Status Anxiety (2004) DVD5, download for free

Apr08

Status Anxiety (2004) DVD5

by movieworld on April 8th, 2016 at 13:09

We are richer than ever before. We live longer, own more property and induldge in greater luxuries. So why aren't we getting any happier? One concern, above all, keeps us awake at night: status. Am I a success? Have I made it? Do I have the right car, the right clothes? Do people think I'm a loser and should I really care? Specially designed in easy to navigate segments to dip in and out of, writer and presenter Alain de Botton challenges the idea that what we do, where we live and what we own, should define our status and determine our happiness.

DVD5 | PAL 4:3 | 02:23:06 | 4.36 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: none
Genre: Documentary

Director: Neil Crombie
Actors: Alain de Botton
Country: UK

Philosopher and author Alain de Botton believes there's something the vast majority of people desire even more than money. Whatever their background or social class, whatever their age or country of origin, what they desperately crave is status.

In this two-hour programme, as well as testing his theory in Britain, De Botton travels to the United States, to investigate status anxiety, asking why people are unable to curtail their painful aspirations and whether those at the bottom of society merit their position there as much as those at the top do theirs.

As well as examining the work of classical philosophers, de Botton develops his theory with the help of a Washington DC restaurant manager who considers himself destined to become a chat show host; motivational speaker Les Brown; homeless lady Jenny Lamont; and members of the Native American population.

De Botton's search for possible cures to status anxiety takes him to churches on both sides of the Atlantic; the bohemian world of punks, nudists and hippies who live by their own rules; and philosophers - such as Schopenhauer - who believe that other people's opinions are not always worthwhile.

Finally, he learns how a discovery of one's mortality can suddenly put the constitute elements of status, such as careers, possessions, appearance and fame, into perspective.