Henry David Thoreau documentary

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 - May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs.
Henry David Thoreau documentary
2017

[@ladyarugula8090]

I don’t think he’s odd at all, I live in a house in the woods in a very small town. I go to town to get what I need. I prefer to stay at home and enjoy nature.

[@levimatthew8911]

I'm Thoreau-ly impressed.

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

I Thoreauly thank you haha

[@gigievans395]

OHHH SO THOREAU-LLY BAD LOL!! :)

[@Lord.Smith.the.first.]

😂👍

[@walden-ux3vl]

Clever !

[@marcladuke6302]

Lol thanks

[@teddyteller4869]

I'm reading Thoreau right now and very impressed. I have tried to find a book for comforting and relaxing a bit in such anxious time. Well, I've found it. It's is the masterpiece. Live in the woods shows us the real value of life. In the moment and in the chores even. Carpe diem.

[@walden-ux3vl]

Well said Teddy

[@heatherb7651]

I find my students generally respond a lot more positively to Thoreau than this teacher's; some get quite excited about his ideas (though he's right in that they would never want to unplug or get rid of their technology). But when we visit the pond, they love it, and when we talk about the symbolism, they get it. They're not going to live his life, but they admire him rather than resenting him.

[@rosemadder5547]

Thoreau taught me its okay to be eccentric. It's even healthy.

[@apsaraa8209]

Indeed!

[@Jeremy_936]

Most young people today are disconnected from the God within. They don't meditate, not really. They don't walk in the woods alone and look at the budding leaves and flowers in wonder. They're too goal oriented to see their connection with the greater stream of life. To put it simply, they're too disconnected to connect with Thoreau. Me, being Generation X, we ran through the woods and played in the streams all day.... not with the Boy Scouts and not on a class trip....but alone with our minds and God and each other. There are a few exceptions, but I think we were the last generation to be connected. We've since lost the thread....or very nearly lost it.

[@mariecait]

I’m a millennial and every day after school I went for walks without a phone into the woods… every day. Now I live alone by the woods and go for walks everyday at 34.

[@briangalloway5021]

I first read Walden at the age of 11 or 12. It still resonates with me, maybe more than ever.

[@user-qk3sc8rq9r]

Wow you must be a genus. Have you lived in a cabin in the woods since then? There's reading then there's understanding.

[@briangalloway5021]

@@user-qk3sc8rq9r Unfortunately no. But I have followed Thoreau's line often in my lifetime: "I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live and could not spare any more time for that one."

[@briangalloway5021]

@@user-qk3sc8rq9r Unfortunately I didn't live in the wilderness. But I've often applied his wisdom during my lifetime: "I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more live to live and could not spare any more time for that one."

[@Totalballa41]

Liar

[@briangalloway5021]

Not sure what you mean by that. @@Totalballa41

[@joejoelesh1197]

I'm quite worried about the students of this professor. They've never fished, or hunted, or pent a night in the outdoors!? None of them?

[@519djw6]

*I'm a university lecturer in Japan. Most of my "advanced" courses have been very successful. However, when I try to impart Thoreau's ideas about nonconformity they can almost never understand the difference between them and "selfishness."*

[@bluegypsydoll]

I have also found this to be true.

[@doreekaplan2589]

The definition of these words will show there is nothing whatsoever relating them one to the other

[@519djw6]

@@doreekaplan2589 I was making reference to the Japanese mind-set that sees no difference between non-conformity and selfishness.

[@Pythonzzz]

@@519djw6I think that’s by design societally. Societies need to uphold the myth of productivity and “pulling one’s own weight” in order to maintain the status quo. If everybody became non-conformist, then society and the economy as we know it would fall apart. So, we have to drill the ideal of conformity as a moral duty into kids from an early age, to the point where, as you’ve observed, they can’t even imagine following their own path as anything but “selfish.” Duty to society is a useful fiction in a similar way that being in the military is lauded as heroic sacrifice, even if the war you’re fighting may be unjust.

[@stephenclayton5129]

I love Thoreau's Walden since the Summer of 1986. It is a part of my BA (Honours) dissertation in 1987 called The Politics of a New World: American Individualist Anarchism in the Nineteenth Century

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

Great title. I can see how it pairs with Transcendentalism. If you don't mind me asking, what did you end up doing with your BA?

[@lisaseverance6785]

I have always loved Thoreau. I don't find him preachy. I find him to be a man trying to explain to the world and to himself why he does the things he does. Why he has such a connection to nature. What does the running of a stream have to do with the daily life of a person? How is nature connected to us all? His words may be difficult but the principals are not. We have become so separated from such thoughts and feelings it is difficult for many to understand Thoreau. As a strong believer in self reliance where ever possible, I understand. To push ones self to see what you can do is heady business. The feeling of accomplishment and the realization that you can do more than you thought pushes you to do more. The biggest thing I gained from Thoreau was that our minds are meant to be running streams, growing in strength and knowledge as we go. Not stagnant pools. Learning is a life long process and should not be shunned or avoided but embraced ith eagerness. Go out and learn something new and see what you are capable of.

[@Jen-Bodhisattva_in_training]

I thoroughly enjoyed this, I have loved Thoreau since I first heard Robin Williams quote him back in '89. Walden is my mecca. Thank you for making this documentary!

[@nathanmaaka1631]

Surely the greatest visionaries early American colonial times posessed were Emerson Thoreau and Hawthorne! Such complexity and simplicity side by side without scaring the landscape and indigenous people! Rarity!

[@Liliquan]

Of no particular surprise you left out the female of the group.

[@guyintenn]

@@Liliquan What? They listed 3 writers primarily known for thier essays, novels, and short stories. They left out Melville by the way. As far as Emily Dickenson, why would she be listed? She was known as a poet, along with Lowell, Longfellow, Howells, and Whitman, none of which were listed either.

[@mysteryofmystery3521]

What a great life: no TV, phone, electronics, or people

[@OldEarthWisdom]

It sounds like I should read Thoreau. After living outdoors for 3.5 years I now only own 13 pounds of "stuff". I also found out that you could fall in love with the earth. I mean this!!! I fell in love!!!!

[@valerierogers9609]

My high school english teacher turned me onto Thoreau and it immediately rang true. Must be the woodswoman in my dna.

[@kimmccabe1422]

A true artist will be close to all nature!

[@MarionJInce]

Thoreau actually did measure the depth of the pond.

[@RonaldSingleterry]

T.C. Boyle's reading is sublime. Excellent voice and tone. Brilliant.

[@Goodkidjr43]

Thoreau is an attempt to return to the philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi.

[@thomasnaylor2162]

Loved it! Great presentation! Walden lives in my heart after all these years.@ wonderful insights.!

[@sociolocomtsac]

He never imposed on anybody to live a certain way. He was just describing what was going through his mind when he was living by Walden. How is it preachy when the reader was the one who chose to read his thoughts? It was never forced.

[@MrResearcher122]

Actor is good so much you think his earnest words sprang from an honest heart. He spoke words in a wordy way, and in a way Mr Thoreau might have put them.

[@PaulaDTozer]

I love odd ducks...those like me who dance to the beat of our own drummer. Damn proud of it too! I invite you to flash the world your personal Wicked Grin of triumph today! 😁

[@henriomoeje8741]

A true transcendentalist!!!

[@schneeeule7614]

he was the most outstanding nonconformist. 👍👍👍👍🌞

[@chubbyrain3]

This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing.

[@remohte]

Is this the guy who is in the woods during the summer? I was out there some years ago. He plays the part so well.

[@miichealbolton559]

these cut scenes are amazingly funny one day someone with skills is going to make a montage of this lol

[@schneeeule7614]

Thoreau on channel!!!!🍾🥂

[@donaldkelly3983]

Thanks for the Thoreau!

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

Welcome!

[@petermacharia837]

Thanks!!

[@robertmoraga1501]

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. Henry David Thoreau

[@lisaleonzis5303]

Happy to be here.. 🌳🌳

[@JD-te9tj]

very good...listen to Walden audiobook almost every night, helps me learn, and sleep. 14 hours long.

[@user-qk3sc8rq9r]

Walden is like religion, it's an individual pursuit. You either get it or you don't. 'Those who can't, teach'.

[@carsontucker6975]

didn't know they had cameras back then this is really cool

[@paulforsell2466]

Thanks for this mr baker and for helping the kids understand this stuff

[@johnx983]

Last section of video should be called, “frustrations of a high school teacher trying to make 18 year olds understand Walden like a 40 year old would understand.”

[@leonardocastelletti68]

12:39 best quote

[@monoXcide01]

I feel bad for that professor. Instead of trying to teach upper middle class children who are getting a free ride on daddy's money, he should go to places in rural America where school closes on opening day of hunting season. Those young AMERICANS would definitely appreciate him and Thourou.

[@kathyfeist5957]

Thoreau was a very good teacher and started a much sought after school with his brother after college. Not sure why this was ignored in the documentary, other than to make it more sensational.

[@JohnRay-th5kb]

I'm about to lose all I've been worthing for and am not in a position to replace the things I've accumulated. I need to learn to let go and be ok.

[@ethanatwork]

Read or listen to chapter 14 a few times, then drive out to an area in the country where people used to live and look around.

[@medea_mujer_cuervo]

Desde un bosque, gracias.

[@apsaraa8209]

I just realized on this day july 4, 2024 that am for the first time reading HDT Walden for the first time and he moved into his cabin on this day all those many years ago. Symbolism? maybe. Probably.

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

@@apsaraa8209 a sign you’re reading it at exactly the right time you were meant to

[@PopGoesTheology]

4:30 Gita 22:00 Time

[@leststoner]

I love this!

[@haroldconner2645]

After relocating to a new town, we were searching for a new church. We picked the local United Methodist Church, because the during the sermon , the pastor quoted Thoreau.

[@quill444]

_By the time Henry David Thoreau had reached my age, he had already been dead for over twenty years._ There is quite a remarkable amount of written material that exists from a man who only saw most of forty-five years on the planet. To really enjoy Thoreau's psyche, in addition to his books, read his journals! - j q t -

[@TheNosarajr]

Our world today is one of promise, like when you turn on your computer, as opposed to the world of nature, which is a realm to be immersed in, that's hard, because you have to slow down.

[@ritaparker478]

It is too bad that people are disconnecting from nature. We are a part of nature and are depriving ourselves of the insights that nature provides, it is like an integral part of ourselves is being amputated. An amputation is not the same as loss because the body/spirit always yearns rather than mourns for the integral part of us that has been cut off, we become crippled and stunted from ourselves by severing our ties to nature. It is helpful to have the Internet, it is a good tool but it does not give what nature can. It is a place of mostly intellectual knowledge while nature gives personal hands on experience, personal insights into life and death as well as a deeper connection to the self. We need to slow down, going fast removes us from life; living in fast paced conditions puts us into a state where we are not in touch with the depth of living in the moment. Nature is a healer, this is why Japanese people take forest baths- they walk in the woods in silence absorbing the energy.

[@studiovach67]

As the photos show, he kept three chairs: one for self, one for friendship and the third "for society", and had more vistors to his tiny cabin at Walden than at any other time of his life. His extensive journals need to be consulted to also see that he was indeed a mystic of deep and natural auditory and visual experiences. He did not see Nature as we see Nature. He did not "wander" in the woods randomly throwing rocks at things. He saw divinity in Nature. It was his cathedral. kzbin.info/www/bejne/emGbfolprdCqpNU

[@Thewonderingminds]

How sure can you be Thoreau's writings we now read, is gospel like text and not altered one iota from the original ?

[@bluegypsydoll]

Ask who benefits from this? Any man who follows his genius, will never be lead far astray.

[@kmm2442]

The re-enactment was really good. Just brought it to life, in a way more than just reading.

[@jimicunningable]

I found it incredibly painful to watch. Community colleges have had better productions! Cringe.

[@kmm2442]

@@jimicunningable It's not the look of it, but how it makes you feel. Their intent I suppose. And you feeling their intent. That's why it's great.

[@Goodkidjr43]

Interesting that Thoreau preferred Nature over the company of Men, yet he was dependent on Men (Emerson) for a place to live, he went to town to gather supplies needed to live at Walden (seeds, plows, clothes, building materials and tools etc). He preferred Nature but was dependent on Men (and Women). God bless.

[@countryman5329]

Hello there, the two states of being you mention are not contradictory. Especially If one substitutes the word dependent for interdependent. It is in the stillness of the mind that perceives the wonder & connectedness of all things where true peace and contentment can be found. Yours, in the Dhamma 🌄

[@ritaparker478]

Emerson was most likely an Introvert so needed to be alone to think and process. He would have needed human contact as we all do but would probably have found human company overwhelming. He could also have been a HIghly Sensitive Person (HSP-Elaine Arons PhD) so being alone was necessary not a dislike of people. He may have just be a person who needed to connect with himself, to understand himself and the world around him in a personal and spiritual way.

[@gruntgobshite]

Transactional relationships for survival is not at all contradictory with the life he lived.

[@martaelisiri2249]

Por qué no está subtitulado en castellano??

[@Dd-dx6yy]

14:27 chorale prelude nun komm der heiden heiland bwv659.

[@jimicunningable]

The dramatization was so cringy & hard to watch. Horrible!!!

[@petermacharia837]

It's a good one

[@TheCuriousConservative]

lol Ellen D could be his doppelganger

[@FriggnH8ters]

I feel that my generation needs to read Thoreau’s books most out of everyone. Or any transcendentalist work for that matter.

[@HenryCasillas]

☮️

[@dipendragahamagar2386]

Nice ❣️❣️🥀🥀🌹

[@fernandocortes1187]

6:17 me too

[@totallydomestic433]

This guy was lost as a goose. Rejected Jesus Christ. So sad. He never found the true purpose or meaning of life. Yet he did gain worldly wisdom which i appreciate.

[@bradrushing5959]

Thoreau was an admirable naturalist. In the nature journaling group I am member of, we are looking at him as a type of mentor. I am happy to see your recent comment. I wholeheartedly agree. It is sad that he would not give full credit to God through acceptance of Jesus. In our time, with the newage so prevalent, Thoreau's ideas ( as well as Emerson and Bronson's ) is very attractive to many. However, I think people make false assumptions about him though. As someone else observed, for instance, young people now think he was a socialist, which he was not. Again, what a shame that his talents and intellect were not used to build God's kingdom. I believe , however, that God's common grace allowed that Thoreau can be remembered for his accomplishments , wisdom regarding God's creation. 😊 ~ Heather ~

[@joeantolak4629]

Thats not true he mentions god several times , that was his main reason for spending so much time in nature , you just talk a lot of shit Godboy , pegans worship nature as a god and they are a lot cooler than any self righteous Christian , they keep their religion close to their chest instead of forcing beliefs

[@DonTheMoron716]

Keep reading your old book.

[@anilthapa5631]

Walden is my Bhagwat Gita.

[@judeirwin2222]

You know, I would really enjoy a good documentary about Thoreau. But this isn’t it. Why? Because, although the gentleman has the fight knowledge, he speaks extempore, without a script. We, the audience, must suffer through a thousand ums and ahs, and the sight of a talking head, instead of a carefully crafted series of visuals with well written and directed narration. I give this 6 out of ten for effort and the comment: must do better. Imagine what Ken Burns would do with this rich subject matter.

[@marvinbecker388]

I gotta be honest, that guys hat was a bit too ridicolous.

[@ConecVisuals]

???

[@a.cheese5820]

WAKE-UP!!! 🛫☘🤘😎

[@chuckpearson5537]

✌️111✌️

[@Goodkidjr43]

Sadly, Thoreau's religious philosophy (and many others during this time period) led to Atheism which produced the Hell "under our feet" of the 20th century which resulted in the earthly gods of Stalin, Hitler, Mao and Pol Pot......

[@joeantolak4629]

That’s not true , how is anti-society a creation of hell on earth ? , everybody has their own choice/path in life . Theroux was most likely the least greedy and most trust worthy, if that’s not close to god

[@maggs131]

The thumbnail looks like Ellen DeGeneres

[@debrap947]

So all these people with the tiny homes, use what's available etc. think they invented it, lol.

[@jdc1957]

The Better Part of Man is Soon Plowed Under as Manure.

[@manuelcastaneda7838]

Ted Karinsky on pot.❤😊

[@votemonty1815]

🎠🎪🎠🎪🎠🎪🎠

[@AuthorDocumentaries]

I dig the cat names. So regal sounding and studious

[@MarionJInce]

Thoreau borrowed an ax and other tools to build a cabin on land he didn’t own and declared himself to be “self reliant”.

[@robertgestone4121]

You could say that there are different levels of self reliance.

[@xyzllii]

I agree...he is too holier than thou and preachy.

[@joeantolak4629]

Preaching to who , that’s like reading someone’s journal and then talking shit about them , they are his thoughts and actions

[@xyzllii]

@@joeantolak4629 Oh my. You are an angry person . Let go of that.

[@joeantolak4629]

@@xyzllii no actually I’m very happy ,

[@joeantolak4629]

@@xyzllii you must be a very homosexual person for thinking that

[@kayallen7603]

I am not impressed. I have read Walden and found it tedious, humorless, and his philosophy smaller than that of Epicurus and his writings less than those of Walt Whitman.

[@DonTheMoron716]

Good for you.

[@williamparker1085]

terrible narration spoils this