A groundbreaking film that will be released in 2025 tries to show how consumer culture has changed society and the environment. The movie, “You Need This,” is directed by Adam McKay, who was nominated for an Oscar. It looks at how modern capitalism has deeply changed people’s behavior.
The documentary, which ZDF Studios bought to be shown worldwide, follows consumer society from its start in the United States in the 1950s to where it is now. Ryan Andrej Lough directed the movie, which includes talks with scientists Adam Haar-Horowitz, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (author), and Juliet Schor (economist).
“It’s not cultural or political divisions that have turned our world upside down, but the relentless quest for corporate profit fuelling consumerism,” McKay says. The director of the video says that even though the results are serious, they also show that people are becoming more aware of the bigger effects of consumption.
Lough studied consumer capitalism for years. He calls it a “20th-century invention” that now rules everyday life. The system controls people and makes money by hurting people and the earth.
The video, which comedy writer Serra Naiman narrates, tries to show how modern consumerism changes more than just buying habits. It also changes who we are and how we interact with others. The film’s producers, Isidoor Roebers and Fels, call it a “powerful wake-up call” that makes people think about how they consume things.
The group working on the project comprises Yellow Dot Studios, Hôtel Motion Pictures, and Banijay Benelux’s Scenery. The documentary’s executive producers, Staci Roberts-Steele and Benjamin Rednour, hope it will start a conversation about sustainable economic options worldwide.
“You Need This” aims to change people’s attitudes toward economic systems that prioritize protecting the environment over making money for corporations by showing how consumer culture affects society.
