America has for decades been known as a capitalist country, and some people take pride in that. However, some people realize the damage that capitalism has done to our society and our morale. I felt the Affluenza video brought up a lot of somewhat disturbing issues that are a part of our everyday lives. The video defined the term ?affluenza? as ?the disease of consumerism.? In the beginning of the video, the facts that struck me the most were that we now have 2 times the amount of ?stuff? that average families had in the 50?s. Even though people have more belongings today, this does not contribute to their happiness. According to a study done, 1957 was the height of Americans being ?very happy.? Some very valid reasons for this that the video brought up were that ?prosperity = stress? and that people today have ?possession overload? meaning that everything owns them; they feel that the belongings and money make them who they are.It was upsetting to me to see that even schools today are ?selling-out?. The video featured one school who allowed advertisements to be painted on the side of their school buses. It also addressed the growing popularity of Channel One. My school did not participate in the television show, but I know of people whose schools did. Many of them said that it was not only boring and somewhat pointless, but they were annoyed by the commercials shown on the show. The video also showed how corporations will give schools ?learning materials? which or in essence just advertisements. It upsets me to see and hear how so many businesses exploit schools. School should be an educational environment where children learn, not an opportunity for major businesses to make more money.The video also demonstrated how if consumerism is a major part of a person?s life and is taught at such a young age, it could very well carry over into their personal relationships. It will be difficult for them to hold long-term relatio...
