The Story of Stuff

In this video, we as the viewers are forced to see the reality behind the process of stuff. It might be quite cynical in perhaps an extreme level, but what Leonard was trying to say is the ironic truth of it.

Leonard mentioned first, that the system consists of extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal, which are known as the material economy. I've known and understand these processes, however, what came next was what surprised me. The cycle doesn't end just there. There are many other explanations in between, and they are not really pleasant.

In the extraction phase, Leonard nicknamed it as "natural resource exploitation", and it's basically "trashing the planet". I agree with Leonard that the world has been damaging the planet too much, by chopping down the trees, extracting metals, bottled water and wiping the animals. And I believe that the problem Leonard mentioned about the US isn't happening only in the US, but everywhere in the world. And the abuse of the third world countries resources is unreasonable. It is the resource which belongs to other countries and the US isn't entitled to it.

In the production phase, Leonard emphasized how chemical substance are used, resulting in a toxic in and toxic out. I do know that chemical substance are used in production system, but I don't think that they are all as bad as Leonard said it. Some materials can't be processed without chemical substance, and that is why corporate tested those chemical substance for their side effect and safeties. They are not necessarily bad. But we do need to do something about the pollution caused by production process.

In the distribution phase, Leonard talked about the hidden cost within a product. She mentioned how she bought a radio for $4.99 and how ridiculously cheap it was. She claimed that the she didn't pay for the radio. It was the third world countries who paid for it by their natural resources, and their underaged employees. I don't fully agree with her arguments, though it is very ironic how children has to work for such small amount of money, and how cheap things are in other third world countries. However, by mass producing a product, the cost of it will be reduced. Especially when the production uses machines, which saves time and labour cost.

Leonard called consumption as the heart of the system, and how desperate both the government and the corporations thrive to protect it. Leonard was perhaps most cynical in explaining this phase. She mentioned that consumerity in the world were designed after WWII, to help boost the economy. Computers are changing so fast, people throw away computers in the same speed. However, she overlooked the fact that more advanced technology are designed to be more sustainable. It uses less energy, parts that can be recycled and so on. And you can't really say that consumerity is bad. Imagine if people stop buying products, what would happen to the employees? Maybe the resources can be preserved more, but what about those people in the third world countries who struggle to earn money.

And that brings us to the last phase, disposal. As mentioned before, corporation have been researching for years about sustainability. By using material which can be recycled, we can reduce the waste.

I think Leonard explained things very well in this video. It was very simple and easy to understand with the help of graphics, a bit cynical though. But don't be fooled by the cuteness of the graphics. Hear the ironic truth about the underside of production and consumption patterns.