I discovered this documentary film recently. The main character (Michael Reynolds – an architect) is particularly ExRatish – he lives off the grid, he loves independence and autonomy and he thinks outside of the box.

He also has a vision (many of them, all of the time!) which could make the world a much better, more resourceful and sustainable place, if only those visions were adopted by the mainstream. He looks at everyday items from a very unusual perspective and manages to constantly find value in doing so.

I learnt a lot from watching this and was totally inspired. There are some interesting lessons within this film – EG – when Michael crosses swords with authority, you get to see just how illogical the state system is and how almost every mover and shaker is bought and paid for by vested interests, even though their everyday actions are clearly destructive and illogical and detrimental to the people they are meant to be representing.

The battles he has with the state over simply choosing to live his life in the way he desires (which is clearly a better, freer way to live and has much less impact on anyone else or the environment) shine a light on the stark contrast between his way and their way. But his determination, including re-approaching the issue determined to adapt to their way of doing things (however distasteful and illogical that was for him) with the aim of winning the game by their rules, is simply inspirational.

There is simply no logical argument to defend the state on this issue and no logical argument that can be made against Michael’s way of doing things, yet time and time again they use their muscle to defeat him, purely out of fear that if they let him do his thing, others might see the logic and want to copy him, in which case it would become apparent to anyone who is thinking clearly that the reason the state forces us to live in the destructive and harmful manner that they do, is because it suits their aims for us to live in a way that makes us weak and keeps us dependent upon them – regardless of the fact that it is wasteful, destructive and totally unsustainable.

This type of film is one of the best examples of what I would recommend watching if you find yourself wanting to wean yourself off mainstream broadcast television, which I am in the process of testing/doing and I am finding myself noticing and appreciating a host of benefits. It’s inspiring, it provokes intelligent questions, it encourages the viewer to notice the benefits of thinking outside of the box and ultimately it provided this ExRat with another new hero of ExRatism.

Bravo Michael!

I can’t help but see the contrast after watching films like this between this and mainstream TV. It helps me to understand that for every hour of mainstream TV that is viewed, you get about three minutes of useful information, fifteen to twenty minutes of hardcore advertising for nasty corporate products using distasteful, childish and annoying advertising techniques, and the rest is just brain-mush nonsense.

To me, that’s not a good deal – my time is finite and my brain is delicate, sensitive and requires protection from harm via spurious information. Whereas the internet, if you know where to look and how to be discerning, is overloaded with quality, refreshing, inspiring material which is educational and useful.

In my ideal world, where logic and reason prevails and the proper education and nurturing of children is paramount,  films like this would be a part of most peoples’ educational curriculum – so regardless of your age, if you haven’t seen it, try putting it on your curriculum!

If you watch this film and get something positive from it, feel free to drop me a comment below letting me know what you thought about it. Thanks for reading.