Kids + Money and Moneyless in Moab Documentaries - Essay Example

Daniel Shellabarger is an anthropology student who expressed his discontentment and unhappiness with the worldwide money religion. He currently lives without using any money. Suelo has been living without money since the autumn of 2000. This paper provides an insightful response to Kids + Money and Moneyless in Moab. More emphasis is conferred upon the films ‘suggestion about the relationship between money and happiness.

The first character in the film Money + Kind is a sixteen-year-old Gaby, who enjoys shopping and embracing fashion. From the interview with Gabby, it is evident that happiness in her life is defined by spending money on shopping and looking fashionable. She considers shopping a hobby and fashion a way of self-expression. Thus, she interprets money as the source of happiness. The second teenager interviewed is seventeen-year-old Sean Michael. He comes from a middle-class family and has to work for him to support his shopping habits. According to him, as much as he enjoys hopping, he needs money for him to support his shopping habits. Thus, he believes money and happiness are inseparable.

The third teenager interviewed is seventeen-year-old Emmanuel. Through the interview, he provides an insightful explanation about his relationship to money. According to him, money is a very important element in life. He believes that money contributes to his well-being, both at home and school. Another teenager who explains her relationship with money is seventeen-year-old Zoie. She stays with her parents in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. Zoie believes that money can significantly transform a person’s life. According to her, happiness is defined by money.

One common thing about the teenagers interviewed in the documentary is that happiness is determined by money. Most of the interviewed teenagers contend that they enjoy shopping and other hobbies. For them to maintain their shopping habits, they need money. This explains why Sean Michael works in order to support his habits. Zoie believes that money can transform her life and that of her family. Similarly, Emmanuel belies that money helps him fit in at school. This is a manifestation that three teenagers believe that for them to be happy, they need money.

On the contrary, Moneyless in Moab presents a different relationship between money and happiness. Since 2000, Daniel Suelo has been staying without money. He lives in a cave outside Moab. He also feeds on wild roots and berries.  The uses clothes that have been tossed away by other people. In the interview, Suelo contends that he is happy as anyone he knows. He contends that he enjoys his lifestyle and vows never to use money in his life. He says that he is very religious and derives his lifestyle from the Gospel of Mathew, which Suelo believes advocates for people to seek the Kingdom of God by getting rid of their possession.

Suelo’s lifestyle as depicted in the documentary, Moneyless in Moab,  has aroused widespread debate on whether people can live happily without money. Many people have criticized him that he uses money indirectly. However, he maintains that he is happy with his moneyless lifestyle. Suelo is a typical demonstration of the fact that people can survive without money.

In conclusion, the two documentaries, Money + Kids and Moneyless in Moab provide contrasting views about the relationship between money and happiness. Based on the interviews with the teenagers, one can conclude that happiness and money are inseparable. On the other hand, a look at the life of Suelo as presented on Moneyless in Moab can convince people that it is possible to derive happiness without any money.