I went to see Boyhood — a movie filmed over a decade to tell the story about how a boy grows up and it made me wonder…Are we witnessing a growing trend towards “slow”, from food, design and now slow…film making?
Even in fields which seem to be the most instantaneous or short-termist, we’ve seeing a counter trend towards slowing down. On social media, we’re seeing more people attracted to the long read — be it the Guardian’s “In Depth” or Medium. While our emotional commitment to causes can be made in the time it takes to click rather than over time, there are projects that want to develop over 100 years like @unmonastery. Even in the field of investment where shares are being made over seconds rather than years, we’re seeing more long-term investment like Longitude.
@geoffmulgan argues that “Governments underestimate the ability they have the long term and over estimate the influence they have over the short term”, so what can public services learn from the “slow movement” in a period of constant cuts? Like for example, the Reggio Emilia approach or the slow munis tax-exempt municipal bonds dedicated to local food systems?
