Boredom

Filmmaker Albert Nerenberg takes an irreverent, sometimes illuminating, sometimes obvious look at the subject of human boredom in this somewhat persuasive documentary. Beginning with the question of what exactly is boredom, Nerenberg explores the underlying biology, discovering that something many of us assume—i.e., that boredom causes sleepiness—is a fallacy. Boredom leads to stress and an overactive brain, which results in the subjective experience of time moving very slowly. Nerenberg argues that in our modern age of digital information—which is constantly accessible through cell phones, tablets, etc.—we are training our minds to find any sensory experience other than a virtual one to be flat and boring. Nerenberg even goes on to suggest that it's in the actual interest of employers and schools to disguise the true nature of boredom, since it can then be assumed that boredom is an individual problem rather than an institutional or cultural one. So, how do we liberate ourselves from boredom-inducing habits? Nerenberg demonstrates one old-fashioned way: simply stop what you're doing and look around. Presenting both the full-length documentary and a 48-minute “Revolutionary Accelerated Unboring Version,” extras include bonus featurettes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)