Documentary Movie Reviews

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Affluenza (1997)

Rate: 9
Viewed: 2/09

Aff
2/09: I read the book Affluenza some while ago when I was in college and thought it was a brilliant summary of the sorry state the United States of America is currently in.

Fast track to now, the situation hasn't changed that much. How the film perfectly foresaw the chaos of today. It's why I keep saying the word "affluenza."

I was thinking of which year it was made in when the producers shot the footage because the presentation seemed chilling in terms of predicting the problems. At the same time, I thought of a great idea by introducing students the concept of amortization and letting them watch how the interest on some principal could balloon rapidly.

That's how easy for the credit card companies, realtors, banks, and car dealers to make so much money by taking advantage of the power of mathematics through interest theory. Therefore, Affluenza is a perfect display of the problem at its face value although it fails to explain the mathematical side.

I like the ideas of how buying stuff harms the planet we live in and how lucky we are to have one country of its kind, which is the United States, because having more of them in the world will spell doom for everybody. At the end, a tip is offered about voluntary simplicity. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in that lifestyle because it's like going back to 17th century. I'm satisfied with shopping for items, so this way, I won't have to waste my time making them. Hence, it's the whole point of the Industrial Revolution.

All in all, Affluenza is a great documentary that needs a longer running time.