Consumed: Identity and Anxiety in an Age of Plenty

By turns pessimistic and thought-provoking, Consumed examines the human desire to acquire goods—such as designer merchandise—for reasons other than survival. In between interviews with academics, director and narrator Richard Heap intercuts vintage advertisements. Psychologist Geoffrey Miller (Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior) believes that we consume in order to promote ourselves to others, and that those who feel they lack the necessary traits to attract a partner are vulnerable to the notion that the right products will help compensate. Advertising, which has only grown more pervasive over the years, plays on these fears of inadequacy. Dr. Alastair McIntosh (Hell and High Water) talks about how consumption distances us from each other and from the Earth as we obsess over ourselves and our image (overconsumption, Heap fears, risks destroying the environment). But it isn't all doom and gloom. Tim Cooper suggests that a culture of sustainability could aid in turning the tide, although consumers can't do it all by themselves, so forward-thinking corporations would need to help lead the way. For Cooper, it's all a matter of prioritizing long-term results over instant gratification. Catalogers should note that the original onscreen subtitle is In the Belly of the Beast. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)