Dec. 14: Why we love true-life documentaries

 We love true-life documentary shows because they make us feel better about our own lives. The late novelist Kurt Vonnegut said that most of us are ridiculous - especially when you look at our lives through a microscope - so maybe there’s some solace in seeing people who are more pathetic than ourselves.


Turn on the TV and you’ll see middle aged moms pushing their seven-year-olds to compete in beauty contests. You’ll see California bimbos who can’t be happy - won’t be happy - unless their locker room-sized closets are updated every day with the latest fashions. We say to ourselves: “Well, I’m bad, but I’m not that bad.”


Teddy Roosevelt said that comparison is the thief of joy. He meant that you shouldn’t condemn yourself because you haven’t enjoyed the same level of success as your friends and family. I could make myself downright miserable seeing as how so many of my magician friends have been on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us show. I could seethe in envy whenever my brother tells me of his latest globetrotting escapade. This attitude was taught to me via a Christian LP called Sir Oliver’s Song, which endeavoured to indoctrinate little Christ followers about the importance of the Ten Commandments. Behold the lyrics to Be Thankful, which remain permanently etched in my melon some four decades later:


I knew a boy dissatisfied
He craved what others owned
He thought it would bring happiness
If only he had known

I need a brand new riding bike
Like neighbor Don thought he
Then I would surely be content
And happy as can be

Chorus:
Be thankful for what you have
Look 'round and you will see
Your treasures are everywhere
The best ones found are free

Verse 2:
Though Don he owned that brand new bike
His joy was incomplete
"A motor scooter's what I need"
Said Don to neighbor Pete

But Pete with his new motor bike
He often would complain
I cannot ride when winter comes
Or when it starts to rain

Chorus:
Be thankful for what you have
Look 'round and you will see
Your treasures are everywhere
The best ones found are free

Verse 3:
If you'll obey this simple rule
Found in this simple song
You'll find the things you really want
And never will go wrong

So don't let others' things become
The apple of your eye
Our Heavenly Father's good and kind
His love will satisfy

-


True-life documentaries are the antithesis of social media, which makes us all think that everyone else is living better lives than we are. (Rule of thumb: When magicians go on Facebook to talk about how many shows they’re doing, they’re probably exaggerating.)

In short, true-life documentaries and social media need each other. Hopefully, they balance us off. 




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