documentaries or fantasy movies?

In my opinion:
Good documentary>Good fantasy film>Bad fantasy film>Bad documentary

A good documentary where they create a good atmosphere and use touches of cinematic stuff is awesome! I find that I tend to prefer the idea of a fantasy film more than the actual film.

I need to be super interested in the topic of the documentary... otherwise I couldn't care less. But if I am interested in the topic, I'll watch the heck out of it. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy person normally though.

My dad's an INTJ, but I seem to follow a similar trend as him: I asked why he wouldn't even try a movie outside his genre, and he said that he can't get into (romantic dramas) even if they're masterpieces. Because he watches his movies to escape from reality, and he doesn't enjoy movies with worlds he can't insert himself into and enjoy. So he's into sci-fi, fantasy, superhero movies, etc. I personally can enjoy a movie outside those fantastical genres very easily, but I'll say I tend to enjoy movies I can do so with more. So, my reasoning would be that documentaries can often be too... real for me.

The best would be a documentary set in a fantasy world where documentaries about the dragon menace are made by a totalitarian government as a way of blinding the masses to the vast conspiracy that exists in order to control the population because dragons don't really exist.

Absolutely prefer a good documentary over fantasy movies. The worst movie experiences of my life, and undoubtedly my pick for 'most overrated bullshit movie ever', would be something like the Lord of the Rings. Avatar is way up there too.

Both! I love learning but I love fantasy movies too. Though tbh I'd rather choose Sci-Fi lol

I have watched countless documentaries and only a handful of fantasy movies (LOTR, Willow, Star Wars trilogy... if that counts). I am a history and psychology buff so anything that has to do with history or on the human condition, I'm all in. I think I am one of the few on here who really doesn't delve much into fantasy. I don't read fantasy novels. As a kid I mainly thumbed through encyclopedias soaking in facts and then chasing rabbit trails to connect it with the big picture. I do this as an adult as well.

Syvelocin said:

I need to be super interested in the topic of the documentary... otherwise I couldn't care less. But if I am interested in the topic, I'll watch the heck out of it. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy person normally though.

My dad's an INTJ, but I seem to follow a similar trend as him: I asked why he wouldn't even try a movie outside his genre, and he said that he can't get into (romantic dramas) even if they're masterpieces. Because he watches his movies to escape from reality, and he doesn't enjoy movies with worlds he can insert himself into and enjoy. So he's into sci-fi, fantasy, superhero movies, etc. I personally can enjoy a movie outside those fantastical genres very easily, but I'll say I tend to enjoy movies I can do so with more. So, my reasoning would be that documentaries can often be too... real for me.

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The funny thing is if I can't place myself into a fictional story somehow, then I just can't get into it. I have to be able to be one of the characters in the story.

IMHO -- Docs > Fantasy, non-fiction > fiction

Reminds me of this thread I started: http://personalitycafe.com/infp-forum-idealists/67896-50-docs-see-before-you-die.html

How could I ever choose? Documentaries and fantasy films are both important to me. I think I watch documentaries more often but the best fantasy stories make me look at the world in a new way, much like a documentary does.

I suppose for me it would go:

Great Fantasy = Great Documentaries (and by great fantasy I mean top tier, challenging/deep/inspiring rather than escapist), otherwise Documentary > Fantasy

Documentaries over fantasy. Fantasy has to be done just right and is hard to do right on the screen, IMO.

I enjoy fantasy novels because you're the one behind the camera. The author gives you cues but in the end you're the cinematographer, the casting director and so on. The "movies" I make while reading a good fantasy novel are better than anything I see on screen.Also, a lot of fantasy tends to be formulaic. This isn't an across the board accusation but there are certain cliches that have been done to death in the genre.

I really like docs because they can take you outside your head and give you insight into and an appreciation of things that reside in the external world. I spend enough time in my own head... I like to see what goes on "out there". I pretty much like all types of documentaries. I cast a very large net, and I believe this helps me see "new" possibilities. It also challenges my beliefs in certain things from time to time.

Documentaries all the way. The more depressing, the better.

Honestly fantasy doesn't really interest me...at all. I think we as a society are too obsessed with fantasy/superheroes/etc. Give me a good, realistic drama any day.

I would say both too. I loved watching the behind the scenes documentaries from the LOTR movies.

it really depends, I used to watch documentaries/travel channel as a kid but if you meant a feature film, I prefer fantasy if given the two options.

Hehe, I love both equally, but neither holds a candle to the cerebral quality of science-fiction.

Interstellar, Sunshine, Gattaca etc.