"Mortified Nation" is an unusual documentary, to say the least. It's a film about a strange phenomenon where people get up on stage (like a stand-up comedian) and read their childhood diaries to the crowds. Mostly, the readers focus on the truly awful and embarrassing things they wrote when they were young, though later in the film some very poignant and even sad diary entries are read. Interestingly, after this was done in one city, the idea has caught on it's spread to many other cities--and folks are volunteering to get up and bear their souls for the audiences' entertainment!
The film is not perfect. After a while, the film does lose its momentum just a bit and might have benefited from a slight editing. Still, the film is daring and innovative. It also fits in wonderfully with the philosophy and psychotherapy of Albert Ellis, an amazingly brash and successful guy who encouraged his patients to deliberately embarrass themselves in order to make themselves stronger and no longer controlled by irrational fears. Well worth seeing.
The film is not perfect. After a while, the film does lose its momentum just a bit and might have benefited from a slight editing. Still, the film is daring and innovative. It also fits in wonderfully with the philosophy and psychotherapy of Albert Ellis, an amazingly brash and successful guy who encouraged his patients to deliberately embarrass themselves in order to make themselves stronger and no longer controlled by irrational fears. Well worth seeing.