Really interesting film coming shortly from Lauren Greenfield exploring the culture of wealth and excess and it affect on children. The film focuses specifically on LA. Put out by Wholphin.

I’m not sure how long this will last, but one of the most important movies i’ve ever seen in my life is now (illegally) free to watch in it’s entirety on google video, it’s been there for a year already, so chances are good it’ll hang around for a while.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=854094769667634943&hl=en

The movie is Mindwalk. Directed by Bernt Capra in 1990 and starring Sam Waterston, John Heard, and Liv Ullman. It’s 112 minutes, and worth every second (not least of reasons being the score by Philip Glass (a hero of mine)). It has flaws as a narrative, i’ll admit, but the ideas are what’s important . . .

The content of the piece is essentially a long conversation about systems theory (interconnectivity / holistic thought), and the problems with modern thought as it has been handed down to us by the thinkers of the scientific revolution, and subsequently the those of the enlightenment. Those problems of modern thought which gave Thomas Jefferson (and others figures important to our nation’s formative years) the philosophical underpinnings of so much of our culture, even: “The American Dream,” such as it is.

It’s a dry topic, as with so much of what i find interesting, but i strongly urge you to watch the whole thing, or rent it from your local video purveyor to watch at your leisure.

(you could even read the book: The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra, brother of the director.)