Blog Task 4: Pathology of Collecting

The pathology of collecting task

This week I want you to try and read  Baudrillard’s  “ The System of Collecting” text which I have uploaded onto BB in the theory folder.  Don’t worry if you don’t quite understand all of it, give it a good go and don’t give up too easily.  As before I don’t expect perfection just a good effort.

Once you have gone through it have a look at some collecting videos on Youtube.  (type in ‘obsessive collectors’, or ‘compulsive collectors or alternatively ‘ my little pony, teapot, cat etc...collectors- and you will get endless videos)

Pick one video- which you upload to your blog and write a minimum of 200 words analysing it, using at least 2 academic quotes of your choice from the Baudrillard text.

You can also add quotes from other academic texts (you can use the texts  referenced in the lecture or from the bibliography on BB).

TLC (2013). The King of Ketchup | My Crazy Obsession [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLZ_HDVf5DY> [Accessed 14 Novermber 2013]

'The King of Ketchup - My Crazy Obsession'

If I were to examine why Ralph Finch collects extreme amounts of Ketchup, I would only need to look to the title of the video for the answer. By referring to himself as "The King of Ketchup", Ralph appears to be exercising his desire for power.

Presumably what started off as a love for the taste of Ketchup, probably grew out of control, but for a reason. I think part of the reasoning why people collect is to gain a sense of purpose, being and recognition. Since accumulating his collection, Ralph has clearly gained this title of 'Ketchup King', which brings him this sense of worth in his life. Baudrillard describes this dependence the collector has towards his object - "we can only guess at its fundamental role in keeping the lives of the individual subject or of the collectivity on an even footing, and in supporting our very project of survival." I think what Baudrillard is trying to say is, without the object, the person feels worthless - they are nobody. The object exalts them with these 'kingly' powers and gives them a reason for 'survival'. (Baudrillard 1994: 2)

I don't think I could analyse this video without commenting on the madness that is, "he cashed in his life insurance policy to pay for new additions to his collection". Where do I begin with this? From what I understood, Baudrillard deals with this type of issue by relating it to time. He illustrates it through the object of the 'wristwatch' - "On one level, the wrist-watch keeps us informed about objective time: chronometric exactitude being, of course, a factor indissociable from material constraints, social intercourse, and death. Yet, all the while it makes us submit to the temporal tyranny, the wrist-watch, as an object, also helps us to make time our own." (Baudrillard 1994: 10) This is precisely what Ralph is doing; he has essentially exchanged his life for these rare bottles of Ketchup, and by doing so he probably feels like a part of him is finite. So long as these rare bottles of Ketchup exist, so will he, long after he has died. He is manipulating time and making it 'his own' through his object, again referring back to these suggestions of a yearning for power.

Of course, Ralph's collection is merely harmless, and like he says it brings him 'pleasure'. As problematic as that may sound, we're all victims of collecting, and we all do it as a form of pleasure. It's therapeutic and brings reassurance to a person. Even when you're life feels disordered and chaotic, collecting helps bring about a sense of order or control that you may feel is lacking. We don't know anything about Ralph's life, but if collecting Ketchup makes him happy then he should continue to do it.