People can draw inspiration from almost anywhere: books, television, friends, family – these outlets encourage us to extend ourselves into unfamiliar territory and test our own limits in the hopes that we will emerge as better people.
But these things aren’t always available to give us the boost of enthusiasm that we need to experience some kind of breakthrough. Sometimes we get stuck in the mundane rhythms of work, school and life in general, and go for weeks without experiencing any kind of intellectual or emotional stimulation. We find our spirits in the doldrums and we begin to see that our work – whatever it is – begins to suffer from idea deprivation. We just don’t have the time to arouse our thoughts and passion for life.
I’ve found that one of the best ways to spark a season of productivity is to observe the creative or inspirational process in another subject. I don’t mean to just read a book or listen to a song (although that’s a great way to be inspired), but to watch someone else triumph amidst struggle and perseverance.
The documentary is, to me, one of the most enjoyable modes of visual communication. Yes, it receives criticisms of clever editing that is meant to pander to the audience’s emotions, but very often you come across personalities that are so genuine and so intriguing that it becomes hard to doubt their authenticity. Documentaries can serve as case studies in success, failure, happiness, and despair – like many other artistic mediums they aim to capture the entire spectrum of true human emotion, and they do it with (allegedly) real people.
If you feel that you are in a creative or emotional dry spell, here are 6 documentaries that offer stories that can reawaken your spiritual sluggishness and arouse a new outlook on life.
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7 Comments
Thin blue line? Man on wire?
I would suggest Titicut Follies & the Paradise Lost documentaries.
I was going to mention Thin Blue Line but Nicholas beat me to it. I watched that movie in a film class a few months ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it
Really interesting list – definitely going to check out King Lines and Queen of Versailles, thanks!
You forgot the seventh one you should of put as number one. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This is a great documentary on the difficulties for scientist to get out of the job crushing selfish view of evolutionist and Big Bang theorist. Lots of scientist lose their job’s and tenures and even their credibility if they ever utter anything that isn’t agreed upon by the scientific community as a whole. So in essence we will all be trapped scientifically in a world of false doctrine till they get their act together. Believe me I’m not explaining this documentary in the perfect manner to make it sound important to most people but it truly is an eye opener to the way we see things in today’s world.
Right wing propaganda against scientific thought (facts) and pushing Christian agendas wouldn’t be making the top of my doc lists
A great addition to this list, and a fascinating set of documentaries, would be Paradise Lost (1,2 & 3) and West of Memphis. They cover the case in of a triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas and the trial of the three teenage boys accused of the crime. An incredible Insight into the desperation for justice in a small U.S. town whether the accused are guilty or not.