I wanted to share a link to a documentary I watched called I AM.

I Am is a 2010 American documentary film written, narrated, and directed by Tom Shadyac. The documentary explores the nature of mankind and world’s ever-growing addiction to materialism. The film asks two central questions: What’s Wrong With the World? and What Can We Do About it?

The reason I found this film relevant to this course is because in it they discuss the idea behind Aboriginal society and culture understanding that the need for materialism and greed being seen as mental illness. There is one part that discusses the idea of the Native Americans describing the Europeans as “cannibals”  not because the consume the flesh of other humans but because the consume the life and spirit of other humans.  There is an excellent Aboriginal tale and animation in the film that describes what happens to a tribe when one skilled hunter decides not to share equally and keeps all of his food for himself.  Eventually other hunters do the same and eventually the old and the weak start to starve and die off and over time people stop noticing the weak dying. This tale of warning is reflective to how our current society is. We all want more than we need and are unwilling to share because we don’t feel connected to anyone else. Aboriginal culture wasn’t like this prior to contact they understood that community and sharing in wealth was not just the right thing to do but it was a necessity for survival.

The film is available on Netflix and can be watched online here: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/104294/I_AM__The_Documentary__Part_1_of_3/

Resource

Shadyac, T. (Director). (2011). I am [Documentary]. United States: Shady Acres, Inc.