, you could play devil's advocate and say this is a destabilizing philosophy. By that, I mean our economy is dependent on people purchasing things. Consider, how many single-use gadgets do you have in your kitchen? Amazon started their Black Friday sales today and they'll be changing them as often as every 5 minutes. This creates a must-have-it, consumerism fervor. If sociologists and economists are correct, and young people are eschewing material things, where does that put our retail sales force and manufacturers.
From a positive perspective, not having the care of things you don't need brings freedom and reduces the anxiety that can plague you if you're keeping up with the Jones'. Financial freedom can be a result, but only if you demonstrate restraint in unnecessary spending. Living minimally can mean a return to the idyllic family unit, where one parent stays home to be the care provider of the children. This has been proven to be a much healthier upbringing for children, and they generally perform better in academics, are better adjusted socially, and have stronger sense of right versus wrong.
The upside of a minimalist life has a lot of appeal. It can be embraced fully or not, but even small changes in that direction have positive benefits.
The movie is available for rental on Amazon. I encourage folks to check it out if you're looking to make a change to enrich your life with less.