What makes some people favor documentaries vs people who favor action movies?

[TrailCy]

I know some people who will watch documentaries multiple times a week. They want to learn things about new topics and seek new perspective. I also know people who love formulaic superhero movies and won't proactively watch a documentary because they want to escape real life.

What makes a person the former versus the latter? Is it the way they grow up or some chemical composition in their brain?

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

Probably their appetite to learn. Some people want a break for their brain. Action movies are a way to escape and do something besides what you're always thinking about.

Documentaries can do the same but you're going to have to do more thinking.

 

[Clonefan32]

This is an interesting question because it's absolutely me. I bet I haven't watched a non-documentary movie that wasn't a kid's movie in 3-4 years. I can't quite pinpoint it but I have much more interest in learning about something that's already happened.

I'd also much rather a vacation that involves history, museums, famous buildings/structures, etc. over a beach vacation, which I think falls into that same character trait. I'd rather see or do something as opposed to just being entertained.

 

[NWICY]

I know some people who will watch documentaries multiple times a week. They want to learn things about new topics and seek new perspective. I also know people who love formulaic superhero movies and won't proactively watch a documentary.

What makes a person the former versus the latter? Is it the way they grow up or some chemical composition in their brain?

Insert why not both gif.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

For me to watch a documentary it has to be something I really interested in.
A few years back I ran across one called The Filth and the Fury which was about the rise of The Sex Pistols. It was fascinating.
But I would still rather watch horror or action

 

[cowgirl836]

I'll do this with books. I'll go on a stint of non-fiction books where I learn a ton and really gain a lot of knowledge and insights. Then I'll go to fiction that I know the formula because I don't want to think, I want to be entertained and enjoy what I read, not be mad at the world.

 

[BCClone]

Does the movie Gladiator fill into documentary or fiction movie?

 

[NickTheGreat]

I get both end of this. I really like learning, so reading non-fiction or listening to a historical podcast or watching a documentary is interesting. But sometimes you need a mental break, so a stupid comedy movie or something breaks that up.

This is the reason I gave up on the Marvel movies years ago. So many characters, planets, timelines, backstories that they went into the first category for me. I think it’d be easier to become an expert in the Pacific Theater battles of WW2, or the Civil Way or something. Too much mental strain for something fake. I’d rather watch a stupid Lifetime Murder Mystery, and turn my brain off.

 

[Spam]

Documentaries offer something new.

Every time I watch an action movies I feel like I have seen this 100 times. Used to enjoy action movies in the 1990s. After that they became stale.

Or I just became old...

 

[MeanDean]

I like both too. Just am trending more towards documentaries lately. I can't handle too much CGI action that is so over the top it becomes cartoonish. Like the guy/gal who jumps from the skyscraper, falling 10 stories down and times it perfectly to grab the runner of the passing helicopter.

(Then climbs in and kills of 3 or 4 military guys in the chopper and flies it off to do battle with the REAL head henchman bad guy,)

 

[Cyclonepride]

I know some people who will watch documentaries multiple times a week. They want to learn things about new topics and seek new perspective. I also know people who love formulaic superhero movies and won't proactively watch a documentary because they want to escape real life.

What makes a person the former versus the latter? Is it the way they grow up or some chemical composition in their brain?

I'm intensely driven to learn. I feel like learning is growing. However, I like to mix it up. When I read, I alternate between fiction/non-fiction. I think both actually have a benefit to learning in their own way.

 

[cayin]

I get so bored with action movies. I would much rather watch documentaries

 

[madguy30]

Both are fine and have their appeals.

I would rather watch a bad action movie than a bad documentary.

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

I do either depending on my mood. My wife, on the other hand will watch any movie/series that says it was "based on a true story". I have tried repeatedly to tell her that means nothing and it likely did not go down like that at all, to no avail. She took it to another level when we were watching the series "WeWork" on Netflix/Amazon/Apple/whatever. While still making our way through the series she started Googling and reading everything she could find out about the protagonists. I don't see how it did not completely ruin the show for her (though to be fair, we all know how it turned out).

 

[CascadeClone]

I do both, but lean to fiction.

Action/fantasy/scifi gives you an escape, which some people (like me) really enjoy or need. I think it helps if you can "suspend disbelief" relatively easily. Plus, who needs reality in their spare time? I can have all the reality I want at work.

The gf and her daughter are the opposite. Cooking shows, crime shows, real-world stuff only. I have managed to get the gf to enjoy Star Trek though (thanks Data!).

I do really like to learn things though, so a good documentary I will get into even if is a topic I don't care much about. Don't like the documentaries where there is clearly an agenda or conclusion the director wants to push.

Good question though. I'd suggest you do a documentary about it

 

[Gonzo]

Different strokes. I'm a huge documentary guy, and not at all an action movie guy. Just not my thing, too loud, too over-the-top visually for me. I'm just naturally curious about things, one day my wife came home and found me watching a show about the history of the steering wheel. She's never let me live that one down.

I just rewatched "The Barkley Marathons" this week, it had been several years and the event was just in the news last week. Great, great doc.

 

[CyCrazy]

Doc guy here, dont have any desire to watch an action that has been redone 100's of times.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

What about if you watch the extras in an action movie that show how stunts are choreographed and set up, along with conversations with the people involved?

 

[houjix]

What about if you watch the extras in an action movie that show how stunts are choreographed and set up, along with conversations with the people involved?

I love "making of" stuff. The whole Movies that Made Us series on Netflix is a good watch.

 

[TrailCy]

It's hard for me to suspend disbelief. If I'm watching the Super Mario movie I know it's fiction, but otherwise I get turned off by things that are improbable. Everything from the parking spot right in front of the door in Manhattan to the hero who runs into a burning fire without equipment unscathed. And sci-fi/alien/paranormal storylines are non-starters for me.

The only fiction shows I've really "gotten into" were The Wire and Breaking Bad/BCS. Pretty cliche.