Happiness, consumerism and malaise in civilization

a film analysis of the short film Happiness

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze, from the psychoanalytic perspective, how the short film Happiness, by Steve Cutts, helps to understand which are the signs of the civilization and its discontents, present in a consumer society that seeks happiness that apparently is everywhere, but no one can achieve. The theme happiness is addressed by Freud in the text Civilization and its Discontents, of 1930, in which he points out that men wish to achieve and remain in a state of happiness, however, for each person, the way to find happiness is very particular, and might have several paths, but none guarantees total security. For him, constant and absolute happiness does not exist, it happens intermittently.  The culture of consumption enhances the idea that through the satisfaction of individual desires it will be possible to find happiness and thus sharpens in consumers new desires to be satisfied, making them want to consume more and more. However, the existential emptiness inherent to the human being and his relationships is not easily filled with objects, pleasure or medication. All these questions raised by Freud can be analyzed through the short film Happiness, which also denounces the excesses of modern society, the robotization of everyday life and the strategies of individuals to deal with the anxieties of real life, helping in the reflection of consumerism and the search for happiness.