What I See with Peter Fiorenza: I seldom watch TV, but spent a big chunk of my summer break bingeing

During the festive summer break, I’ve been binging. That’s right, lying in front of the television and watching countless documentaries, profile docos and series. This is something out of the normal for me. I really reckon people should only watch television when they have nothing else to do. Even with all that is on offer to watch these days, I seldom watch a lot of TV. In fact, if I lie on my couch in front of the box after an evening meal, soon I’m feeling sleepy, and I turn in for the night. So, you could say this summer holidays was an exception. At times, I even felt a little guilty, but gee, I enjoyed it. Without going into detail about the great shows I watched, there were a couple that stood out, reinforcing a theory that I would like to share. In one doco, former actor and interior designer Michael Chow makes an interesting observation, while being interviewed about former pop artist Andy Warhol. He suggested that Warhol’s premature death fell into the pattern of other celebrities, people who were somewhat suffocated by fame. In the Netflix series, The Andy Warhol Diaries, Chow cites people like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean as all falling victim to such a curse. He put Warhol in the same category. Not taking into consideration the physical cause of their deaths, these and many other popular individuals have tragically died, while being uniquely alienated from the rest of society. The six-part series that uses Warhol’s diaries as its primary subject is a fantastic expose of the artist’s career and life. Before watching the program, I knew little about Warhol, but gained an insight into a vulnerable, confused man. I believe he had an intellect well ahead of his time. The life of singer Sam Cooke, who was shot in 1964, was also a fascinating binge. The documentary, ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke, told the story of one of the world’s most influential contributors to music. Only recently have I become aware of the crooner, whose hits include such gems as Cupid, Another Saturday Night, Twisting the Night Away, and You Send Me. The biographical film, however, also looks at Cooke’s involvement in the early years of the civil rights movement, leaving questions about his untimely death. I could go on to talk about the fascinating tale of Bernie Madoff and his unbelievable Ponzi scheme that rocked Wall Street, to The Tinder Swindler, and tell you that watching the series, The Serpent, is a definite must. Suffice to say, I think my annual binge is done. Peter Fiorenza hosts Fiorenza on Sundays between 10am and noon on Radio MAMA. His show is back from next weekend.