Repetition, why do we, repeat, why do we, repeat?

February 5, 2009

todaysforecastrepetition

One of the things that draws us to film? No one ever says-
What? I didn’t hear you. Repeat that. Speak up. What did you say? I thought you said..You are mumbling. Huh? Why do you keep saying that!

There’s rarely stuttering, unless its obviously built into a character to such a degree as to show extreme shyness. Once a characters’ basic nature is set, they don’t really have good days and bad days. And no one, EVER tells the same joke twice. In sitcoms, yes, but not in film.

I find myself more and more attracted to the idea of saying what I need to say, once, and with as much clarity as possible. I realize this may be unnerving, but I’m not too concerned about that. But repeating myself has become something I detest, and have grown to be irritated when I see it reflected around me.

Its a peculiar sort of venus-fly-trap, communicatively speaking, when someone tells a joke, its funny, people around them laugh, and then they repeat sections of the funny part over and over again. It doesn’t even have to be a joke. I’ve noticed that it can be a loving jib or a flat out insult, couched in a pinch-your-cheek sort of way. It’s bizarre to watch these comments accepted and even relished when the person who’s receiving them is not as enthusiastic.

Where does this symptom come from? I can muse that it comes from the change from meeting in person, to calling and emailing, then to IMing and text messaging. Our attention spans flit from place to place. When I want to make arrangements to have dinner with a friend, they inevitably, without fail, nearly always say, “Great, just send me an email (though their PDA is right there) and then remind me the day before. Or! Can you send me a text? that’s perfect.

As if I’m a personal assistant.

ist2_483232-i-can-t-hear-you

Its gotten to be dizzying, trying to keep track of each person’s preferred method to communicate with them. My friend Epic wants to be called, left no messages, and once she sees that she’s missed a call, its the ‘signal’ to call me back. My other friend Thunderous wants to be texted only, but if I leave a voicemail, she’ll listen to it. My other friend Mischief never checks email or voicemail, doesn’t know how to use text messaging, but can get text messages. And these are just a few.

I used to *hate* it, and raged against it. Now I accept that each person has their own way. I just wish my phone could memorize these things for me, in little “your friend’s preferences” and remind me before I go to have a damn dinner.

Apparently, because I know how to remember things, or stop and take in something once, I need less repetition. So it falls to me, to massage and nurture my relationships in this way. I think its also a product of living in a metropolitan area. In my case, its a burden. I accept it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

So if I’m talking to you, and you asked me to repeat something, and there’s no obvious cute distracting person around, or a 5 car pile up behind my head, or your boss or mother didn’t just call, if I just stare at you, know you’ll know why.

Photo credits to-

http://www.pixelperson.com/manage/wp-content/images/repeat_pandemic.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ksnyusILTeE/SKQHWnXo5OI/AAAAAAAABsM/XsNJHWWet08/s400/ist2_483232-i-can-t-hear-you.jpg