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Lists, completism
Feb. 18th, 2005 08:24 pmWhy are so many men completists? In a fit of momentary insanity a year or so ago I decided to convert my 600 or so videos to DVD. Needless to say my entire Video collection is neatly categorized because, well, that's what men do. But this newe DVD recorder would give me an opportunity to put everything IN ORDER. The episodes of Six Feet Under, or Northern Exposure, or The Shield (and so on, ad infinitum) that currently resided in higgledy-piggledy fashion on various videos could be neatly brought together.
Well, that was a year ago, and some progress has been made (by which I mean, about 5%). What I had originally seen as a five-year-plan is rapidly turning into a lifetime's work. And, more irritating, nearly all of the series have at least one episode missing. For the completist, this is akin to making the whole thing worthless.
And, when I think about it, what is the point? Am I ever going to watch these things again? Probably not. And if I were, why don't I just go out and buy the DVD collection? But it's the process, the getting of things into order. Men's brains must work in very mysterious ways.
Well, that was a year ago, and some progress has been made (by which I mean, about 5%). What I had originally seen as a five-year-plan is rapidly turning into a lifetime's work. And, more irritating, nearly all of the series have at least one episode missing. For the completist, this is akin to making the whole thing worthless.
And, when I think about it, what is the point? Am I ever going to watch these things again? Probably not. And if I were, why don't I just go out and buy the DVD collection? But it's the process, the getting of things into order. Men's brains must work in very mysterious ways.
