Do you feel like you have to watch/read/listen to everything or it "doesn't count"? (1 Viewer)

[centen]

A reddit I follow (well, for now) is talking about how judgmental they are if someone doesn't read every word of a book. If you skipped anything, even the little quotes that started the chapters, then you didn't actually read the book, it doesn't count. And they're comparing it to skipping scenes in a movie or skipping episodes in a TV show.

For one, I couldn't care less how you count what you read or didn't read. Time is the most valuable resource, and I don't see the point in squandering it on things you disliked. I also read a lot of very experimental style books, which means that some parts work and some parts suck, and I still say I read the book even if I skipped over the weird third-person outtake to a sex worker's thoughts during their workday (which is a real example from a story about a spear warrior; no it never came up again).

I also say I watched, for example, Friends, even though I honestly have no idea if I've personally seen every minute of all 236 episodes.

Are you the type that "you have to consume every second/word or it doesn't count" or are you less strict?

 

[Ahsoka]

Who's even keeping track? And for what purpose? Do you get a shinny gold medal for "finishing everything"? If not then it doesn't matter. Gatekeepers annoy me too much.

 

[centen]

Who's even keeping track? And for what purpose? Do you get a shinny gold medal for "finishing everything"? If not then it doesn't matter. Gatekeepers annoy me too much.

Right?! Someone could skim a book and get the same insights I got from poring over every word, lol.

 

[Dreamer_of_Songs]

Not really. If I end up skipping a small part of a show, but I still understand what the entire episode is about, I say it counts.

 

[Horizonshard]

This is called gatekeeping. So no. You don't need to due all of X thing to have completed X thing.

That would be like saying doctors aren't doctors because they haven't studied everything to do with medicine.

It's elitist and exclusionary.

 

[StirFriedPanda]

Nope, not everyone has that much time. I catch what I can. Liking something shouldn't be stressful. It should be entertaining, fun, and uplifting. I also only read about every third word of your post. Just enough to understand what your talking about. Everyone should learn how to speed read.

 

[Tickita]

Not at all. I skip holiday episodes of TV shows all the time because I really don't care for them.

Plus, what if someone really likes something but they know that one part is going to trigger them? Should they sit through it for it to "count?" Who's making these rules?

 

[centen]

Not at all. I skip holiday episodes of TV shows all the time because I really don't care for them.

Plus, what if someone really likes something but they know that one part is going to trigger them? Should they sit through it for it to "count?" Who's making these rules?

I declared myself the Supreme Ruler of Reading, thank you very much.

 

[Tickita]

I declared myself the Supreme Ruler of Reading, thank you very much.

Can I join your cult?

I bookworm. Bookly books.

 

[centen]

This is called gatekeeping. So no. You don't need to due all of X thing to have completed X thing.

That would be like saying doctors aren't doctors because they haven't studied everything to do with medicine.

It's elitist and exclusionary.

It's so weirdly petty to me to care that much about what other people do with their time, lol. Plus, other people could make up their own arbitrary rules and make it so Mr. Gatekeeper's entertainment choices "don't count."

 

[centen]

Can I join your cult?

I bookworm. Bookly books.

You are clearly a person of exquisite language; you may enter.

 

[Yuzuru]

Personally I’m the type to be less strict when it comes to things as such.

 

[Villains]

not at all, i'm the type to skip parts and even whole episodes if i don't feel like watching (especially slice of life shows)

 

[ChiaraStar169]

Just because you skipped over something, doesn't mean you didn't read/watch/listen to it. Maybe there was a triggering reason they skipped over it? Whenever Sign of the Times comes up when I'm listening to Harry Styles, I always skip it bc one of my YouTubers was going through a miscarriage around the time it came out, and sad news is one of my triggers. Do I still say I listened to him that day? Heck yes, because I also listened to other songs by him.

 

[chiefchilly1]

I’m the opposite. I’ll start books, movies and shows and never finish. Besides has this person never heard of skim reading, can’t survive college without it

 

[Selfmate]

do as much or as little as you want don't let others tell you how to enjoy your hobbies
it's not limited to books/movies/tv shows etc
it applies equally to kpop as well - just because you didn't watch every single content from your favs doesn't mean you aren't one

 

[ichigohon]

Do what makes you happy. I think that is a stupid comparison that they are making with books though in relation to movies/TV. If you skip over a paragraph in a book even if it is the most important paragraph that is akin to missing maybe 3 seconds of a television show or maybe 15 seconds of a movie. Nothing groundbreaking is going to change your perception of the book/movie/TV without seeing or reading that.