Documentaries can be a great way to kill time and learn something new, but they’re usually so long—and what collegiate has time these days? Whether you’re looking for something to distract yourself with on your study break, waiting for your next class, or just don’t have the attention span, here’s 20 documentaries that are under 20 minutes long. They’re also all on YouTube, so even if you don’t currently have 20 minutes, add them to your “Watch Later” for when you do!
1) “This Female Magician is a Real Crystal Ball Buster”
Follow renowned magician Misty Lee through a typical day in her life as a performance magician—which includes seances, tap shoes haunted by the ghost of a deceased child, and smashing the glass ceiling.
2) “Being Transgender in the Mormon Church”
Here’s a perspective you definitely don’t get to see often. What is it like to be transgender in a religious community that doesn’t even have a doctrine on how to discuss your identity in relation to God? As it turns out—it’s a mixed bag.
3) “The Evolution of American Protest Music”
A brief history of how America went from Yankee Doodle Dandy to Kendrick Lamar.
4) “The Man Who Lives With a Magpie”
A day in the life of a man who looks uncomfortably like Legolas and his pet magpie. Their relationship is built on love, trust, and a whole lot of bird poop.
5) “Meet the 8-Year-Old Boy Who Transforms Into a Drag Queen Named Lactatia”
The documentary’s alternative title is: “The eight year old boy that looks better now than you ever will in your entire life”. There wasn’t a thing that came out of this child’s mouth that didn’t make me smile. If you can’t get enough of of this pint-sized drag queen, consider following up this video with her appearance at DragCon 2017.
6) “The Young Taxidermist Giving New Life to Dead Animals”
Warning: While it goes without saying that this documentary features dead animals, it also graphically depicts how they are prepared for taxidermy. If you’re squeamish about that sort of thing, give this one a skip.
How can taxidermy possibly be feminist? One young woman answers that question by using the trade of stuffing dead animals to push her way up the ladder.
7) “The Dark Side of Harajuku Fashion You Haven’t Seen Yet”
Can fashion be a powerful statement on a society’s gravest faults? Watch as the fashionistas of Japan tackle their nation’s traditional silence on the topics of suicide and mental illness through bold clothing that begs people to pay attention.
8) “Juggalette Beauty Pageants”
Apparently, there’s a burgeoning feminist movement within the Insane Clown Posse’s subculture. Who knew?
9) “Tel Aviv’s Jewish Drag Scene Is NOT What You Think”
If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had any thoughts on Tel Aviv’s Jewish drag scene before in my life.
10) “Human-Looking Faces on Animal Bodies”
You know it’s a good listicle when there’s two mentions of taxidermy in less than ten lines.
11) “Inside the Japanese Hotels Staffed by Robots”
Creepy? A novelty? The future? There’s a lot of ways to describe Japan’s robot-staffed hotels, and Ben Ferguson, a host for Motherboard, is going to try to do just that.
12) “Why these all-white paintings are in museums and mine aren’t”
Ever look at a piece of art in a museum and think to yourself “I could do that”? Let Vox explain to you why you can’t—decide for yourself if it’s condescending or not.
13) “Sesame Street Puppeteers Explain How They Control Their Puppets”
Just looking at this video makes my arms tired.
14) “I’m a Professional Mermaid”
A day in the life of a professional mermaid. Why am I in college again?
15) “The hidden oil pattern on bowling lanes”
This will help to add to your font of useless information, and to trigger some really awful memories from your summers at bowling camp (or maybe that’s just me).
16) “Vaporwave”
Is Vaporwave a meme, or a respectable genre of music? “Down the Rabbit Hole” seeks to answer that very question.
17) “Woman Lives in a Tiny House so she can Travel the World”
Again, why am I in college?
18) “Let’s Desensationalize Aokighara”
Less of a documentary and more of a highly trained mortician speaking to a camera, but there’s a lot of documentary-level research within this eight-minute video that takes away the “romanticism” and general Western sensationalization of Aokighara, commonly known as Japan’s “suicide forest”.
19) “109-Year-Old Veteran and His Secrets to Life Will Make You Smile”
Listening to this 109 year old veteran talk feels like sitting on a porch and drinking a beer with the grandfather I never knew.
20) “INSTANT”
A photographer talks about the impact and importance of instant photography—while taking instant pictures of people in their hometown. This is a nice and gentle documentary. It makes you feel like you should be cuddled under blankets drinking tea while watching.
Happy viewing!
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