Objectified (2009)

Memorable, crazy movie

Good movie but grossly overrated

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I'm into this kind of stuff, but, man, dull, dull, dull. It starts off with some promise, but gets slower and slower and more and more boring as it goes along. The talking heads (some of whom are quite famous) get more and more full of themselves as the agony progresses, although, surprisingly, there aren't quite as many skinny jeans and narrow rectangular glass frames as expected (and where were all of the black tee shirts?). On the bright side, this film may be perfect for the hipster-in-training. There were hardly any actual objects of interesting industrial design (really hardly any objects at all), a deficiency, I guess, that was supposed to be compensated by the rich and sumptuous feast of self-important blather. I occasionally subscribe to "Dwell" and "Architectural Record", as much for the cool things, as for the entertainingly complex, pseudo-intellectual claptrap that "designers" and architects spout. Unfortunately, this program has few very few cool things, but an awful lot of very tedious designers (!!!) very tediously elucidating their very tedious design philosophies. (I'm pretty sure that after most of the interviews were finished the subjects lay back, cuddled with their laptops, and smoked a cigarette.) In the end, it just became all too much (or is that, too little?), so I didn't quite make it to the bitter end--I had to do the dishes. On the other hand, if you're having trouble falling asleep...

I thought this was a brilliant documentary on design. I have been a software designer for decades and appreciated the professionalism and abilities of those interviewed. I must admit that I learned a bit about design as well - some ideas were totally new to me. I believe someone who does not do design for a living would find it interesting as well. It would help people appreciate why a good design is a good design and understand a little bit more about what the people who do good designs are like. Watching the film made me think about what good design was and gave me a greater appreciation for things I like. It also gave me some ideas on how to challenge some of the designs I do.Besides being a good learning film, I just found it enjoyable.Highly recommend.

First off, just to let you know, I'm a designer. I say that because it may mean that I have more interest in the subject than most. Objectified however really points to the fact that we are ALL interested in this stuff. Far more than most consciously realize, and for those who do, probably more than we care to admit.Gary Hustwit's previous, "Helvetica" is on my rack and gets viewed probably about once a year. It's just that kinda documentary. Objectified is, in my 'subjectified' opinion, not quite so good, not quite as thoroughly followed through but Hustwit remains one of my favorite documentarians.Objectified is certainly engaging enough to pull you into the designing backstage of our world; the depth of thinking that goes behind much of what we take for granted. If you like "stuff" you'll like this movie. Even if you don't particularly care, then I still recommend it. Hustwit is again able to show just how powerful a pull we give to the things around us, what goes into them, and what we get out. You may find you care a lot more than you think you do. We really have a materialistic mindset and this is a good first step to seeing it clearly ... and maybe finding a way out.

I should give this film credit for what it does because, on the face of it, I have to be honest and say that when I started watching this I did so with a certain air of "why am I wasting 90 minutes of my time on a subject that holds little interest for me". You must agree that, to the casual viewer (which I am), a documentary on the nature of design is rather loose and perhaps lacks a real hook to get the punters in the door. This was my attitude at the start and I mention this because mostly I found the film to be engaging and interesting. This is mostly down to the way the film is pulled together (appropriately enough) because it has a real structure and rhythm to it that just works.Some sections work better than others though. Anything to do with Apple is most accessible because we are all familiar with the brand as a thing of beauty and easy use and it makes the conversations around this easy to follow. Conversely the sections with the toothbrush is less so because the work being shown does not appear to be necessary or be going anywhere. Although there are some exceptions, everyone involved in the film is intelligent, well-spoken, clear and easy to listen to. There are a couple of slightly pretentious "design types" that rubbed me up the wrong way with their attitudes but otherwise I found it easy to spend time in the company of the contributors.Ultimately the film doesn't quite provide the level of insight or passion that one might have hoped but it does engage across the admittedly quite short running time. The subject is well presented, made accessible and, as much as possible, tangible. Could have been better with more insight but for what it is it is accessible and engaging.