It seems the most popular spin on fly fishing movies is "following your passion", "finding yourself" or being "brave" enough to follow your dreams. It's beautiful, inspiring and an escape for tons of people, myself included. Shit, Vimeo's fly fishing channel has become Sam's version of Saturday morning cartoons, but he's watching for the pretend part, not for the charitable zen guidance of some fishing bum with an expensive video editing program .Camcorders and fly fishing videos have certainly come a long way and I am impressed. It's not the poetic interpretation of someones new found courage to face the day from a different yard as much as the way these things are shot that blow me away. The camera work, music and editing that makes up the end product of some of this genius can bring a tear to your eye or better yet make you quit your job and go live!
Perspective on what's important and how to find balance is found through the experience of doing, not watching. Have these young Francis Ford Fishermen been given some moral burden to get us off our asses or are they just rubbing in the fact they found the way? How we come to this life (fly fishing) is so much different now, it all seems just a click away. Human nature, technology and laziness strand a huge part of couch fishermen scrolling for the next video experience. They blame the life that was chosen for them for the lack of time to pursue meditative things. For the brave few who actually turn it off and go live their own way, today's fly fishing media becomes just another commercial in the show called reel life.
Giant similarities to the video porn industry right? They had it figured along time ago, get you addicted to the feeling of experiencing an easy escape to some fantasy land, lose a load, rinse and repeat. So the way I see it we either have to stop with all this inspirational fish porn or start charging for it before we are all desensitized, blind or everyone decides to go fly fishing.
Stop pretending GoPro videos don't give you a headache.
Don't beat up on the video too much bobber...haha. I agree I have seen a lot of moving pictures lately that are about "living" and believe me I, and I know you would as well, love to take 6-8 weeks off to travel and fish. But... not happening. Like you said you have got to find Balance. Which is difficult to do when you have a job (or 3), a wife, a kid and a few hobbies. I enjoy watching some videos but the go pro strapped to some dudes head reeling in timmy gives me a headache too.
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