8 Things I Disagree and Agree with in Happy Old Year (2019): A Minimalist's Review
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| © GDH |
To be able to move on
from her painful memories, Jean decided to change her life to be a minimalist.
She seeks comfort in overwriting her memories, as she sells and gives back the things
that used to be a bridge for all the relationships she had. She finds herself struggling
half way, not expecting everything’s going as planned as her stoic persona. In
the process, she learns what minimalism really is.
As a minimalist, this
movie intrigues me from the moment I saw the poster. The concept of minimalism
can be found in several documentaries and variety shows, though still uncommon
to be found in mainstream movies.
Just like many pop movies,
the topic of romance very much supports the whole plot, while also using
minimalism basic principles to separate each segment. Not that I hate it, but sometimes
the minimalism gets too sidetracked because of the main character’s sole purpose
to redeem her guilt. With that being said, I’m going to discuss several things
I disagree and agree with.
Four
Points I Disagree with
1.
The monochrome aesthetic
A
misconception of minimalism is that you have to limit the use of color in life,
which is completely wrong. Minimalism in lifestyle and art/design correlates to
each other but not necessarily to be applied together. In terms of art/design,
minimalism refers to a particular visual style, but if we’re talking about lifestyle
it’s more about the practice.
The
sentence “less is more” perfectly
describes minimalism, but it’s important to note that it differs for everyone.
When the closet is dominantly colorful rather than monochrome, it doesn’t make
you less of a minimalist. To be a minimalist is to get rid of all excessive and
unnecessary stuffs, not solely to be aesthetically pleasing.
Buying
aesthetically monochromatic stuffs to begin a minimal life is a wrong move. The
point of it all is to use things you already have, so spending more money doesn’t
seem to be theoretically right, no?
2.
The digital
Cloud
storage has been a breakthrough for modern life, because everything can be
permanently stored, regardless of the size. This is one of the best short-cuts
to be a minimalist, but still it’s not for everyone.
Reading,
for example, is a pleasure that depends on the individuals. PDF and e-books are
countless and takes no additional space, but what if the freshly printed smells
is the one that adds up the pleasure? Just like Marie Kondo says, “Does it spark joy? If it does, keep it.”
3.
The concept of letting go
The
point of minimalism is to keep what’s essential, so to let go seems to be
amiss. For beginners, letting go may be the main idea, but not for the concept
in general. When you already have less stuff to take care of, what are you going
to throw away?
Hence,
there’s another concept closely related to minimalism known as decluttering. Every
minimalist has their own period of decluttering, which can be monthly or weekly
and it covers every aspect in life from physical, digital, to emotional.
When
you were having a bad time and decided to be indulged in a stack of products
you bought from online shopping, for example. That is when you need to
declutter everything and look back for what’s essential. It can also be the endless
pictures you’ve taken for a completed project, everything that happened within
a flash and not relevant anymore.
4.
The idea that “throwing someone isn’t
like throwing stuffs”
It
can be. Jean decided to return all the things she borrowed from her friends and
ex-boyfriend, but that’s only right because she’s in the wrong. Although she
does it for the sake of her own self, to be free from her own guilt. When the person
on the other hand is someone who reminds you some painful moments in your life,
sometimes it’s better to just forget and move on.
Four
Points I Agree with
1.
“You’re not going to remember what
you put into the trashcan”
The
first step of being a minimalist is to declutter and sort everything out, and
it’s not as easy as it sounds. Just like what happens in the movie, there will
be moments when you feel like giving up because of a sudden nostalgia.
When
memories take over, it’s going to be hard to let anything go. The easiest way
to overcome it is to remind yourself that memories doesn’t live in things, it’s
in us. Everything that happens in the past had been recorded somewhere in our
heads already, so live in the moment and don’t worry about the past. After
dealing with stacks of trash bags, you’re not going to remember what you’ve put
into the trashcan anyway.
Still,
it doesn’t mean you need to completely throw away every single thing. A photograph
of your deceased grandparents doesn’t really take extra space, but their
clothing does. To deal with it, there’s a lot of alternatives you can do with
it.
2.
It doesn’t always have to end up in
the trashcan.
In
the beginning of the movie, Jean doesn’t want to sell her possessions but she eventually
decides to do it for the sake of her office-renovation funding. This is the best
option that can come out from decluttering, turning a stack of clothing into
money.
For
creative people, you can turn what you have into something else. Take the
example of your grandparents clothing, the antique and old-school patterns can
be turned into a nice handkerchief or even a new outfit with a whole different
design. You can turn forgotten things into more daily relevant tools.
If
you feel like being a good Samaritan, there’s always a place to donate. You don’t
even need to donate formally, you can always ask anyone around you if there’s anything
they’ve been feeling like buying but haven’t had the money for it.
3.
“You can’t just pressure anyone and
expect them to do it like you”
No
matter how good the practice is, it’s always deemed to be bad by some people. Some
people are more comfortable to be a maximalist rather than minimalist, and the
difference lies on the value that they hold.
When
you live with several people, whether it’s family or friends, you can’t be
selfish. Jean pressures her mom because she wants to move on, and she sold her
mom’s piano anyway. This is such a problematic choice of declutter.
Take
a minimalist youtuber’s experience, Matt D’Avila, who lives with his non-minimalist
girlfriend. Everything works well only when you can compromise with each other.
Agree to disagree is the best way to settle things peacefully.
Even
for minimalism itself, no standard exists. It’s about the essence of one’s life
and no one can dictate what works for your life. Minimalist A may be using only
two pairs of shoes because they work for home, but Minimalist B may need to
change up until 6 shoes because their job includes meeting people in different
settings.
4.
The destination
Jean
decides to be a minimalist mostly because she feels the need to move on, aside
from being an interior designer. She says minimalism is a way to let go many
times and that is not the only truth out there.
For
some people, minimalism can be very helpful for moving on but it is also very
helpful for money saving. Imagine all the money you can save when you’re not
busy checking out your shopping cart on market place. For some people, it can
be the best option to be cleaner. With less stuffs you own, less dust to deal
with.
The
most important thing is that, minimalism takes you many steps closer to be free,
free from the painful past, the overwhelming bills, the abundant nonsense from
toxic people. Be free from anything that’s been holding you back and do it your
own way.
Final
Verdict
There’s nothing wrong in
changing your life in order to move on, what’s wrong is when you pressured
others to do the same. The ideas of minimalism that Jean applied in her life is
not wrong, but not completely right as well. From a minimalist perspective, she
does what she wants to do and that’s completely fine, and learns that not everyone
is willing to do the same thing. Changing one’s life is a process, and it’s not
an easy feat.
Regardless, she seems to
be very hard-headed until the very end of the movie. Although she learns that most
people aren’t on the same page as her, she decides to close her eyes and push
anyone that stands in her way. The worse thing that comes out of this scenario is
how she sets a single standard for everyone, which is very misleading for people
who doesn’t have any idea about minimalism.
It irks me how she portrays
minimalism as a white and black textbook when in fact it’s a colorful narrative.
If I had to choose, I’d side with her friends and family who speaks some senses
into her cold-hearted rules. The process of being a minimalist doesn’t need to
be that painful.
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