Lew Blink is perhaps the world’s only ‘dumpster archeologist’ – especially since he coined the term himself. More than just a dumpster diver, using and repurposing items others have throw away, Blink’s passion is assembling people’s stories from the items they leave behind. The short documentary Dumpster Archeology follows Blink as he trawls through dumpsters in his home city of St Louis, Missouri in search of discarded objects that might help to reveal their former owners’ stories, and guides viewers through the paintings, books, disco balls and dog collars that have found a new home in his apartment. While, in the eyes of many viewers, Blink’s methods may blur ethical lines, his unusual pursuits seem to be born of a genuine affinity for the people he researches, and a reverence and respect for their stories. Through his eccentric subject, the US director Dustie Carter crafts a stylish and clever exploration of waste, privacy and the poetry of everyday life.
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Nature and landscape
‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden
5 minutes
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Personality
A ‘little thief’ turned career criminal recounts a life on the wrong side of the law
5 minutes
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Consciousness and altered states
‘I want me back’ – after a head injury, Nick struggles with his altered reality
7 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
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Animals and humans
Villagers struggle to keep their beloved, endangered ape population afloat
19 minutes
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Ethics
Plato saw little value in privacy. How do his ideas hold up in the information age?
5 minutes
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Home
How an artist transformed a dilapidated hunting lodge into a house made of dreams
8 minutes
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Animals and humans
Are zoos and natural history museums born of a desire to understand, or to control?
57 minutes
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Fairness and equality
Visit the small Texas community that lives in the shadow of SpaceX launches
14 minutes