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===Marketing and related works===
===Marketing and related works===
On the date of, and just prior to, the film's premiere in [[Toronto]], an event called the "Boring Awards" was organized.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toronto To Host First Ever Boring Awards Recognizes achievement in Boredom |url=http://www.laughology.info/Laughology/The_Boring_Awards.html |website=Laughology |accessdate=10 January 2019}}</ref> Winners included [[Rob Ford]] (Least Boring Canadian), [[Stephen Harper]] (Most Boring Canadian) and the city of [[Ottawa]] (Most Boring City in Canada).<ref>{{cite news |title=Most Boring City In Canada Award Goes To Ottawa |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/24/most-boring-city-canada-ottawa_n_3333161.html |accessdate=10 January 2019 |work=Huffington Post Canada |date=24 May 2013}}</ref>
An event called the "Boring Awards" was organized for the film's first screening in Toronto in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toronto To Host First Ever Boring Awards Recognizes achievement in Boredom |url=http://www.laughology.info/Laughology/The_Boring_Awards.html |website=Laughology |accessdate=10 January 2019}}</ref> Winners included [[Rob Ford]] (Least Boring Canadian), [[Stephen Harper]] (Most Boring Canadian) and the city of [[Ottawa]] (Most Boring City in Canada).<ref>{{cite news |title=Most Boring City In Canada Award Goes To Ottawa |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/24/most-boring-city-canada-ottawa_n_3333161.html |accessdate=10 January 2019 |work=Huffington Post Canada |date=24 May 2013}}</ref> Nerenberg explained the process of determining the winners was not "rigidly scientific": <blockquote>We open-nominated on Facebook, Twitter and on the web and about 17 cities were nominated. We narrowed the field down to five. Then we looked at substantiation. For example all the cities on the boring list are legendary in terms of boredom. There's a film being made in Ottawa called ''The City that Fun Forgot.'' Abbotsford is defined in the Urban Dictionary as boredom. But Ottawa clinched mainly because the government there brags about how boring it is. As well, Ottawa must have a greater marketing and entertainment budget than any other city so it's boringness is less excusable.<ref>{{cite news |title=Boring Awards ruffle Canadian feathers |url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/boring-awards-ruffle-canadian-feathers-1.1296664/comments-7.400059 |accessdate=11 January 2019 |work=[[CTV News]] Montreal |date=25 May 2013}}</ref><blockquote />


==Release and reception==
==Release and reception==

Revision as of 06:43, 11 January 2019

Boredom
Directed byAlbert Nerenberg[2]
Written byAlbert Nerenberg
Produced byIna Fichman,
Shannon Brown[2]
Release date
21 May 2012[1]
Running time
62 minutes[3]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Boredom is a 2012 Canadian satirical documentary film directed by Albert Nerenberg and produced by Ina Fichman and Shannon Brown.[2] The film, commissioned by the Documentary Channel and Canal D. Despite the film's satirical tone, it examines how boredom negatively impacts health, driving people either to morbidity or high risk behaviours and even plays a large part in addiction,[5] making the case that boredom is actually a stress condition; that mass education in industrialized countries chronically bores students because of the essential sedentary nature of modern education. Modern civilization actually promotes chronic boredom with stimulating media that only appears to be exciting.[4]

The documentary features statements from a variety of experts, from psychologists and neurologists to scholars on topics like education and technology.[6] Interviewees include Jon Bradley, Alan Caruba, and Colleen Merrifield.

Production

Inspiration

It is claimed that Albert Nerenberg happened upon the subject after losing his iPhone and having "a severe boredom attack".[1]

Financing

The film received funding from the Canada Media Fund, and the Rogers Documentary Fund.[1]

Filming

Nerenberg uses a variety of filmmaking styles, from research presented by experts, to B-roll and stock footage, to dramatizations and what David King describes as Daily Show style interviews.[6]

Research

As part of his research toward the film, Nerenberg sat down for a "boring" experiment by researchers at the University of Waterloo, where he was made to watch a video of two men hanging laundry while his heart rate and cortisol levels were monitored.[7] He found himself bored within an extremely short time, and then anxious, nervous and uncomfortable, demonstrating that during boredom, cortisol hormone is released, an activity drug which creates stress.[8] The experiment is included in the film.

Marketing and related works

An event called the "Boring Awards" was organized for the film's first screening in Toronto in 2013.[9] Winners included Rob Ford (Least Boring Canadian), Stephen Harper (Most Boring Canadian) and the city of Ottawa (Most Boring City in Canada).[10] Nerenberg explained the process of determining the winners was not "rigidly scientific":

We open-nominated on Facebook, Twitter and on the web and about 17 cities were nominated. We narrowed the field down to five. Then we looked at substantiation. For example all the cities on the boring list are legendary in terms of boredom. There's a film being made in Ottawa called The City that Fun Forgot. Abbotsford is defined in the Urban Dictionary as boredom. But Ottawa clinched mainly because the government there brags about how boring it is. As well, Ottawa must have a greater marketing and entertainment budget than any other city so it's boringness is less excusable.[11]

Release and reception

The premiere took place at the Royal Cinema in Toronto on 21 May 2012.[1][12] It went on to be shown at festivals, notably the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montréal in October 2012,[13] where it was in competition with other films in the FOCUS section,[14] and on 8 May 2013 at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver[15] at the Vancity Theatre.[16] It went on to be released in other theatres in 2013.[17]

The documentary then aired in Canada on the Documentary Channel on 8 June 2013, and in French on Canal D later that summer. It was also broadcast internationally on Swiss and German TV, Channel 8 Israel, Finland TV1, and Sweden Educational TV.[8]

Critical response

John Griffin of the Montreal Gazette called Boredom "hugely entertaining".[18] David King, writing for Cinema Retro, agrees for the most part, though he contends the film misses the mark a little by giving equal weight to experts and "more anecdotal evidence on the effects of boredom," and considers the film more infotainment than profound research. "In short, there are plenty of less interesting ways you could spend an hour than watching this film- and at least "Bordom" is never boring."[6] C.S. Strowbridge, writing for The Numbers, is of two minds about Nerenberg's style, which "tends to be a little over-dramatic when talking about these subjects", but otherwise "this is a truly fascinating documentary. We do get some answers to a few of the questions that are asked, but the questions that we don't yet have answers to are just as intriguing."[19]

Home media and streaming

Boredom was released on DVD on 27 November 2013, and on all video on demand and digital platforms.[4] The DVD includes such bonus features as a version of the film sped up 10%, a three-minute featurette on the stages of boredom and a four-minute feature on a proposed artificial mountain in an area of the Netherlands to add interest to the region's otherwise flat landscape.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "BOREDOM at the Royal May 21st". Laughology. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "About Boredom The Movie". Facebook. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Boredom". Cinema Clock. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Boredom the documentary coming to DVD". Laughology. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Boredom TV documentary featuring Sobriety can be downloaded". Sobriety.ca. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2019. In scenes shot at Sobriety's Heritage Home, recovering addicts explain that boredom plays a key part on the road to addiction as well as in the risk of relapse.
  6. ^ a b c d King, David (24 October 2014). "Review: "Boredom"". Cinema Retro. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ Leong, Melissa (3 November 2012). "Understanding the 'boregasm': Boredom is actually a state of stress, researchers say". The National Post. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  8. ^ a b Montgomery, Marc. "Bored? Watch Boredom the movie!". Radio Canada International. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Toronto To Host First Ever Boring Awards Recognizes achievement in Boredom". Laughology. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Most Boring City In Canada Award Goes To Ottawa". Huffington Post Canada. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Boring Awards ruffle Canadian feathers". CTV News Montreal. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  12. ^ Knight, Chris (17 May 2012). "No better cure for boredom than a documentary about it". The National Post.
  13. ^ Tremblay, Odile (10 October 2012). "41e Festival du nouveau cinéma - L'imagination au pouvoir". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Mars et avril présenté au Festival du nouveau cinéma" (in French). 21 September 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Boredom" (PDF). DOXA Festival 2013 programme. p. 57. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Picks of the week - May 7, 2013". Vancouver Courier. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  17. ^ Bernard, Sophie (14 May 2013). "Albert Nerenberg filme l'ennui". Lien multimédia (in French). Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Albert Nerenberg seeks an escape from boredom". Montreal Gazette. 13 October 2012. p. 58.
  19. ^ Strowbridge, C.S. "Featured DVD Review: Boredom". The Numbers. Retrieved 11 January 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boredom_(film)&oldid=877842756"