Growing Interest in Tiny Houses - Essay Example

The film centers around Christopher Smith, who decided to build his house in the spring of 2011. At the onset of the movie, Smith describes that his motivation for building the house was because he did not have a ton of money to use on bigger constructions, therefore, considered financial independence. He points out that similarly, the people who built their small houses had the same motivation. For instance, interviews with tiny house personalities like Jay Shafer, Tammy Stroebel, Deek Diedricksen, and other healthy people who chose to live in as tiny as 84 sq ft dwellings (Mueller and Smith).

Despite the aesthetic and the value design of the living small houses, the primary motivation that the luminaries gave was on financial independence. As Shafer notes of the tiny life, “the principal asset is freedom”. Therefore, lower overhead, and lack of room for extraneous purchases, make the tiny house life inexpensive and the residents are allowed and left to live the way they prefer (Zeiger and Ngo, 105).

The prime motivation of people to live in communes, squats, tent cities, Eco-villages, and sustainable housing is derived from the desire to reap the physiological benefit. In accord, a desire to reduce one’s physical footprint on the natural environment. The physiological benefit realized lies in one’s peace of mind and a feeling of contentment. A sense of self-satisfaction in the movie is whereby each household involves itself in the act of small house construction. One, therefore, feel contented in doing something constructive that ends up creatively designed and has a twin benefit to society. More intricate, the point that a woman can do a task and be as significant as their male counterparts in construction, is something of significance. For instance, in the film, we see the buildout of Smith assisted by his girlfriend, Merete Mueller. Therefore unfolding gender restrictions tied to the relevance of the roles that women could perform (Mueller and Smith).

The peace of mind associated with these residents helps in the downsizing of one’s life. In the film, Smith constructs a movable house and in the end, creates not only a place to place to live but also a place to reside in the universe. The world for him is filled with options that laying roots in a single location for him can be extremely elusive. Therefore, most people in the film seek a place to call home. An area is free of troubles and pressures of life and an environment with a twin benefit to the ecosystem and for human development. The same reason justifies the environment, aspirations, and ordeals of the four people in Portland, Oregon, who built the tiny houses (Mitchell, 72).

The process of making centers on the effort put in by Smith in building a tiny house. Smith, having no building experience, expected his house to have ended in two to three months. Assisted by his girlfriend, the process turned out to be more challenging than he anticipated. He had issues with the weather, money troubles, and generally, construction issues. Therefore, the protagonists in the film made things from scratch and by themselves (Zeiger, 43).

The characters in the movie used the available materials that were environment-friendly, conserving the ecosystem. The protagonists had a ground in social reconstruction like the life of the young couple Nikki and Mitchell, who had no experience in building. The back-stories in the film among different characters that the film skillfully weaves into its overall narrative cover the themes of loss, conflict, family ties, and family healing. The making process, whereby people come together is significant in society as it brings people together on the same ground to share their issues. Therefore, working together is a unifying factor (Williams, 88).

Yes, I could build a tiny house in such an environment. Such a house is relatively straightforward and gives room for self-awareness and empowerment. Similarly, doing something constructive gives a feeling of self-satisfaction. Ultimately, a tiny house is rather easy to maintain as has fewer expenses associated (Mueller and Smith).

Over the previous six weeks, something that has grabbed my attention is the very reason why some people end up as squatters. More specifically, the idea is that some people choose squat life as it is where one has the liberty to do whatsoever one wants and receives self-gratification in the process. Therefore, squat life is one whereby one has real friends and enthusiastically associates with each other (Padraic and Alterman, 67).