Welcome back from the school holidays! This week in our bulletin we are focusing on films that look at our consumer culture and how we can use these in the English classroom to engage our students in thinking critically about the consumer society we live in. In our last post, we looked at two films - Plastic Bag and Life and Death of a Pumpkin - that could be used as stimulus for students writing about everyday objects, but also began to unpack some concerns of the modern consumer world. To see this post, and all our previous posts, click here.
The first short film we want to look at today is a 2010 Australian short called Life Pscycle-ology. This four minute film looks at the dilemma of Eric Sun, a mobile phone who feels his life is directionless after he is no longer used by his owner. He seeks advice from a psychologist who talks to him about the massive rate at which mobile phones are thrown out, but how Eric Sun can get a new lease on life by being recycled.
There are several ways the short film can be used in class. Firstly, it can be used as a comprehension activity through asking students these questions:
*What is the message of the film?
*What are three problems to do with mobile phones?
*What is one solution to these problems?
* Why is the film called 'life pscycle-ology'?
Secondly, it can be used as a stimulus for debating the issue of consumerism. Students can discuss and form a point of view on the issue: New technology creates as many problems as it solves. Life Pscycle-ology can be found on Youtube here.
Related to this film is a 2003 UK short Killing Time At Home. It runs for three minutes, and like Life Pscyle-ology, is animated. Killing Time At Home looks at a dystopian world where 'disposable friends' can be bought online and delivered to your home. As their name implies, these friends don't last forever, but are abandoned when their owner loses interest in them. The film is a great way of getting kids to think about and write on this prompt: Technology or buying 'stuff' won't make us happy. Killing Time At Home can be found on Youtube here.
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