Video Reflections: The Light Bulb Conspiracy

The documentary-style film The Lightbulb Conspiracy takes a historical look at the introduction and creation of the concept of design obsolescence. With the fall of prices within the industrial revolution, people started shopping for fun rather than need, influencing companies to increase profits by controlling the rate at which consumers repurchased their products. The film ultimately looks at the disastrous affects that design obsolescence is having on our environment and the ramifications from this economy-boosting initiative.

Initially, the concept came into design during the start of the depression within the 1920's, when it became an issue of the economy grinding to a halt because people reduced their buying; if consumers do not purchase, the economy does not grow. A man of the name Bernard London proposed a radical theory  to end the depression, to make design obsolescence a planned law to create a balance between capitol and labour, where there would always be a need for goods. Although this concept was never adopted, the idea was out and the lightbulb was one of the first products that took advantage of this profit-creating theory.

Looking at the history of the lightbulb, it can be observed that over the course of the last 100 years, the lifespan of a lightbulb has been greatly reduced to increase company profits and more frequent repeated purchase. Bulbs regulatory lifespan was dropped from 2500 hours to 1000 hours with an aim of controlling consumption. Adolf Chalet is the late designer who invented the 100-year light bulb, a bulb that has been burning constantly for over 100 years to this day. This unique design demonstrates that design obsolescence is an unnecessary con to force people to spend more money, more frequently than is actually necessary. It is ironic that the lightbulb was one of the first victims of planned obsolescence  in the sense that it is a symbol for innovation.

Another product that was brought to light with designed obselesence was a home-use inkjet printer. The printer had been manufactured to have a set lifespan of 1800 prints, made possible by the insertion of a chip within the electronics that instructed the printer to stop printing after the manufacture set default number of prints. The repair of the printer at this stage of use was made to be over twice the price of a new printer, forcing the consumer to obtain better value through the deliberate disposing of a still-functional product. Another example of planned obsolescence was seen with the introduction of the ipod. The irreplaceable battery which had a life of 1500 hours meant that when the battery was expired the product could not be fixed, forcing the customer to make a repurchase. Consumers were so outraged with this marketing con that a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple and won, producing the outcome of an extended warranty - the underlying problem of planned obsolescence still remains an issue.

The concept of planned obsolesce was initially marketed to consumers within the 1950's, seducing them to own something a little newer and sooner than necessary. This concept of  buying has led to people using products as an expression of their identity. Older forms of identity, such as community memberships and relationships with the land have been replaced by the consumption of products.

The Lightbulb Conspiracy gives an accurate depiction of the effects of planned obsolescence on our natural environment, highlighting that although it boosts the growth of the economy, it is not sustainable. Within deign, product lifecycle had become the euphemism of planned obsolescence. The video aims to inform people of the weaknesses that have been purposefully built into design, and how this greedy and manipulative concept has seen the astronomical rise in unnecessary waste that is destroying our natural environment.

Video Reflections: An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gores' film, An Inconvenient Truth is a political documentary focusing on the issues of global warming and climate change. Being both presenter and author of the film Gore uses his position of power to get his message across to the audience, starting with his introduction "I used to be the next president of the United States". In this way the audience is positioned from the word 'go' to trust and listen to the views of this once popular, once loved political figure. 

Through the use of multiple cartoon analogies, Gore uses humour to create an entertaining educational environment for his audience. The convincing arguement of Global warming is presented with hard-hitting scientific facts and data, presented in a way that demonstrates the earth has a dire situation occurring at this very moment, and something must be done about it. "The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close, In its place we are entering a period of consequences" -Churchill.  The film ultimately aims to spark an emotional state within the audience, to influence a change in behaviour to counter the effects of climate change.

The majority of the film is constructed in a way to make the viewer feel as if they are part of the audience in one of Al Gores worldwide conference presentations. The arguement is made to appear far more superior in this regard, due to the international scale on which this high-flying and influential figure has reached. But Al Gore is not just presented to be a figure of power and intellect, the film gives insight into his life at a personal level, drawing the audience in through nostalgic memories from his childhood. This conflicting  technique, makes the film far more personable, fuelling the audience to feel a moral responsibility to jump on board and act against climate change.

Gore points out that the only factor impeding civilisation from acting against the issue of climate change is the lack of political will. "Humanity already possesses the fundamental scientific, technical, and industrial know-how to solve the carbon and climate problems..." - S. Pacala and R. Sacolow. Politicians hold the issue of climate change at arms length, because if they acknowledge it then they will have the moral responsibility to do something about it. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it" - Sinclair. As a result of ignorant politicians, Gores audience, and aim has shifted to educating the world, "one person at a time", until his message influences a changed perspective and a moral responsibility.

This passionate and heart-felt documentary demonstrates a significant and relevant message on the issue of climate change; being that whether or not you have chosen to acknowledge it, it will increasingly affect every single person who shares the earth. Gore influences the audience to care about the beautiful world that is our home, so that "it will be there for your children". One step at a time, moral responsibility can be demonstrated by a small change or contribution. It could even be as small as turning off your lights.

Video Reflections: Giving Packaging New Life & How it's Made: Packaging

Industrial designers and the public in general are enlightened with the education of current packaging manufacture and recycle technology, which can be observed through the documentary-style video episodes from Giving Packaging New Life and How it's Made: Packaging. The two video series educate and inform its viewers of up-to-the-date technology and how it is utilised to gain the maximum efficiency from the materials produced in todays fast-consumerable world.

Specifically looking at the video episodes from Giving Packaging New Life, there are a myriad of different material recycling categories and techniques demonstrated to the audience, including paper, tetrapak, tinplate, aluminium, glass and plastics. New technologies have enabled an increase in automation, resulting in the requirement of less manual labour associated with the different stages of the recycling processes. A prime example is the worlds first automatic sorting plant in Hannover Anderten which not only stands as a symbol for design innovation, but also reduces the cost of sorting by up to 50 percent.

In taking a look at some of the recycling processes from paper to plastic, some useful statistics (retrieved from Germany) aid to inform the audience of the significance and importance of recycling in todays manufacturing world. Waste paper accounts for sixty percent of the amount of paper used to make new paper and tinplate accounts for forty percent of the raw material required for steel production. The recycling of plastics is a new innovation in the manufacture of products, as up until he 1990's plastics were incinerated or land filled as there was not the infrastructure available to recycle them. This advancement in technology has meant that in todays society, more than two-thirds of the plastic that is produced is recycled. Of the packaging produced, eighty-seven percent of aluminium packaging is recycled, while 2.7 million tonnes of waste glass are recycled each year. These figures demonstrate to the audience why recycling is so important in the contribution to the creation of new packaging; the amount of new material is significantly reduced, creating a more sustainable way of life.

Moving on to the video episodes from How it's Made: Packaging, the audience is not only shown a range of different manufacture and recycle processes, but are also given an insight into the treatment and handling of landfill. When rubbish makes its way to landfill, the process does not stop there. Energy is harvested from the methane gases produced by the decomposing waste to power turbines for the creation of electricity. The methane is also converted to liquid natural gas for the fuelling of garbage trucks that collect the waste. Although the concept of landfill is not desirable, technological discoveries and advancements have allowed the process to be tailored for the creation of a means of a self-sufficient cycle. The video gives an insight into the entire process of manufacture, from production, to recycle, to  disposing of waste.

The packagings cardboard, tubes, tetrapak, aluminium cans and glass bottles and jars are all demonstrated to the audience through the video episodes. The processes required to produce these packagings have been designed to maximise efficiency whilst minimising cost, producing packaging using the least material necessary in the fastest time possible. The most interesting fact revealed through this video series is associated with the production of aluminium tubes of paint. During manufacture, the tubes are coated on the exterior surface with a layer of polyester enamel paint, which is structured in a way that allows the paint to stay intact and crack-free when the tube is twisted and squeezed. The special properties of the paint mean that the printed writing on the product remains legible even if the product has been pushed and pulled out of shape. The series educates the audience about the different machinery and processes that occur during the different types of manufacture, giving an insight into new discoveries, new processes and a general understanding of how things are made.

Through watching the series How it's Made: Packaging and Giving Packaging New Life, the audience is able to better understand the processes associated with recycle and manufacture. Through this education, more conscious decisions can be made in terms of recycling and sustainable ways of living. The development of new technology, such as the automated recycle machines, increase the efficiency of the recycle process while reducing labour and cost, ultimately with the intention of reducing the impact that humans are having on the environment; leading us one more step to sustainability.