Status Anxiety (2004)

Why doesn’t money (usually) buy happiness? Alain de Botton breaks new ground for most of us, offering reasons for something our grandparents may well have told us, as children.

It is rare, and pleasing, to see a substantial philosophical argument sustained as well as it is in this documentary. De Botton claims that we are more anxious about our own importance and achievements than our grandparents were. This is status anxiety.

Alain quotes philosophical writings, such as Democracy in America, a report by Alexis de Tocqueville on his visit to the USA in 1831. De Tocqueville noted that American equality, notable in those times, was accompanied by a climate of envy.

We jump to present-day USA, and see what, to de Botton, are some awful examples of The American Way. A Christian preaches get rich. A steelworker tells of his insecure life in an industry being closed down through others’ love of money.

Our protagonist points out the advantage of high status: those with high status will enjoy the care and attention of the world. Then joins this advantage with the illusion, or attempt at meritocracy in the USA, mentioning Jefferson’s notion of an aristocracy of talent.


Buy the DVD at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

Rate this video 
Social Issues
Trending Videos
Project 2025 Explained in Schoolhouse Rock Style!
5 min - The song that could save America. Share widely. Written, animated and performed by Jason KravitsProduced and mixed by Sean Dixon with Jason Kravits, Christopher Walz, and Brian O’Neill
The True Cost of the Military-Industrial Complex
10 min - "In this video essay, I look at the environmental and social cost of the military and militarism. I narrow in on the United States military-industrial complex because it is by far the biggest...
Gaza Fights For Freedom (2019)
84 min - This debut feature film by journalist Abby Martin is a documentary about the historic nonviolent Great March Of Return protests, which occurred every week from March 2018 until December 2019, but...
Awakening from the Meaning Crisis (2019)
3000 min - Do you ever feel like we're swimming in an ocean of bullshit? This ground-breaking and viral 50-part series from John Vervaeke seeks to understand why this is so, and answer the question: what can...
This Is Neoliberalism | 5 Part Series (2020)
146 min - If you've ever wanted to understand what neoliberalism is, this is the video series for you.Part 1: Introducing the Invisible Ideology (March 2018, 27min)Neoliberalism is an economic ideology that...
Human (2015)
382 min - What is it that makes us human? Is it that we love, that we fight? That we laugh? Cry? Our curiosity? The quest for discovery?  Driven by these questions, filmmaker and artist Yann...
Trending Articles
Videos by Second Thought
Sustainable Human
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films

 

Become a Patron. Support Films For Action.

For $5 a month, you'll gain access to over 50 patron-exclusive documentaries while keeping us ad-free and financially independent. We need 350 more Patrons to grow our team in 2024.

Subscribe | Explore the 50+ Patron Films

Our 6000+ video library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patrons!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter