I feel awful when I sit around and watch TV for too long. I’m really sensitive to how irritable the commercials make me feel. Plus, the cable or dish options are so expensive.
I don’t think television is inherently evil. But when it dictates life to you, instead of you being in control, that’s when it’s dangerous. When you watch programs on your terms (especially when you can fast-forward through the commercials), you’re doing better.
I’m weak, however. If I’m in front of cable TV, I’ll mindlessly flip for hours until someone takes the remote away.
Which brings me to Netflix. We just got back on it and I’m loving it. This, to me, represents a more “in control” way of watching programs.
When we had it a long time ago, there weren’t as many options. Now, as I browse through dozens of instructional guitar options (do I learn from Nils Lofgren or Warren Haynes?) I see a much bigger benefit potential.
We happened to score with a great documentary right out of the gate that I want to recommend.
The 2006 film “51 Birch Street” is a fascinating look at the complexities of family. The filmmaker, Doug Block, turned the camera on his own family and discovered fascinating layers to his parents’ lives that he never anticipated. As he sifted through new layers of information, it impacted his own life and views and the lives of his siblings.
It’s not an uncomfortably heavy film, but as you watch the events unfold, it’s impossible not to think about the dynamics of your own family. It’s one of those small films that ends up being huge in its scope. It’s rather large on the “realness” meter. It’s also brilliantly edited.
I’m hoping to find films like this on Netflix. I like the choices, which extend far beyond the aisles of “new releases” at video stores or the 57 channels and nothing on.
