Affluenza (1997)

Subscribe $5/mo
Become a patron to watch
License
For classroom or public use

AFFLUENZA diagnoses a serious social disease - caused by consumerism, commercialism and rampant materialism - that is having a devastating impact on our families, communities, and the environment. We have more stuff, but less time, and our quality of life seems to be deteriorating. 

With the help of historians and humorous archival film, AFFLUENZA reveals the forces that have dramatically transformed us from a nation that prized thriftiness - with strong beliefs in "plain living and high thinking" - into the ultimate consumer society.

The program ends with a prescription to cure the disease. A growing number of people are opting out of the consumer chase, and choosing "voluntary simplicity" instead. They are working and shopping less, spending more time with friends and family, volunteering in their communities, and enjoying their lives more.

Other films by John de Graaf are ESCAPE FROM AFFLUENZABUYER BE FAIRSILENT KILLER: The Unfinished Campaign against HungerTHE MOTHERHOOD MANIFESTOBEYOND ORGANICON NATURE'S TERMSHOT POTATOESFOR EARTH'S SAKE: The Life and Times of David BrowerDAVID BROWER: A Conversation with Scott Simon, and WHAT'S THE ECONOMY FOR, ANYWAY?

Consumerism   Culture
Rate this video 
Consumerism
Can Humanity Find Harmony with Itself, the Earth? Here are 22 Films That Say Yes.
Rediscovering Our Sacred Wholeness
Trending Videos
Louis Theroux: The Settlers (2025)
62 min - Fourteen years after his first visit and 2011 film The Ultra Zionists, Louis Theroux meets some of the growing community of religious-nationalist Israelis who have settled in the West Bank.Louis...
Yanis Varoufakis: the One Message You MUST Hear — 10 Years After Greece’s NO
10 min - On July 5, 2015, the Greek people made history voting a resounding NO to the austerity and financial blackmail imposed by the EU and IMF. It was a bold act of democratic defiance...and one that...
How Wolves Change Rivers | George Monbiot
4 min - When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable "trophic cascade" occurred. What is a trophic cascade and...
Atomic Bombing of Japan Was NOT Necessary To End WWII. US Gov't Documents Admit It
26 min - US government documents admit that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not necessary to end WWII. Japan was on the verge of surrendering. The nuclear attack was the first strike in...
Trading In Chaos: Are Trump's Tariffs Causing the US To Collapse From Within?
46 min - A week before the 90day pause expires on his so-called reciprocal tariffs, Four Corners dives into the chaos created by Donald Trumps trade policy.Reported by Steve Cannane, Trading in Chaos...
The Evolution of Ecological Consciousness | Andrew Faust (2013)
109 min - Permaculture designer Andrew Faust gives us an inspiring and heady narrative about the evolution of all life and human consciousness on Mother Earth. Video created by Costa...
Trending Articles
Films to Counter US Media's Dehumanization of Palestinians
Videos Under Five Minutes
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to double your impact? You can subscribe for $10/mo or more as an extra show of support.