While boredom is a very intimidating condition that affects all of us at some point in our lives, Albert Nerenberg’s funny, bizarre, and anything but boring documentary, Boredom, finds a really interesting way of skewering that. It not only entertains us, but also makes us think of why we are bored, and how we can find ways of relieving our boredom. While only running 61 minutes, there is still a lot of good, solid information that pokes fun at the really challenging “disease” known as “being bored.”
There are a lot of people being interviewed who give us lots of great feedback of why “being bored” is kind of a ongoing, sort of running joke. They suggest that when we are bored, we do very stupid things, such as jumping off roofs with our bikes, run into oncoming traffic, break windows, fall alseep in class, and even commit suicide. Some parts of the doc are very funny, but then it takes a hard left turn when we witness moments of real hard truth and becomes very serious.
We all know that going to school is really boring, and there are segments that are all-too-real, where we see kids drifting off to sleep, and then being sent to the principal’s office. This gives it a reality in which as kids, we all related to, especially when we fall asleep in class, sometimes our teachers will tell us to wake up, stand up in the middle of class, and even make us stand in the corner. I guess we don’t really mean to fall asleep, it’s just that what we have to learn is really dumbing us down.
What the documentary does in a great way is that it links boredom to stress, to the point where we become so tired, clunky, and morose, that we just can’t seem to stay awake. In terms of school, there is a really standout moment where 11-year-old Marco Trimboli writes a speech, after winning his class’ speech contest, entitled “Boredom.” He is told that he can’t read his speech, and then was sent to the principal, which I thought was really ridiculous, considering that free speech exists, even in school. Even more bizarre, he gets kicked out of school. What was he doing that was so wrong for him to get removed from his school? Was it that he was telling the truth, and the teacher didn’t really want the truth?
There isn’t much bonus material, except for the accelerated version, which clocks in at 48 minutes. It is an alternate version that is stated as being less boring than the original 61-minute version, and it is true. The other bonuses include sort-of deleted scenes with the three-minute “Stages of Boredom” and the four-minute “The Mountain that Boredom Built”. In terms of special features, you could probably get a lot worse for your money.
To close, I was very glad to find a documentary that states the facts, but in a really kind of satirical, but important way, and Boredom delivers in my opinion.
