Why I Watch Documentaries on Various Topics
On Google, a documentary is defined as:
“Movie or a television or radio program that provides a factual record or report.”
I watch a lot of documentaries on the most random things.
Whenever someone asks me what I’m doing late at night, I’ll say:
‘I’m going to finish a documentary on X topic.’
They’ll be shocked.
‘What? Why the hell are you watching that?’
I don’t know how to answer that question.
Why do we do anything?
‘Um…Because it’s fun.’
This is when they get even more shocked.
‘Fun?? Documentaries are boring!’
That’s the typical perception.
My viewpoint is different.
I think documentaries are fun to watch.
And it’s even more fun when your selection is completely unpredictable.
Why Documentaries Get a Bad Rep
The reason documentaries get a bad rep is because they USED to be boring.
I remember the channels that I would avoid like the plague when cable TV was king.
These were the channels that only showed documentaries.
Typically, the content on these channels were made up of a guy narrating in a boring voice, a bunch of random animals, and 0 background music.
Boring!
Why would anyone watch that when Jersey Shore and wrestling was on?
When cable TV reigned supreme, “documentaries” and “boring” went together like peanut butter and jelly.
The reason was because these networks were trying to attract a specific type of audience.
Most of these audience members were in their late 50s to 60s, and many of them were teachers.
Young folks could not relate to these types of shows at all.
Why Documentaries Are No Longer Boring
The internet changed everything.
There were different creators who emerged that didn’t have a fancy studio.
Instead, they had a mic, script, music, and b-roll.
With these 4 ingredients, magic happened.
Nowadays, the production quality of documentaries is through the roof.
Platforms like CuriosityStream are producing cinematic masterpieces on unique topics like the pyramids, consciousness, and aliens.
The production quality doesn’t matter though.
There are folks who are creating content on a low budget.
I’m a big basketball fan.
So, whenever I see a basketball rundown of former NBA players, I tune in.
There is a YouTuber named DylanDoesBasketball who creates in-depth rundowns of basketball stories.
His work is great.
Thus far, he seems like a one-man army.
I can tell Dylan is very curious about basketball.
That’s the keyword.
- Curious.
When someone explains a topic that they are curious about, we often WANT to listen.
Now imagine if you have the same curiosities too.
This allows you to consume the documentary with ease.
Why Watching Documentaries Is Good
When I was a kid, if I told my parents I was watching wrestling, they’d be mad.
They’d say:
‘Too much violence!’
But if I said that I was watching a documentary, they’d be like:
‘Good! You will learn something.’
Here’s the cool thing:
- The value of documentaries has not changed. The content still leaves the audience members more educated.
I was watching this documentary on P. Diddy recently.
Within the documentary, I learned about the music business in-depth.
Some of the documentaries are biased as hell.
Luckily, you can learn something even from biases.
The most important thing to note is that documentary-styled content has one central idea.
The director is trying to inject 1 big point into the audience’s mind.
When we consume content that’s not hopping all around the place, it makes us better storytellers.
I saw how this filmmaker took the time to:
- Set up where P. Diddy was born.
- His rise in the music industry.
- His shady business dealings.
- How he made history.
The main point the filmmaker was trying to deliver was how P. Diddy had shady business dealings with his artists.
Seeing this director intertwine micro-stories to make a BIG point allowed me to see how a narrative is formed.
If you just hop from YouTube video to YouTube video, it’s hard to notice a central theme.
But when you watch a documentary all the way through, the mind is capable of noticing the central theme in things.
Keep your Selection Unpredictable
No one will ever be able to predict the stuff that I watch.
I’ve seen documentaries on:
- Why Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan had a falling out.
- How Jeff Bezos started Amazon.
- The spreading of Religion and more.
I have a simple mantra:
- If I’m curious about it, then I’ll watch it.
This is good because I can talk to people about virtually anything.
Every now and then, I’ll stumble across a topic in a conversation that I know nothing about.
All good, mental note added.
In the future, I’ll watch a documentary on it.
Last year, I kept hearing about Israel vs Palestine.
I knew nothing about it.
This year, I watched a documentary on it.
I now know a bit more.
Avoid falling into the trap of only watching educational stuff.
A lot of educational moments can be found in entertainment.
My recommendation is to follow the curiosity.
Storytelling and Documentaries
I’ve seen a lot of documentaries within the past couple of years.
I’ve seen them on Netflix, YouTube, Curiosity Stream, and more.
In my opinion, this is a great way to learn more while being entertained.
I’m pretty sure many people are thinking that I’m crazy right now.
‘This guy is really trying to convince me that documentaries are entertaining.’
They are!
Just find something from your childhood that you were curious about.
- ‘Why did the Backstory Boys break up?’
Then find a documentary on it.
When you watch something that your child self was curious about, nostalgia is in the air.
I love watching documentaries based on topics from 2007.
To me, that was the golden era of culture.
So, I’ll watch documentaries on moments when I think:
‘Whatever happened with….’
Engage your child self’s curiosities.
Engage your adult self’s curiosities.
Soon, you’ll see documentaries are quite interesting.
