Stuff (ATOM Study Guide)

Produced, written and presented by Wendy Harmer, the series Stuff examines our deep human desire for material objects. Over the course of the four episodes, intriguing questions are posed and reiterated. Why do we have so much stuff? What do we really need? What do we keep and why? What makes the things we treasure (which may look like rubbish to others!) so valuable? How do these precious objects give us a sense of security? How does our stuff function as markers of who we are? The things we gather over our lifetimes serve as reminders to ourselves and declarations to others of who we understand ourselves to be: our stuff is the tangible evidence of what we have done and where we have been.

Exploring this rich and fascinating subject with Harmer are a vivid array of hoarders, chuckers, collectors and those who seek to explain the significance of our behaviour in the cluttered and complex realm of stuff. Clinical psychologist Micheal Trudgeon reflects on the ways in which our need for stuff is deeply embedded in our psyche, suggesting that perhaps it is hard-wired. He speaks of the 'real joy' we can find in objects. Elizabeth Farrelly, architect and author, discusses the pleasures of buying baby clothes, with a wistful smile on her face. She likens the rituals of adolescent girls shopping together to performance art. We also have ten-year-old Marley Donohoe, proudly displaying his tattered baby blanket and stating simply, 'Blanky makes me happy'. Gathering together such a wonderful assortment of contributors – from academics and sociologists to avid football card collectors, prisoners, economists, environmentalists and Buddhist monks – makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking mix.

At the heart of the series lie questions we all need to consider and address in our daily lives. Stuff provides a forum in which students and teachers can critically examine the material construction of self and the role of self in society. For all its engaging humour and light-heartedness, Stuff leaves us in little doubt that our relentless, unchecked urge to accumulate more and more things constitutes one of the gravest threats to our natural environment. Do we have too many things? Could our love of stuff cost us the earth?