Attention span training

I've been doing this weird thing lately—forcing myself to watch scenes from old films, retro TV show clips and dated music videos through to the very end. I've also been reading lengthy New York Times articles and resisting every last urge to click on Facebook when it gets boring halfway through.

Let's call it attention span training.

What have I learned? Everything from the past is slow. Even action films. But it's rewarding to stick with them. It feels like you've accomplished something. Comparable to going on a run or cleaning out the fridge.

For example, try watching this entire music video. It's hard work, but the payoff is some truly hilarious goings-on.
 


Andy once had a student who decided to watch the film version of a text he was studying for school—probably Death of a Salesman or 1984 or something like that. When Andy asked him what he thought of it, the boy said, "Once you got past the first five minutes, it was actually pretty good."

We thought this was funny. "Once you get past the first five minutes." Even I can recall a time when people afforded a film at least a solid 12 minutes before hitting eject on the ol' VCR.

It's also just nice to enjoy media that's not designed for today's audiences. Take this clip of Colonel Sanders on an old show called 'What's My Line?'. The panel doesn't know what he does! This is from before the time that people knew about Colonel Sanders. Truly fascinating. Also, it's clearly a giant marketing campaign for Kentucky Fried Chicken and FAKE FAKE FAKE, but thems was the times.



GOD, that was boring.

Nighty night,
Margaret

P.S.

Image by Post Memes via Flickr