The Light Bulb Conspiracy

Once upon a time… products were made to last. Then, at the beginning of the 1920s, a group of businessmen were struck by an insight: ‘A product that refuses to wear out is a tragedy of business’ (1928). Thus Planned Obsolescence was born- the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary. The growth society flourished, everybody had everything, waste was piling up – until consumers started rebelling. Can the modern growth society survive without Planned Obsolescence?

Director Bio
Cosima Dannoritzer is a documentary filmmaker specializing in history and ecology. She has worked for broadcasters such as the BBC, Arte, Deutsche Welle, and Televisión Española. The Light Bulb Conspiracy was sold to more than 30 territories and won 12 international festival awards. The follow-up film, The E-Waste Tragedy, picks up the story from where the previous film ends, on a dumpsite for electronic waste in Ghana.