| Blog questions: which history video teaches you more? Why?
http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/ http://loiter.co/v/watch-as-1000years-of-european-boarders-change/ |
I found both videos to be rather ineffective but I’d give the slight edge to the 1000 years of border change video. The main issue with the story of stuff was that it was entirely too long. The concepts presented weren’t nearly complex enough to warrant it and I think the runtime actually took away from the power of certain lines or segments that really did hint at something more profound. Additionally, I found the narrator to be quite distracting, even bordering on obnoxious, and think the video could have been better served without her physical presence on the screen.
I hate bashing it because I do think that the consumer culture is something that needs to be explored, but the video struck me as entirely surface level and didn’t really pursue the bigger issues in that we are willfully perpetuating and contributing to the system in spite of this knowledge and that there’s more to it than contrived cartoons, a corporate effigy, and men who made decisions half a century ago.
The 1000 years of border change was much more direct and interesting, in my opinion. It revealed the paradigm of nations as a static concept and furthermore hinted at the bigger idea of imagined communities. There was no doubt as to the accuracy of the argument and the proof was in the pudding, allowing us to take what we wanted from it. The only issue I had with it was that I’m not sure if I see its modern day relevance. It’s a great historical piece but as borders are becoming almost obsolete, I think the piece lacked a deeper impact. Regardless, I think it taught a more effective lesson.