I am fully aware of how petty and first-world this actual problem is, but shut up because this is my article, and also, thanks for reading it. I’m a gamer at heart, soul, and brain holder. I also love being geeky with movies and shows. And therein lies the problem.
There’s so much good shit out there it’s maddening.
I remember the days (oh yeah, I’m this old) when there were pretty much two good shows per week, and you had to wait seven days before you could see either of them. Now, and I’m blaming YouTube for this, there’s access to so much good content that it all comes out at once. I need to put aside 14 hours just to watch the entire season in one go, so I don’t inadvertently run into spoilers on my social media.
For a lot of people out there, that’s fine. Do some homework, maybe get ready for tomorrow, put a load in the laundry, shower, then put on three to four hours of the show you want to watch until it’s over in a couple of days. But then there are people like me. Full-time job? Check. Dependent animals that will die if not catered to apparently every minute of the day? Check. Living alone because I haven’t found someone willing to put up with my shit daily and willingly help around the house to lighten the load through dividing and conquering? Check.
Self-deprecating jokes aside (but never far), I got other things I gotta do on the daily, and it’s as hard as a weeb at an anime girl convention to keep up with all the delectable content out there.
Don’t think about that last thing too long.
Anyway, all I’m saying is this: “can we take a year off, please?” Like just a year of really crappy movies that we can still watch, but like, not need to put 50 hours in each because I am backed up, man. As of this writing, I still haven’t seen either Bubba Facebook or PiecePipe (I think those are names of things) because JESUS they are as long as this sentence.
And that’s just for the shows and movies where all your effort comes from sitting silently and maintaining eye contact with the screen. Video games are on a whole nother plane of existence. I haven’t beaten most of the games I started in 2016 because every game is 50 hours of beautiful story, expert acting, and gorgeous visuals. But my ADHD mind needs to look at every possibility when there are choice prompts. So I save, make a choice, go back, make the other choice(s), see what the results are, then determine which one I would rather complete the story with. I also prefer to complete as much as possible on a first playthrough, so I get the whole intended experience the devs were going after. So even a 10-hour game becomes 20 on a first playthrough. You can imagine how wonderfully painful a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 can be to someone like me. And we’re not even including any subsequent playthroughs to complete trophy sets or unlockables.
I love games and movies and shows a lot. I think that is evident. So I love that there are this many good options out there in such a short amount of time, but it’s kind of like winning free pizza for a year: you get real excited and dive in, only to get so full you worry if you’re ever going to enjoy another piece.
Am I the only one on pop-cultural burnout? Have you guys been able to see everything all the time on the first day and keep up with all your favorite shows and stuff regularly? Please validate my tribulation and say you’re not.
I’m totally with you! The Pop culture burnout is real but in a way, im glad we are spoilt for choice and yet somehow im going back to the same 5 movies or shows!
HAHAHA I totally get that! I still watch some stuff from my high school days.
I’m not fully burnt out, but when it comes to something like the MCU… it’s starting to get to the point where I’m only watching the stuff that I want to watch and skipping a couple things, even with the entire “shared universe” bend that they’ve had since the start. So I guess I’m kind of burnt out on at least some facets of this pop cultural boom, too!
Yeah, somehow I don’t get tired of it either. But THERE’S SO MUCH STUFF!!!
LOLOL another gem from you! Fun read, but you are SO right. Burnout is real. Too many games, too many shows…I restarted GoT and my list is getting longer as to what to watch, so I’m avoiding it by watching something I’ve already seen 6 times. LOL
Tell me about it! Sometimes the comfort of something you know can help get away from the overwhelming feelings of everyday life. Now I’m gonna watch the Lord of the rings extended cut for the 18th time this month instead of learning anything new.