Minimalism: A documentary about the important things. A Critical Review

Summary:
In Minimalism: A documentary about the important things Matt D’Avella, the director, states that at present many people become sleepless and addicted to consumerism in the blind hunt for happiness, all through technology and information. Some of the protagonist topics of discussion in here are: the American Culture and the illusions society creates around it; advertising as a very powerful agent that pollutes minds; the unmeasured use of space. D’Avella also gives voice to many speakers that criticize the strong bond to money that most Americans have, specially when it comes to fashionability, the challenges after climbing up the social and professional ladders, the anxiety to have as many 0’s on your paycheck as you can get; and many other excuses in the search for satisfaction and meaning. Most of the speakers concluded that minimalists practices can open a real window to find not balance, but some sort of financial freedom while trying to revise the American dream, that truly has not been at all a dream but the subject of many discomfort.


As for my personal critical analysis I have many questions to ask. Is this a really good manual to become minimalist? Since they talk that much about the American Dream, should we just try to empathize with their situation, or should we dare to ask ourselves if we as Latin Americans are suffering the same consequences? 
Minimalism, as it is portrayed, is a practice that enhances the reduction of: consumerism, usage of space to build homes, unnecessary stuff at your house and luggage, and in general, a "simpler and more genuine" lifestyle. Relatively few people around the world practice a real minimalism, and the conception given in this documentary is not only too Americanized, but also very modern and not so simple as it should. For me, real minimalism goes not only with reducing your desire to buy cloths, your desire to fit in a extremely technological and sophisticated society, but also with reconstructing yourself from the inside out. A reconstruction that involves all of the emotions, senses, and worldviews that any human being can construct in his or her conscious and subconscious thoughts.
We are weak, and that is natural fact, but we are not originally wired to be automatic as robots; so let us question ourselves every time we want to make a change. As for why would I want to consume, why would I want to trow away  things that still work, why would I want to be maximlist or minimalist? Do I really need to make a change?
To continue with this thought, I truly believe is that every instance of “success”, either at work or in our personal life, can easily become a cause of tremendous change that if we are not prepared, we can suffer a possible shock before we can even grasp a celebration. Oftentimes we ignore how much effort we put into the realization of certain goal, but very few times we ask the root or real motivation of that goal. This documentary, though highly influenced by the American culture and ideals, represents a good set of realism towards the universal weakness humans have towards money. Sadly, the actual society feeds from money, people acquire very easily any template or norm that represents the American dream; and the most accurate answer to explain this phenomena is: advertising. An infinite number of companies and people with power try to sell many ideals trough media, since very young, people are bombarded with all kinds of advertising; and the sad truth is that all the empty, materialistic and stupid advertising, that is intended for people living in the US, gets everywhere where it should not. How is it possible that a country so small like Costa Rica, so different in regards to purchasing power is so easy to persuade by them? Well, we are all humans, and are weak towards the idea of power, money, prestige, fake happiness, and many other explanations.
As it is mention in the film, we are actually able to build the American dream that works for each of us independently, but we do not realize it, until we encounter the harsh reality and we get to feel disgusted by it; maybe with the help of motivators like the speakers of the film, maybe by facing a difficult illness that will not allow us to be as consumerist as before, maybe by getting fired or even by a huge promotion at work in which you feel trapped and with the impossibility to walk away from huge amounts of money or prestige for the rest of your life. The lack of agency for a better lifestyle is the key to understand today's society, not only in the States but everywhere. To conclude my analysis, I would lik' e to quote a very strong argument that is given in the film and it kind of summarizes the whole idea and meaning of minimalism, and it goes as follows:
"Beyond esoteric bullshit, hippie poetry, let pragmatism filter directly to your bones"
It is more than clear what we have to do, before we even try to understand what minimalism is, let us first understand what humanism is, and all the meaning that has lost in the way. Let us also realize that our longing for meaning has not, is not, and will never be satisfied with material things or prestige or any familiar ladder that has been sold through the so called "American Dream".
Let us later, as latinamericans, be more thankful that our culture does have at least some cultural traits to rescue, some treasures in our struggles for justice and equity, and many reasons to reject such fake illusion as the "American Dream".