The Light Bulb Conspiracy (2010)

This is the story of companies who engineered their products to fail.

Director:

Cosima Dannoritzer

Writer:

Cosima Dannoritzer

Stars:

Mike Anane, Michael Braungart, Steve Bunn

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Anane	...	Himself
Michael Braungart	...	Himself
Steve Bunn	...	Himself
Nicols Fox	...	Herself
Mike Gurman	...	Himself
Helmut Höge	...	Himself
Richard Jones	...	Himself
Vitaliy Kiselev	...	Himself
Boris Knuf	...	Himself
Marcus Krajewski	...	Himself
Serge Latouche	...	Himself
Marcos López	...	Himself
Casey Neistat	...	Himself
Lynn Owens	...	Himself
Warner Philips	...	Himself

Storyline

Once upon a time..... products were made to last. Then, at the beginning of the 1920s, a group of businessmen were struck by the following insight: 'A product that refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business' (1928). Thus Planned Obsolescence was born. Shortly after, the first worldwide cartel was set up expressly to reduce the life span of the incandescent light bulb, a symbol for innovation and bright new ideas, and the first official victim of Planned Obsolescence. During the 1950s, with the birth of the consumer society, the concept took on a whole new meaning, as explained by flamboyant designer Brooks Stevens: 'Planned Obsolescence, the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary...'. The growth society flourished, everybody had everything, the waste was piling up (preferably far away in illegal dumps in the Third World) - until consumers started rebelling... Can the modern growth society survive without Planned Obsolescence? Did ...

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Plot Keywords:

planned obsolescence | light bulb | business | cradle to cradle | greed | 

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Taglines:

The untold story of planned obsolescence.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Spain France

Language:

English French Catalan German Spanish

Release Date:

16 December 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Pyramids of Waste

Filming Locations:

France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte France, Article Z, Media 3.14

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Death of a Salesman (1951)

User Reviews

Very nice documentary on consumerism and product lifespan

Very nice Spanish/French documentary on consumerism and the history of 'Planned Obsolescence' - companies make products last less, so that customers will have to buy them again and again.

The documentary is very well done and strict in its point of view. I think it is nice that the movie is not from US, as US ones tend to show their opinions on solving the issue a bit too much. You don't need any specific knowledge to go with the movie.

Also it is very good that at some point the movie makes a comparison between western capitalist industry and eastern socialist industry during the cold war. It makes a huge point on what actually happened.

I totally recommend it to everyone.

9/10