As I sat down to observe some episodes of HBO Max’s new sequence World of Calm, one thing bizarre and superb began to occur. All of the muddle within the background — the stress of playoff baseball, the swelter of a late September warmth wave in Oregon, the crippling stress of labor — shortly started to soften away. Nicole Kidman was telling me about flamingoes whereas photos of migrating birds stuffed my display screen, and nothing else mattered.
The brand new sequence, a collaboration with the Calm app, goals to assist viewers loosen up, which isn’t any small feat when the world round us is burning down and persons are reporting record-setting levels of anxiety and depression. A pair deep breaths assist, however have you ever tried Kidman cooing in her Australian accent about migrating storks flying over flower farms that span the entire colour spectrum? The best factor about World of Calm is that it really works as marketed, immediately, actually, making it probably the most helpful tv program out immediately.
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The formulation right here is straightforward, however efficient: Every 22-minute episode options high-quality footage of calming imagery — the pure fantastic thing about Earth, skilled craftsmen quietly working their commerce, the serenity of the cosmos — and is accompanied by a soundtrack populated by light pianos and mellotrons whereas a celeb — good ones, too — narrates. Kate Winslet cradles you in her voice whereas she informs you about horses, Idris Elba‘s lullaby carries you into the weightlessness of outer area, Lucy Liu soothes with a mellow essay in regards to the majesty of coral reefs, and extra. The transformative impact of World of Calm can’t be denied. It is a return to the womb.
Tv is not a stranger to inducing calm. Lots of immediately’s packages are supposed to make their audiences really feel higher, a direct response to the chaos round us. The Good Place, Schitt’s Creek, The Great British Baking Show, and extra are all lauded for his or her standing as feel-good shows, however regardless that they inform tales of overcoming adversity, forgiving household dysfunction, or turning into higher folks via pleasant competitors, they nonetheless characteristic adversity, dysfunction, and competitors. Even related reveals to A World of Calm like Planet Earth finally present a clip of an deserted lion cub left to die alone or an iguana navigating a minefield of predatory snakes. Not so with A World of Calm, it is chill to the core.
World of Calm
There is a wealth of selection within the 10 episodes, too. Whereas the episodes centered on animals and nature had the perfect impact on me, Oscar Isaac would like to decrease your blood stress by telling you about noodles. Sure, noodles. Keanu Reeves talking about an skilled Latvian woodworker is a psychological colonic. Priyanka Chopra Jonas grounds you with the secrets and techniques of chocolate.
A World of Calm opens up the medium of tv to an entire new world and viewers, and with greater than sufficient room on the billions of streaming providers out there, it is about time that tv finds a extra useful method to contribute to society. That is televised remedy, it is a protected area in your display screen, it is medicinal media. It is the tv equal of a heat bathtub, a glass of pinot noir, and a Xanax chaser, and it is important now greater than ever.
A World of Calm is now out there on HBO Max.