In The Mood: Documentary Watching

On my train ride to Beijing last week I watched two documentaries. On the way there, I saw Being Elmo. On the way back I watched, Senna. I really enjoy documentaries. They almost always move me to tears and are usually inspirational. Sometimes they leave me with my mouth hanging open in shock, like in Confessions of a Superhero or Jesus Camp, or something close to disgust like in The Cove. And a few times I have felt such an overwhelming sense of helplessness that I wasn't sure what to do when the movie ended, like in Waiting for Superman. Rarely do I find myself bored. There was once while watching March of the Penguins, I did have a tough time, but that could be because I took a five year old to see it. Big mistake. It's no secret that you have to be in the "mood" to watch a documentary, but I usually find myself in this mood at least once every few weeks, so when it happens, I watch a few at a time.


As I read about documentaries and looked at the various lists out there, I was amazed at how many I've seen. It stands to reason that I would love them though. I do have a degree in Creative Nonfiction, and what is a documentary if not a way to creatively tell a true story?  I realize it's impossible to present any topic in a truly objective way, but those are the stories I like the best. The ones that attempt objectivity. Sidebar: It's probably why I love writing by Susan Orlean. If you want to read about obscure segments of society, her writing is incredible. She has stories on Thomas Kincade, The Tonya Harding Fan Club, (to name just two) and she is the author of The Orchid Thief which the movie Adaptation was based on. It's these types of stories/documentaries that I enjoy, and hope to write some day. 

I have a hard time with Michael Moore documentaries, even though I share a few of his political views. They seem too agenda-filled. When I watch, I don't want to be hit over the head with a message. I want to come to a conclusion. I think Morgan Spurlock had a hit with Super Size Me, but now he seems to be clamoring after fame for fame's sake. I also tend to avoid extremely controversial topics that will make me angry more than anything. It's hard for me to watch intolerance or hate on film. Not to say that I will avoid these at all cost, I just don't tend to choose them. 


Of course all of the titles I mentioned in the opening of this blog are worth watching. But here are three that stayed with me and I highly recommend you work into your queue the next time your documentary mood strikes!

Waiting For Superman:
I went to see this movie with a friend of mine who has a completely different political opinion than I do, but we are both in Education. We came out of the theater in complete agreement and feeling so fired up about the state of things. I mean, both of us already knew that things in our schools are not good, but it stands to reason that they are truly hopeless in the current state of things. It will take a president/congress with the primary intentional goal of changing our entire system, a complete renovation to move things forward. And the results of not doing so are detrimental. We are changing places with China, they are beginning to teach their students to think, while we are simply pumping ours through a standards game. I could go on...and on...but it depresses me. Something's gotta give, and this documentary explains that perfectly. Plus, the director, Davis Guggenheim is married to Elisabeth Shue so....yeah.

Grey Gardens:
What the what is happening in this documentary! This was one of those that made my mouth hang open in shock the entire time I was watching. Little Edie and Big Edie Beale are cousins of Jackie Kennedy, and former socialites who live in isolation and somewhat less than sterile conditions. There is so much disillusionment and childlike strangeness in the Beales that it's like watching a codependent and horrible train wreck. And the result is just understanding another layer of the fragile human condition. Are we all just one step away from losing grip on reality?

Being Elmo:
It's a feel good movie for sure. Muppets, young boy with a dream, dream realized. Aside from my own slight frustrations about Kevin Clash and his family life as an adult, I loved watching him land his success. But what I loved even more, is the mentoring that is displayed in this movie. At every turn, Clash finds himself encouraged on his journey, taught, directed, and connected. It's something that I think Generation X is missing and craving, so when I watched Jim Henson and others in his field invest in him on such a personal level, not seeing his inadequacies, but seeing his potential, I felt a little jealous. The last scenes are Clash doing the exact thing someone else had done for him, inviting a little girl into his studio to show her some tricks of the trade, passing on the kindness that so many had shown him.

Tell me about a documentary that affected or stayed with you.