A glance at any retailer's entertainment section will show that the average price of a DVD is steadily dropping.
As DVDs become less expensive, it shouldn't be a surprise that household collections are growing. That begs the question: How do you organize your movies?
Sorting alphabetically may seem like a safe and easy choice, but it's also boring.
Just as one's movie collection is an extension of his or her personality, the way people organize DVDs reveals as much about who they are.
Here are a few organizational choices that can spice up your collection.
Chronological.
There are two ways to sort your movies chronologically. The first way, organizing your movies by the year they were released, isn't much more exciting than alphabetical order.
The second chronological method is involves sorting films by the year they take place.
From The Flintstones to Jetsons: The Movie, your collection would track mankind's mastery of dinosaurs to its mastery of flying cars.
The only problem with sorting your DVDs by their place in history is reconciling conflicting views of the past and future.
Which version of dinosaurs are you going to begin with: the happy-go-lucky antics of The Land Before Time or the Married with Children-esque lifestyle that was described in the first season of Jim Henson's Dinosaurs.
Do you include Disney's reassuringly quaint version of Pocahontas? Or do you go with Terrence Malick's complex interpretation of the events in The New World? Or do you forgo both versions for the 1995 film, Pocahontas: The Legend?
Even more difficult to answer, though, is what apocalyptic future you will choose to give your DVD collection. Will the world be overrun by monkeys, robots or road-warring Australians?
Suitability for Children.
This method of organization is perfect for couples with young children.
It involves buying a really tall bookshelf and sorting your movies from the ground up by whether they're appropriate for children.
The bottom shelf would house the tamest of children's movies, those that encourage either education or respecting parents.
As you went further up the bookshelf, the movies would become less suitable for children (probably ending with Todd Solondz's ode to sexual deviance, Happiness).
As the child developed and grew in size, the films that you did not want your kid to watch would always be a shelf out of reach.
This plan is an almost flawless way of regulating and maintaining your children's innocence. In fact, the plan has only has one vulnerability: step stools.
Genre.
Sorting your DVD by genre can make it easy when it comes time to choose what film you are going to watch on a Friday night.
For increased effect, you can narrow the categories into subgenres.
Don't settle for grouping action films into one area. Gather movies for a "TNT and T&A" section when you're in the mood for a non-stop, pulse-pounding adrenaline ride that has nudity.
When organizing your collection into subgenres, the possibilities are limitless.
You can have an entire section dedicated to "Films That Feature Nazi Monkeys" (file Raiders of the Lost Ark under this one).
Other possible subgenres might include "Mobster Films that Steal Shamelessly from The Godfather" or "Cop Movies that Feature Multiethnic Partners Who Just Don't Understand Each Other."
• Robert Saucedo still can't reach the top shelf of his parent's VHS library. E-mail him at Robsaucedo2500@yahoo.com.
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