I am somewhat faint-of-heart, so I'll likely delay the viewing of this film for a bit. (Been spawning . . . fourth one due in October.)

However, I am very interested in its subject matter.

The issue, as I see it, has to do with notions of value. Somehow humanity has been convinced that diamonds are worth a lot of money . . . but anyone who has tried to sell back a rejected engagement ring will quickly find that this is not the case. Diamonds are prized, but their value comes from something other than their rarity. (In fact, they aren't really all that rare.)

So . . . where does this notion of "value" come from? Is it just a shared delusion among mankind? Have we been marketed so perfectly that we just can't accept the idea that diamonds aren't intrinsically valuable?

There is a very good article on this topic available at the online version of The Atlantic Monthly. I believe it was published in 1982, and I'm sure I've mentioned it here before.

I suppose the main tie-in between my own interest (beyond the purely humanitarian) in this topic & the film would have to do with the way marketing campaigns have produced & preserved such a brutal industry as the continual "dig" for diamonds. Why don't we all just wear a nice piece of agate? Or perhaps some petrified wood? Lovely stuff.

Herring405