This past weekend has been a long one. Literally. Because it is a 'long weekend' -- "Family day weekend", they call it. I have four days off of school (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday) -- which I consider to be quite a long time.
Seeing as there is no need to wake between the early hours of 4 to 6 am on days that I do not go to school, I took every night of this weekend as an opportunity to stay up late watching whatever there is to watch on Cable TV these days. I watched nineties television shows, 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S', and 'The Nanny'. I watched random movies ('One Day', 'What's Your Number', and 'Larry Crowne' -- maybe they're going for a Valentine's Day theme or something? I don't know..?)…anyhow, I also watched a few random documentaries.
I watched one about Auschwitz Survivors (I think it was airing in commemoration of the fact that it's been 70 years since the liberation). I watched one about British courting and how novels shaped a few changes in that realm. I also watched one about the Russian government. They were really interesting, I thought. Something I wondered upon watching them, however, was a possible bias in them…? Documentaries can be presented with bias. That was not something I had previously considered. And not something I will be discussing here, but something interesting to think about nonetheless.
Anyhow, I've found, that I quite like watching random documentaries. Maybe it's the whole "I like boring books" aspect in me coming into play, but documentaries are really something of a treasure I find.
Some things to appreciate about documentaries:
You learn random facts. -- And usually you can learn random facts from reading, but it's different when you're LISTENING to first hand accounts. It's as if you are being spoken to. It almost feels more real. (Perhaps making it harder to identify any bias…?)
The music playing in the background -- for the dramatic feel, has an interesting effect. Maybe I just like music. I don't know.
It provokes thought (hopefully) -- and anything that provokes thought, can provoke you to write -- and of course, who isn't all about that?
They are oddly calming.
I'm not sure if it's just me, but I find documentaries oddly calming. I don't quite know how to explain it, or rather why exactly, I've not pondered enough yet. But upon a very small amount of reflection, I have come to realize the very calming effect watching documentaries has on me, so I thought I would share that random thought.
In relation to writing, as I mentioned before, documentaries can provoke you to think, which can, in turn, provoke you to write. Writing about your thoughts helps you to organize your mind. And organizing your mind is certainly something that can be of use. In some sense, it allows you to align yourself, in a metaphorical sense. But furthermore, the more you write, the more of your own documentary you create. A vast and complicated amalgam of works, all to document the existence of one human being. And although you might not think so, they are inevitably interesting and important. Even if you don't think so.
So I encourage you to watch a documentary or two if ever you're feeling stressed, and maybe even try documenting something yourself.