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Consumer Culture (13)
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24 Hours or MoreGilles Groulx 1973 1 h 53 minThis feature film made during an exceptionally feverish period of popular revolt that saw the coming together of Quebec’s 3 main unions (CSN, FTQ, CEQ) is a cinematic tract by socially engaged filmmaker Gilles Groulx. Propped against the backdrop of the 1970 October Crisis, the film is a frontal assault denouncing a “consumer society” viewed as the ultimate embodiment of evil. -
All the RageAlexandra Lemay 2014 1 minA mink walks into a fur store. Fantastic Mr. Fox meets The Shining in this stop-motion cautionary tale of what happens when we don’t think enough about what we buy.
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Between You and You AllGilles Groulx 1969 1 h 4 minA chronicle of daily life that lays bare people’s dependency on consumer society, which reduces and degrades individuals via its very structures—and which, the filmmaker argues, must be challenged and transformed. There is no story as such—that is, no conventional episodic structure or plot, but rather a sequence of seven tableaux depicting the life of a couple and its gradual disintegration, set against the socio-economic backdrop of 1969, a world in which seduction is ever-present.
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The Bronswik AffairRobert Awad & André Leduc 1978 23 minThis funny yet serious short film demonstrates the effectiveness of advertising and the marketing machine. Its comic appeal lies in the characters and the absurd situations they find themselves in, but it also shines a harsh light on our tendency towards needless consumerism prompted by a steady flow of commercials.
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CaterpillarplastyDavid Barlow-Krelina 2018 5 minA prescient, grotesque sci-fi satire that lifts plastic surgery to another level. Set in a state-of-the-art clinic, in a world where advanced technologies have given rise to new standards of beauty and prestige, Caterpillarplasty offers its sardonic take on a social obsession with beauty that’s spiralled out of control.
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HungerPeter Foldès 1974 11 minIn this animated short, director Peter Foldès depicts one man’s descent into greed and gluttony. Rapidly dissolving and ever-evolving images create a contrast between abundance and want. One of the first films to use computer animation, this satire serves as a cautionary tale against self-indulgence in a world still plagued by hunger and poverty.
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The Hasty Man Drinks His Tea with a ForkSylvie Groulx 2003 1 h 23 minA blend of drama and documentary, this film follows several people caught up in the turmoil of the modern world. The drama centres on a woman who has burned out and who holds up her own despair – and her attempts to rebuild her life – as a mirror to the rest of us. With a blend of gravity and humour, Sylvie Groulx's film shows the absurdity of a society dedicated to the cult of speed at all costs.
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The RoommateStephanie Braithwaite 2014 1 minFed up with her roommate’s incessant shopping and hoarding, a girl takes matters into her own hands in this comical take on vlogging and the art of co-habitation.
Produced as part of the 10th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
This Is a Recorded MessageJean-Thomas Bédard 1973 10 minThis experimental animated short takes a critical look at consumerism in a material world. Thousands of cut-out ads are presented in increasingly fragmented, rapid succession. The film's disorienting and hectic pace seeks to interrogate the extent to which seductive advertising is a shockingly strong force in shaping our desires, needs, and lives in contemporary capitalism.
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Treasure HuntersBruno Baillargeon 2002 1 h 7 minThey live on our waste, on what we leave behind. Once called guenillous (beggars), they’re now known as scrappeurs—or, more nobly, recycleurs. Denis is one of them, prospecting by bicycle around his neighbourhood, sifting through garbage looking for things to sell: used furniture, crippled toys, trinkets, scrap metal and a myriad other cast-off items that, for him, are the gold he survives on. He’s surrounded by a network of colleagues, customers and friends: a woman who collects old dolls; Roger, who makes bracelets; Jean-Claude, who makes a decent living by picking up scrap metal in his truck; and two youngsters, Yannick and Sébastien. As we follow Denis in his efforts to buy a truck, we enter a parallel universe of hardworking folk who consider freedom the most important wage they earn.
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What on Earth!Les Drew & Kaj Pindal 1966 9 minThis animated short proposes what many earthlings have long feared – that the automobile has inherited the planet. When life on Earth is portrayed as one long, unending conga-line of cars, a crew of extra-terrestrial visitors understandably assume they are the dominant race. While humans, on the other hand, are merely parasites. An Oscar® nominee, this film serves as an entertaining case study.
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Where Are You?Gilles Groulx 1969 1 h 35 minThis experimental feature-length drama by Gilles Groulx follows three main characters who embody different attitudes about consumerism. A window onto Quebec in the late 1960s, this protest film explores these characters’ daily lives, their trials and aspirations.
Where Are You? is an innovative and militant work, buoyed by hard-hitting film language that includes subtitles and intertitles, quotations, offscreen voices and songs and references to advertising. -
WAL-TOWN The FilmSergeo Kirby 2006 1 h 6 minIn this feature documentary, 6 student activists visit 36 Canadian towns to take on one giant corporation. Filmed over 2 summers, these young crusaders (plus a gonzo journalist) try to raise public awareness about Wal-Mart's business practices and their effect on cities and towns across Canada. With youthful passion and often hilarious cultural jams, this film takes us to the frontlines of the ongoing debate over the company's increasing dominance in the Canadian retail market.
