Thurs Sept 20: Talk – The Light Bulb Conspiracy

German TV producer and documentary film director, Cosima Dannoritzer, will speak at the JMSC on Thursday, September 20, 2012.

Cosima Dannoritzer

Dannoritzer will discuss her recent documentary film, “The Light Bulb Conspiracy”, with Professor Miklos Sukosd‘s Environmental Communication class.

The Film
Does the ever-lasting light bulb really exist? How can a computer chip ‘kill’ a product? Why are millions of computers shipped round the world to be dumped rather than repaired? How did two New York artists extend the life of millions of iPods? Using rare archive footage and hitherto unseen internal company documents, this award-winning documentary traces the untold story of Planned Obsolescence, from its invention in the 1920s – when a world-wide cartel agreed to limit the life span of incandescent light bulbs – to the mysterious disappearance of ladder-proof nylon stockings in the 1940s and present-day stories involving cutting edge electronics with inbuilt ‘death dates’. “The Light Bulb Conspiracy” also charts the growing spirit of resistance amongst consumers, and asks: What are the alternatives if the modern economy and the planet are to survive?

The Director
Cosima Dannoritzer is a director specialising in history, ecology and science who has made films for broadcasters in the UK, Germany and Spain. Her CV includes “Rebuilding Berlin”, which she directed and co-produced for the Channel 4 science slot “Equinox”, “The Duel” which she produced for Channel 4 History and the BBC series “Germany Inside Out”. This year, Cosima Dannoritzer was chosen for the artist-in-residence programme organised by Goethe-Institut Hongkong and the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. She is currently spending her two-month residency in Hong Kong.

Date: Thursday, September 20, 2012
Time: 11:00am-12:25pm
Venue: Eliot Hall Room 101