Documentary - Culture in Decline: Consumption-Vanity Disorder

Yes. Scary. True. Brought to you by Top Documentary Films. Word of Warning: This series on our "culture in decline" is produced and created by Peter Joseph, the person behind the highly popular, but very over-rated Zeitgeist film(s) - the first one was filled with fringe conspiracy theories (including the "government orchestrated" 9/11 meme), but the more recent two films have avoided that terrain in favor of proposing a change model for a society gone more than slightly mad.

“Culture in Decline” is a 30 min., Bi-Monthly Web-Series created and hosted by Peter Joseph. As with all of Peter Joseph's video work, it is part of a Free Distribution Media Project that allows open, non-profit distribution of his film media across the world. The Series' central viewing medium is YouTube, via the “Culture in Decline” Official Channel. The first episode of the first season called “What Democracy?”premiered on July 29th 2012, going viral with over 70,000 views in the first 10 days.

“Culture in Decline” is a satirical yet serious expression that challenges various cultural phenomena existing today which most of society seem to take for granted. Nothing is considered sacred in this Series except for a detached benchmark of fundamental logic and reason - forcing the viewer to step out of the box of “Normality” and to consider our societal practices without traditional baggage and biases. Common themes include Politics, Economics, Education, Security, Religion, Vanity, Governance, Media, Labor, Technology and other issues centric to our daily lives.

Here is the 30-minute third episode.

Culture in Decline: Consumption-Vanity Disorder

Culture In Decline: Episode #3 covers a new epidemic disease rapidly spreading across the world: Consumption-Vanity Disorder. Other episodes: 1. What Democracy? and 2. Economics 101.

The last thing that fish would ever notice in its habitat is the water. Likewise the most obvious and powerful realities of our human culture seemed also be the most unrecognized.

And it is only when we take pause, often at the risk of social alienation, to question the foundational principles and ideas to which our lives are oriented, a dark truth about our supposed “normality” becomes more clear.

Today we live in an ocean with enormous waves of status obsession, materialism, vanity, ego and consumerism. Our very lives had become defined not by our productive thoughts, social contributions and good will, but by superficial, delusional set of associations with the very fabric of our society that now radiates cheap romanticism, connected to vain competition, conspicuous consumption and neurotic addictions often related to physical beauty, status and superficial wealth.

In effect it is social conformity masquerading as individualism, with the virtues of balance, intelligence, peace, public health and true creativity left to rot on the sidelines. The cultural water we inhabit today runs deep with heavy pollution. It starts in our formative years when to be smart and achieving is to be a nerd or a geek.

Watch the full documentary now