History Series / TheWorldAccordingToJeffGoldblum

The series follows the self-proclaimed "curious cat" as he journeys beyond his world of acting and jazz music to travel the United States to learn and deconstruct the history and culture behind common yet much-loved -- often passionately so -- staples of modern everyday life, such as sneakers, denim, tattoos, and ice cream. In the process he crosses cultural, generational, and technological divides, makes new friends, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers and randomly bursts into snippets of song]].

''The World According To Jeff Goldblum'' is a Creator/NationalGeographicChannel [[TVDocumentary documentary series]] hosted by Creator/JeffGoldblum. It is one of the charter original productions of Creator/DisneyPlus.

The series follows Jeff as he travels to learn and deconstruct the history and culture behind common yet much-loved -- often passionately so -- staples of modern everyday life, such as sneakers, denim, tattoos, and ice cream.

The first episode was released on November 12, 2019 with a planned weekly episode release for every Friday.

* {{Edutainment}}: Each episode is as much about ''how'' Goldblum learns about the topic in question as ''what'' he learns, and its tone is cheeky and lighthearted. ([=ScreenRant=] even [[https://screenrant.com/disney-jeff-goldblum-smarter-essays/?fbclid=IwAR1bJY3a2fDukZVwjIkXybHpRypw-4Od0tJCxc3cMvJlMYSGTElNJ48to1k compared the structure of the show to classical essays]].)

* GoodOldWays: The visit to Detroit, Michigan in "Bicycles" has Goldblum get a custom bicycle built to participate in the city's weekly [[https://www.slowroll.bike/ "Slow Roll" event]], in which hundreds of people ride together. The warm, communal enjoyment of an emission-free mode of transportation that was usurped by the polluting automobile -- in a city that has struggled with the DyingTown trope since the collapse of the American auto industry in the 1970s -- is this trope in action.

* {{Edutainment}}: Each episode is as much about ''how'' Goldblum learns about the topic in question as ''what'' he learns, and its tone is cheeky and lighthearted.

* ContinuityNod: To the host's career. At the top of "Cosmetics" he describes himself as "no stranger to the makeup chair. I've been transformed into [[Film/TheFly1986 a tragically romantic human fly]], [[Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy a periwinkle-blue alien]], even [[Film/ThorRagnarok a grandiose mysteriso]], all for Mother Cinema."

* StandardSnippet: "On the Beautiful Blue Danube" underscores an RV demolition derby.

* ConstantlyCurious: Goldblum describes himself as "a curious cat" at the top of the first episode, and approaches each subject -- and the people who build their lives around it -- in a friendly, questioning manner. The subjects were specifically ones he wanted to learn about, taken from a list provided to him by the National Geographic folks.

*** In the same episode, as Goldblum's voiceover describes how scientists are working on meat substitutes, the animation whimsically ponders a cut of meat inside from what looks very much like [[Film/TheFly1986 a telepod]].

* ConstantlyCurious: Goldblum describes himself as "a curious cat" at the top of the first episode, and approaches each subject -- and the people who build their lives around it -- in a friendly, questioning manner. The subjects were specifically ones he wanted to learn about.

* GraveHumor: The Flavor Graveyard has humorous rhyming epitaphs on its mock tombstones. On top of that, when Goldblum sees that "Oh Pear" lasted less than a year he says it was [[DeathOfAChild "taken in its infancy...Oh, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard!"]]

* MustHaveCaffiene: A major element of "Coffee", naturally. Goldblum himself used to use coffee as a stimulant when working, but eventually gave up the habit in part because he never cared for the taste. Revisiting it for this episode gives him a better understanding of why so many people love and need it.

** In "Bicycles", when he mentions the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velocipede velocipede]] in the brief history of the bicycle he parenthetically notes it's "like a [[Film/JurassicPark ''Velociraptor'']]".

** "[=RVs=]": Despite humans no longer ''needing'' to travel from place to place to survive, they are still hard-wired to do so, and RVs allow them to explore the world with their loved ones in tow.

** "RVs": Despite humans no longer ''needing'' to travel from place to place to survive, they are still hard-wired to do so, and RVs allow them to explore the world with their loved ones in tow.

* SomethingMan: In "RVs", Goldblum gets to work with some of the tools during his visit to an RV factory, one of which is a staple gun. He dubs himself "Stapleman" and asks the craftsman aiding him if he should turn that into a superhero movie.

* StopMotion: The title sequences emulate this style, with clay-like letters bouncing around.

** "Denim": Denim jeans especially are a surprisingly universal uniform for people (about 50% of the world's population is denim-clad at any one time these days), even serving as a gateway to bridging differences. However, a pair still reflects the uniqueness of its wearer because it is easily changed by design and/or by the wear-and-tear put on them by their experiences.

* EnforcedPlug: As part of the promotional push for this show the December 5, 2019 episode of ''Series/Jeopardy'' featured a category devoted to it with answers based on tidbits from the first few episodes, with clues read by Goldblum.

* PaintingTheMedium: As Goldblum prepares to unbox the custom sneakers made for him at the end of the first episode, the image mock-pauses (complete with appropriate icons) as his voiceover warns that if the viewer wants to stay in the moment of suspense they should close their eyes now.

* SitcomArchnemesis: Goldblum gets quite frustrated when he goes through a sneaker test and is repeatedly accused of "bopping" too much, with the tester refusing to give a straight answer on what that actually means, eventually calling him "my new nemesis."