Documentaries which inspire adventure / boldness?
May 15, 2022 9:41 AM Subscribe
What documentaries or other form of nonfiction visual media have you enjoyed which inspired a sense of adventure and/or boldness?
I find that sometimes when I've seen certain documentaries (e.g., climbing documentaries, or ones involving lots of travel in particular come to mind), I feel inspired to be more adventurous and excited about going places / seeing new things. During COVID my anxiety grew in many ways and I became more anxious about doing things (unrelated to getting sick, rather more mild agorophobic-type anxiety). I have a lot of exciting events and travels coming up, but often spend my time ruminating on reasons I should be anxious about them. I'd like to watch some media that reminds me of how exciting it can be to have an adventure and do new things - so please provide whatever suggestions come to mind!
As a note - I'm defining "adventure" rather openly, while I immediately think of travel type adventure, it could be adventure in the sense of courageousness / boldness, such as a documentary about an activist, or something.
I find that sometimes when I've seen certain documentaries (e.g., climbing documentaries, or ones involving lots of travel in particular come to mind), I feel inspired to be more adventurous and excited about going places / seeing new things. During COVID my anxiety grew in many ways and I became more anxious about doing things (unrelated to getting sick, rather more mild agorophobic-type anxiety). I have a lot of exciting events and travels coming up, but often spend my time ruminating on reasons I should be anxious about them. I'd like to watch some media that reminds me of how exciting it can be to have an adventure and do new things - so please provide whatever suggestions come to mind!
As a note - I'm defining "adventure" rather openly, while I immediately think of travel type adventure, it could be adventure in the sense of courageousness / boldness, such as a documentary about an activist, or something.
You mentioned you've watched some climbing documentation so you've probably seen these, but if not:
14 Peaks - "Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in seven months."
Free Solo - "a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock ... the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park ... without a rope. "
Free Solo has some rope-less climb scenes which are mind blowing and terrifying; 14 Peaks has less of that, but a greater sense of exhaustion and endurance. Both are very inspiring.
posted by underclocked at 9:51 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
14 Peaks - "Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nimsdai Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in seven months."
Free Solo - "a stunning, intimate and unflinching portrait of the free soloist climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock ... the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park ... without a rope. "
Free Solo has some rope-less climb scenes which are mind blowing and terrifying; 14 Peaks has less of that, but a greater sense of exhaustion and endurance. Both are very inspiring.
posted by underclocked at 9:51 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I enjoyed reading Lilly Singh's How To Be A Bawse (even though she's very problematic and tiresome with her "acting Black" schtick. But she's also genuinely funny and talented).
In creative work, I get really worried about being perfect, living up to other people's competitive weirdness, self-correcting and being a frozen, scared perfectionist.
As a YouTuber, Singh and her team just CRANKED OUT CONTENT for years, and none of it was perfect but all of it was pretty good, some of it was absolutely exceptional, and all of it was better being in existence than being parked in the drafts forever like many of my projects. She gets things DONE.
She is hyper ambitious, disciplined, strategic, unapologetically bold, very confident, and seems creatively fearless, which I am most definitely NOT, so that mindset was really inspiring to me.
Here are some excerpts.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:58 AM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
In creative work, I get really worried about being perfect, living up to other people's competitive weirdness, self-correcting and being a frozen, scared perfectionist.
As a YouTuber, Singh and her team just CRANKED OUT CONTENT for years, and none of it was perfect but all of it was pretty good, some of it was absolutely exceptional, and all of it was better being in existence than being parked in the drafts forever like many of my projects. She gets things DONE.
She is hyper ambitious, disciplined, strategic, unapologetically bold, very confident, and seems creatively fearless, which I am most definitely NOT, so that mindset was really inspiring to me.
Here are some excerpts.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:58 AM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Tall Bikes Will Save The World!
I found this so inspiring. People making tall bicycles. Seriously silly, beautiful.
posted by Zumbador at 11:03 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I found this so inspiring. People making tall bicycles. Seriously silly, beautiful.
posted by Zumbador at 11:03 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm not a runner, but there are two running documentaries I love.
Run and Become focuses on a 52-day, 3100 mile race around a single block in Queens, but also features a 1000-day Japanese marathon performed by Buddhist monks, the San Tribe in the Kalharai whose traditional hunting methods involve days of running, and a Navajo runner who took up running to honor his father's experience running away from an Indian boarding school.
The Barkley Marathons: the Race that Eats its Young is about a crazy race in Tennessee.
For activists, How to Survive a Plague is a terrific documentary about the early days of the AIDS epidemic. You can see an early incarnation of Dr. Fauci, whom many activists originally saw as the enemy.
Would also suggest Living on One Dollar about two students who went to rural Guatemala with the intention of living on the same amount of money that impoverished people lived on there. It shows not only how difficult it is, but also how people there were able to show the students what they needed to know to make it work.
posted by FencingGal at 11:22 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Run and Become focuses on a 52-day, 3100 mile race around a single block in Queens, but also features a 1000-day Japanese marathon performed by Buddhist monks, the San Tribe in the Kalharai whose traditional hunting methods involve days of running, and a Navajo runner who took up running to honor his father's experience running away from an Indian boarding school.
The Barkley Marathons: the Race that Eats its Young is about a crazy race in Tennessee.
For activists, How to Survive a Plague is a terrific documentary about the early days of the AIDS epidemic. You can see an early incarnation of Dr. Fauci, whom many activists originally saw as the enemy.
Would also suggest Living on One Dollar about two students who went to rural Guatemala with the intention of living on the same amount of money that impoverished people lived on there. It shows not only how difficult it is, but also how people there were able to show the students what they needed to know to make it work.
posted by FencingGal at 11:22 AM on May 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
It’s only partially a documentary but the fellow giving this Ted Talk is completely insane as well having a remarkable drive (coupled with ability) to push the edges of human exploration.
I say only partially a documentary because about half of it describes what he has done so far, but the other half describes what he has in mind for the future.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:38 AM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I say only partially a documentary because about half of it describes what he has done so far, but the other half describes what he has in mind for the future.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:38 AM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wow. These two docs fit the bill PERFECTLY! But I can't figure out quite where to find them. The first, Crossing the Ditch, is about two young men, with no adventure CV, taking on a unsupported row from Australia to new Zealand (they were the first!)
Their second effort, Crossing the Ice, was a similar attempt to cross to the South Pole and return, unsupported and unassisted (no kites). This was also a first.
These are two of the most delightful adventure documentaries I've ever seen. Cas and Jonesey have an online presence, and it's worth checking out.
As a little teaser, this clip of Aleksander Gamme (watch this!), was included in the Antarctica doc, because Gamme was doing to same trip in parallel, with the same goal. It was an informal race, of sorts.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 12:27 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
Their second effort, Crossing the Ice, was a similar attempt to cross to the South Pole and return, unsupported and unassisted (no kites). This was also a first.
These are two of the most delightful adventure documentaries I've ever seen. Cas and Jonesey have an online presence, and it's worth checking out.
As a little teaser, this clip of Aleksander Gamme (watch this!), was included in the Antarctica doc, because Gamme was doing to same trip in parallel, with the same goal. It was an informal race, of sorts.
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 12:27 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I love this question. I came here to write “The Barkley Marathons” and glad to see it’s already here!
I’ve found Tyler Katie’s YouTube channel is great for this, he’s a climber who documents his climbs without any glossy production, just go pro, tons of enthusiasm, and a soundtrack played from a mobile phone. They’re not documentaries, they’re just someone who is out with friends in beautiful places and massively motivated. His videos are each charming in their own way.
More generally, I’ve found searching for homemade adventure films on YouTube works really well for getting me excited, psyched, to get out. I look up names of Norwegian mountains and search for that name + klatring on YouTube, and I’ve found some lovely outings that way.
posted by Joeruckus at 1:17 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I’ve found Tyler Katie’s YouTube channel is great for this, he’s a climber who documents his climbs without any glossy production, just go pro, tons of enthusiasm, and a soundtrack played from a mobile phone. They’re not documentaries, they’re just someone who is out with friends in beautiful places and massively motivated. His videos are each charming in their own way.
More generally, I’ve found searching for homemade adventure films on YouTube works really well for getting me excited, psyched, to get out. I look up names of Norwegian mountains and search for that name + klatring on YouTube, and I’ve found some lovely outings that way.
posted by Joeruckus at 1:17 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you're talking about going places just to go places, Long Way Round and sequels come to mind.
posted by credulous at 3:41 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by credulous at 3:41 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
More mountaineering: Meru (available on Kanopy, if you have a library that gives you access)
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 4:10 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
"Encounters at the End of the World" might count. (I now realize that the only documentaries I've every really paid attention to are actually pretty dark.) [edit: I note that there is also some dark commentary in that one, but it's over-the-top mime that seems unlikely to make anbody sad. I hope.]
posted by eotvos at 4:51 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 4:51 PM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Swedish documentary The Raft is pretty amazing in this regard. These people agreed to an experiment that was very much a wild adventure.
posted by edlundart at 3:06 AM on May 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by edlundart at 3:06 AM on May 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone, some great recommendations! I plan to work my way through them all.
posted by unid41 at 12:02 AM on May 20, 2022
posted by unid41 at 12:02 AM on May 20, 2022
« Older Selling a car (remotely) in Lviv from Spain | How to succeed in a new remote job, with a startup... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
While it's not so much for me, I think many people would say No Reservations.
posted by praemunire at 9:50 AM on May 15, 2022 [1 favorite]