Collectors Addiction: The Struggle We All Deal With At Some Point

[GenPion]

Folks, this hobby is supposed to be fun. It's about a love of movies and a passion for filmmaking. It's about more than "consumerism" or "collecting them all" too.

Anyone who feels a compulsion to have to own "everything" is doing it wrong. Not a single collector will ever own "everything" - that's a simple truth. You might collect everything from a single favorite filmmaker or film series, for example, but there's absolutely no such thing as a "finished collection" or some such. It's just your own personal library.

I have a massive wish-list but I will probably never buy all of them or find the time to see it all necessarily. Regardless, I pick up movies I want to watch - and Blu-ray/4K is enormously important to me - all the exclusive 4K or 2K restorations, audio restorations from original master audio tapes in lossless audio encoding, absorbing bonus features, and more. I also enjoy the tangible physical element of it - the cover art, the booklets, the slipcovers, the steelbooks - the collectors editions - and it all means a lot to me.

I won't ever stop collecting or get rid of most of my collection. Sometimes collecting can lead to collector "burn out" - or feeling overwhelmed. Take a break from it if you feel one is necessary. You might regret pairing down so many movies - they are yours for the rest of your life, always there if you want to watch something.

If you were buying movies just to "buy stuff" (i.e. mindless consumerism) then maybe it's not the hobby for you. It's a hobby for cinephiles and video-audio enthusiasts and those who enjoy bonus features/collectables/etc. Not for someone who wants to just stream a movie here or there or who doesn't value the format.