I have been interested in the history of the American Civil War from a young age. This all started when my grandparents took me on a trip to see the site of the largest battle in the war at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Before I went, my parents had me watch the (appropriately-named) movie Gettysburg (1993) so I would have some context for what I was seeing. Despite clocking in at over 4 hours, I absolutely loved the film, and it remains my favorite to this day.
Fast forward several years and we were approaching the sesquicentennial1 of the Battle of Gettysburg. I ended up visiting the battlefield again with my mom, and together we not only saw all of the important sites in the area but watched a reenactment of Pickett’s Charge, the climactic event of the Battle. I had already rewatched the movie Gettysburg a few weeks earlier in anticipation, and at the end of these events my mom suggested that I watch it again. All of a sudden I realized: I had somehow gotten sick of watching my favorite movie.
To be fair, this is a bit of an extreme case. I’m sure anyone would get tired of content after experiencing it several times in quick succession. But where does that threshold lie, and how does it differ between different media?
Here are some factors that have played a role for me:
- Age: When I was in elementary school, there were a few books I would read over and over again without getting tired of them. These included all 7 Harry Potter books2 as well as Ender’s Game. I enjoyed the latter so much I would read it side-by-side with Ender’s Shadow and switch between them to sync up the chapters so they happened at the same time. I’d recommend trying this if you’re a fan3; it’s a cool experience. Now, though, I don’t think I would enjoy reading the same books several times in a short period of time. I haven’t actually rigorously tested this and it seems contrary to received wisdom about older people becoming more set in their ways so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems that as I have grown older, I have become more interested in novelty as a criterion for choosing between media.
- Differences between categories of media: While I could reread the same books many times when I was younger, I may not have placed the same value on watching the same movie or TV show over and over again. However, this may have changed as I have gotten older, as I now find myself watching more movies than re-reading books. Also, other people may find the opposite, as is the case for this infamous copypasta.
- Differences between individual pieces of media: Certain books and movies are just inherently more rewatchable than others, though which criteria makes this so differs between genres, media, and individuals.
There is sporadic discussion of this phenomenon across the internet which I have not delved into in much detail, including a comprehensive4 writeup from Gwern. It would be nice to have a more systematic study that aggregates many peoples’ experiences with altered enjoyment versus time between replay; if I care enough maybe I can one day try to tackle this but it’s not high on my priority list. The main takeaway is just to avoid replaying your favorite media either too often or too sparsely. I have gone on to watch and enjoy Gettysburg several times afterwards, but I have always left plenty of time in between each viewing to ensure maximal enjoyment.