If you could view something again as though it was for the first time, what would it be?

[immortalfrieza]

Let's say a memory eraser device was invented that was so precise you could delete all memory of any particular book you've read, movie you've seen, game you've played, whatever and nothing else so that it was as though you had never seen it before. Given the choice, what would be the first thing you'd see all over again?

My difficulty would be choosing which of the Tales games I'd do this with first.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Pacific Rim, if I could watch it again in theaters.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Probably the Mass Effect trilogy. I loved it and it was so good, on average, I'd love to play through it with fresh eyes again.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

So many things...

-Firefly
-Westworld
-The Prestige
-Memento
-Cubs World Series win in 2016
-Team Ico games, Portal 2, Braid (any great puzzle game to forget the solutions)
-Watchmen
-Ex Machina
-10 Cloverfield Lane
-Most Tarantino movies
-Logan
-Infernal Affairs
-Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex

 

[EscapistAccount]

Annihilation. It was the last film I sat down to see without any spoilers whatsoever that wasn't capeshit or similar. At the end I turned Netflix off and thought to myself 'damn, that was a really good film!' Then I thought about it for several days and still rate it highly.

Either that or the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

 

[twistedmic]

Book-wise, I'd delete my memory of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series so that I could read it for the first time again-all the heartbreak and angst included, followed by Dune, Jurassic Park and Starship Troopers.
For movies, I'd go with the original Star Wars trilogy followed shortly thereafter by most of Quentin Tarantino's movies (I found Deathproof and Jackie Brown to be weaker than the others) and then Princess Mononoke

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I wouldn?t mind seeimg Neon Genesis Evangelion in all its inexpensive, corner cutting and dialogue heavy panning frame glory again with the caveat of also rolling Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion after them. I can never adequately explain how I felt after I saw Episode 26 and End for the first time.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy for sure. I would love to have that eye opening experience again for the first time.

 

[gsilver]

Though most things, if you saw them now, probably wouldn't be as impactful as when you saw them the first time. Emotional states over time and all that.

 

[SupahEwok]

Nothing.

One of my favorite quotes relating to storytelling comes from Gene Wolfe:

My definition of a great story has nothing to do with "a varied and interesting background." It is: One that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure.

Good, truly good stories, can be consumed again and again, and you'll enjoy them in some different ways every time. For example, the last time I rewatched the Star Wars original trilogy, I was struck by how fitting the music was for any given scene, something I would likely not have appreciated seeing it for the first time.

Seeing something for the first time is one kind of experience, but again and again, I find that I have a better one on a subsequent watch, when I don't have to keep up with the plot and can find and enjoy the smaller details and connections.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Ehhh ... I've always been of the opinion that a good story is timeless, and that the thoughts that it imparts leave one better for knowing them. If a story is onlygood because of its initial discovery, then it probably wasn't all that good. Pure escapism fuel isn't actually healthy to indulge in.

Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment isn't a fun read, but I will say reading it is rewarding, even if you think the morality it presents or its arguments are wrong.

On the flipside, when I was a teenager and in my early twenties I wouldn't mind a mind eraser device for some of the cocked up relationships I had. But then again, in a way that would be even worse.

 

[immortalfrieza]

Snip

Snip

Let's be honest here, most stories get gradually worse in subsequent viewings, even the best stories tend to start get boring after two or three more viewings. Some stories in particular like mysteries rely pretty much entirely on surprising the viewer and thus have little to offer in further viewings.

Just because something can't really be watched more than once or twice doesn't mean it's not good, it's very hard to be good in multiple views with any story. Nearly every story is the best the very first time it's viewed, and even those few that are only are because they have things you wouldn't notice the first time viewing.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Let's be honest here, most stories get gradually worse in subsequent viewings, even the best stories tend to start get boring after two or three more viewings. Some stories in particular like mysteries rely pretty much entirely on surprising the viewer and thus have little to offer in further viewings.

Just because something can't really be watched more than once or twice doesn't mean it's not good, it's very hard to be good in multiple views with any story. Nearly every story is the best the very first time it's viewed, and even those few that are only are because they have things you wouldn't notice the first time viewing.

I guess so? That being said, the only thing I can think of is I wouldn't mind marathoning MLP. So that?

That being said, that's not entirely true. LotR trilogy is pretty much utterly without any real allegory behind it, so that is the only thing I can legitimately think of where you could just constantly enjoy it with a mind-wiping device and not actually lose anything important.

So MLP: FiM and The Hobbit+LotR books. ...

What makes me kind of spooked is that idea of allegory. How you can watch/read something, come away with a different opinion solely on how you consumed it at the time and what mindset you were in, and how clever the writer is.

How a mind-wiping device may make you lose all of the nuance and new appreciations you have about something as you think about it. Hrm ... how about the Colder and MLP comic books...? Diminished periodical serialized content w/ direct visual representational mediums seem less dangerous.

The Colder comic books are pretty good, but you know ... not amazing, but pretty good.

 

[DarthCoercis]

Babylon 5. All of it. Gods I love that show.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Nothing. Maybe. I don't know. I'd rather see a brand new amazing thing than delete memories that may have been quite useful for additional context and perspective. I'd like to try MDMA as if it were the first time though. But then again mostly for the raw emotion, as I'd still have to sacrifice all the little extra tips and tricks I've gathered for dealing with the experience in the most appreciatable and efficient ways available. Like, for an unrelated example, how maybe trying to play donkey Kong 64 is not going to mesh well with a firey buzz as much as listening to some jungle drum n bass and dancing my ass off while talking a load of bollocks to random strangers will.

Although could put up some sort of comedy that made me laugh, can't remember what did, but I'd like to laugh again at some point again. Am pretty sure that was a fun thing to do. Can't laugh at the same joke twice. Cant enjoy any good thing twice. Am wondering if that's some kind of mental deficiency. Not ruling it out for now.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Although could put up some sort of comedy that made me laugh, can't remember what did, but I'd like to laugh again at some point again. Am pretty sure that was a fun thing to do. Can't laugh at the same joke twice. Cant enjoy any good thing twice. Am wondering if that's some kind of mental deficiency. Not ruling it out for now.

I reckon the opposite is true. People laughing at the Big Bang Theory. Which always frightens me. People keep defending the show to me, and I challenge them to watch it without the laugh track and not instantly hate Sheldon.

That being said, anhedonia can be a symptom of larger psychological problems... yeah. If you're having other troubles, like loss of interest in social interactions, if personal hygiene begins falling, or you're struggling to find a reason to get up or go to work/study/do groceries what have you, or begin suffering social anxieties such as paranoia, you should perhaps seek help.

Anhedonia is kind of attributable to a number of maladies, and it's easier to address them earlier rather than later.

 

[McElroy]

Scream and Scream 2

But I'd also want to be the target audience when those movies came out.

Crysis was dope even in 2010 when I first played it.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I reckon the opposite is true. People laughing at the Big Bang Theory. Which always frightens me. People keep defending the show to me, and I challenge them to watch it without the laugh track and not instantly hate Sheldon.

That being said, anhedonia can be a symptom of larger psychological problems... yeah. If you're having other troubles, like loss of interest in social interactions, if personal hygiene begins falling, or you're struggling to find a reason to get up or go to work/study/do groceries what have you, or begin suffering social anxieties such as paranoia, you should perhaps seek help.

Anhedonia is kind of attributable to a number of maladies, and it's easier to address them earlier rather than later.

Could be the case. Hadn't thought to bring it up to any professionals due to it being the least of current problems. Plus it feels kind of deserved in ways that aren't brief or useful enough to elaborate upon. Will see if can remember to mention it in an upcoming appointment though, can be very forgetful in anxious states of mind.

The laugh track absence challenge sounds like a horror reserved only for one's greatest enemies. What if they still laugh? Does that provide a 95% chance that they are a Tory voter?

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Twin Peaks Season 3.

Ran last year and was my most anticipated media event... ever, basically. Very rarely do I watch television shows when they actually run, rather than as a complete package a while later, but each episode was without failure the highlight of my week. My Monday's have gotten a lot more dreary ever since it ended. What an ending it was, though.

 

[the December King]

Books? LoTR, certainly. Loads of Lovecraft's work, too- it'd be interesting to see how I feel about the works after developing and growing up first, as opposed to reading them when I was 12.

I'd love to see the 1982 version of The Thing again and strive for that original sense of terror that it inspired in me... though... I was like 9 when I first saw that... probably won't have the same 'oomph'.

I dunno. Maybe you can't go back like th... oh! I'd love to play the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games for the first time again. That happened when I was like 30 something, and it was a blast, and I'd like that vibe again.

EDIT: Oh fuck of course! The birth of my son. Seeing his face for the first time was mind blowing, for both of us.