Do I Need This?

Do I Need This?

Movie Info

Year
Website
Website
Released?

Topics

Environmental
Social Issues
Consciousness

Do I Need This? is a quirky and relatable award-winning documentary film about American excess, and the stuff from which happiness is truly made. The timely, humorous, and moving film delicately interweaves the filmmaker’s complicated relationship to her family possessions.

together with a journey into the homes and minds of her fellow Americans - from a woman who hoards and hides it, to a Buddhist monk, and a colorful group of characters in between.

While the film is motivated by the filmmaker’s concern for the dire environmental challenges facing our planet, the focus is not on human consumers’ impact on nature, but instead on our human nature to consume. Viewers will never again have the luxury of buying something new without stopping to ask themselves, “do I really need this?”

On the surface, Do I Need This? Is a joy ride through American excessive consumption habits; at its core, it is a deep and genuine reflection on aging, family, and happiness.