Tell Me Another Story…

This time, can we include a few more things, though?

The Story of Stuff, you impressed me with your cutsie graphics, and simple design. As for black and white, I am always a fan. Aesthetically, “the stories” were visually pleasing, a nice example of digital convergence, an entertaining narrative… I guess.

Yep, Annie Leonard, you tugged at my heart strings talking about babies. You appealed to my logic, a blend of “fact” (where are you getting this information anyways?) and personal opinion. You definitely asked some seriously disturbing ethical questions– there brain-damaging chemicals on my pillow?? Um, no thanks!

Okay, so good job Ms. Ethos-Pathos-Logos, you checked off your Aristotelean to-do list. But sorry, I’m still just a little annoyed. Annie Leonard, just who are you? First of all, you don’t even introduce yourself properly. How am I supposed to really trust you? I don’t know who you are, where you are from, what you did before telling stories about stuff. Actually, I don’t even know why you are qualified to tell me about stuff at all.

I’ll give it to you,  your story about stuff, even about cosmetics, and water bottles, all interesting, but I am waiting for another story still. The story of Annie Leonard. You’re obviously famous, and successful (post book deal, e$pecially!), and were even on the Colbert Report. Something tell me these ideas must be validated somewhere along the line, but you really failed in establishing that initial credibility with me? (Really, not even a bio in the ‘About’ section of your page… isn’t that Web Basics 101?) Also little orphan Annie, your doom-and-gloom approach to all this stuff, a little disheartening. Is there an afterward to this story, a what comes next? A suggestion or two you could toss out to help me STOP sleeping with carcinogens and plastering brain-killing chemicals all over my face?

You paint one hell of a picture, Leonard, but you stop so abruptly I can’t enjoy the magnitude of it. I was overwhelmed to begin with… what do you mean the government doesn’t regulate this stuff? What the hell is the FDA doing? The bombs were dropped, now I feel guiltier than guilty about wanting that new iPhone– all I can think about are underpaid and sick workers in China clicking the small metal pieces together. Great. And then on top of that, you don’t even offer me a solution or two. You don’t direct me towards the light, or even a crevice of hope. So I am overwhelmed, and now lost… in the dark. I’m waiting for two stories: E! True Hollywood Story of Annie Leonard and The Story of Stuff: Party Two… Life After We Ruined Our Current One.