On Spoilers

[nohorsetown]

Were people always so obsessed about spoilers? I don't remember ever hearing the term when I was a kid. I do remember conversations with my peers, where none of us seemed to care at all about spoilers; generally we'd respond with something like "Aw, cool! I can't wait to see that part!" If memory serves, my parents/other adults were pretty much the same way.

I understand why people don't want things "spoiled": it's an emotional ride, and people wanna be surprised. I wonder if a spoiler has ever truly ruined a (movie/game/book/other media), though. Every time I've been "spoiled", it hasn't affected my enjoyment one bit. I appreciate watching how the story gets to that point, how the big shocking plot twist is built up, and it's nice to watch for clues/foreshadowing the first time, instead of going back for a second viewing. I guess it's that I appreciate the construction of the story more than the immersion/surprise factor?

I think a lot of media automatically "spoils" itself anyway, whether through previews/trailers, or just predictable plots. Famous examples:

Spoiler: names of movies where the name or some historical knowledge pretty much gives it all away

Titanic, Passion of the Christ, Kill Bill, Star Wars 1-3

..I'm sure there are many more. Was the experience lessened because we knew how it was gonna end?

Sure, for some genres (mystery, thriller) spoiler avoidance makes a lot of sense, since plot twists are basically the whole point. I realize that most movies have some element of plot-twisty to them, but.. c'mon, people. Isn't it just as predictable to know that some "mysterious" plot twist is coming? I'm pretty sure we all expected

Spoiler: Harry Potter book 6 spoiler.

someone to kill Dumbledore, and if we thought about it for a minute, we should have known it wasn't gonna be boring old Voldemort.

I saw Empire Strikes Back at a young enough age that I didn't actually know beforehand about

Spoiler: Spoiler?

Vader being Luke's father.

I daresay most people who've seen the movie knew that bit before they started watching, though. Would it really have been so much more awesome to be surprised? I dunno, but my kids' generation seems to be at least as hyped as mine was, and they've had the whole thing "spoiled" from the start.

This has been on my mind lately mainly because I've been reading "A Song of Ice and Fire", and I'm much further in the books than my friends and my wife. I'm virtually not allowed to discuss *anything* in the books, out of fear that I might let some detail slip, even through my tone of voice or what-have-you. "I like (character X), and I hope things turn out well for him", someone might say. "Yes, (character X) sure does exist at the point in the book that you're at!", I might reply. Can't elaborate any more than that, and I'd better speak in monotone so as to not let anything slip. I bought the core set of the "living card game" based on the books (it looks pretty cool!), and no one will play it with me, because of tiny, nitpicky spoilers that indicate someone gets wounded at some point, or interacts with someone else, or has a relatively high power level/interesting ability, which indicates that they must actually matter to the story down the line.

I'm not saying that I wanna ruin everything for everyone. People want to protect the "integrity" of their plot-twists, and I can respect that. It's just that it seems the cultural attitude has shifted, and almost everyone is obsessed about not spoiling things nowadays. It feels to me that it used to be different, and the majority didn't really care. I guess I felt like whining about that. Anyone got anything to add? Discuss? (Try to avoid any not-yet-public-domain spoilers, of course!)

 

[Jordi]

I think this is stupid. Of course it is possible to go overboard with avoiding spoilers, but I have a feeling that your definition of what is public domain and what isn't, and what is surprising suck a lot. For instance, a lot of people may not have read the Harry Potter books, but do like to see the movies. You just spoiled a major surprise in a movie that is barely two years old. That is nothing! And maybe it wasn't a surprise to you, but it sure was to almost anyone else. I think at some point there was even a website filled with people who didn't believe it even after it had happened.

And just because spoilers don't ruin a story for you, doesn't mean they are not harmful to other people. I mean look at the reaction you're getting. I think it is still possible to enjoy a story if you know a major plot twist, but it is different. You can only experience a story freshly once. Sure it is possible and can even be fun to see how the story is leading up to that twist. But you can also do that the second, third and fourth time you experience it. The first time is (or should be) unique in that aspect.

I agree that some things are pretty much in the public domain, and when you are talking to a friend in the street I wouldn't worry about it. But on the internet I think there is no excuse. It is extremely easy to either use a spoiler tag or give a proper warning. And no "I'm going to spoil a bunch of stuff, but I'm not saying what" doesn't count.

 

[BabyRaptor]

The effect spoilers have on me is directly related to how much I love the plot in question. I'd have murdered someone who ruined a Harry Potter or Wheel of Time book for me, because I'm deeply invested in those worlds and I want to experience what happens as the characters I love do. It's not about know what happens, really...It's about being in the moment.

I think the reason it's so much more prevalent now is that it's more accepted. People aren't as Puritan anymore.

 

[ScoopMeister]

I pretty much agree with Jordi, but it's still nice to see a reasonable, well-thought out argument that isn't just a boring rant or an unreadable wall of text.

Anyways, there's not really that much else to add. Personally, I like to be surprised and not aware of what's going to happen the first time around- if anything so I can re-watch the film and see the points leading up to that big surprise, as you said.

However, with things like Harry Potter it's different. I'd already read all the books by then so I knew what was going to happen (it was still a decent film though) So while it does kinda spoil it for me, it doesn't completely ruin my enjoyment of the whole film.

So yeah. Even if it doesn't affect you,

Spoiler: I would still recommend you use these.

'Cause some people really hate it when you spoil the surprise.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Well, someone ruined the twist in Knights of the Old Republic for me, so I started looking out for warning signs that

Spoiler

the player character was Darth Revan

since I wasn't about to be surprised by it. That was fucking annoying. It just takes a lot of impact out of the experience.

 

[AgentNein]

With the advent of the internet coupled with my lack of personal self control, I don't remember the last time I was surprised by a movie/tvshow/book/videogame's story. I just don't give a shit anymore, and I've learned to live vicariously through the surprise of others while watching these things.

Last time I was pleasantly surprised by a plot twist was in the film Serenity where (dear god no clicky clicky if you're watching/planning on watching firefly and Serenity ever)...

Spoiler

Wash after his heroic flights of daring do in the Serenity lands it and subsequently gets impaled by a large metal spike, right before he gets the chance to finish reiterating his too cool for school sentence. "I am a leaf on the wind watch hoHURK" indeed Wash, indeed.

I mean seriously. Me and my girlfriend, having picked up and devoured Firefly happily a few months before the release were sitting in the theatre speechless. She cried. So sad, but great, great movie moment. To this day I'm still finding people who haven't seen Firefly, and I make them get hooked on it till that fateful scene in Serenity, where I just stare at them and wait intently.

So yeah, moral of the story is I'm a psychic vampire who gets off on human misery.

 

[the Dept of Science]

The thing is you are only considering revealing "plot twists" as spoiling a movie. However, so much stuff can just take away any suspense or mystery. Even knowing pretty basic endings can really sour the whole movie. "The good guys win?" "Great, now I know that every time in the movie where they struggle they are eventually going to pull though". Taking it to extremes, but I hope I have made my point.
Having had pretty much every movie twist ruined for me I'm pretty strict on these things.

 

[nohorsetown]

For instance, a lot of people may not have read the Harry Potter books, but do like to see the movies. You just spoiled a major surprise in a movie that is barely two years old.

It is extremely easy to either use a spoiler tag or give a proper warning. And no "I'm going to spoil a bunch of stuff, but I'm not saying what" doesn't count.

You know what, you're right. I never actually made the effort to learn how to do a spoiler tag until *just now*, and I really should have before creating this thread, instead of assuming that a vague "***SPOILER ALERT, BUT C'MON, NOT REALLY***" at the top would cut it. My bad. I fixed it, and it turns out it is incredibly easy. For some reason I thought it'd be a big mess of coding or something. I was lazy, and I'm sorry.

 

[Jayse]

Spoilers have never really bothered me before.
Even if I ultimately know how a situation will end in a given story/movie/game, at least for me, it's all about the execution. How they reach that specific conclusion is far more important than the actual conclusion.

 

[Mouse_Crouse]

I for one don't mind spoilers if they are on an avoidable media like forums. I myself have stayed away from the Portal 2 boards of my websites just to avoid them (still haven't gotten around to playing it). Most movies or books I don't mind being "spoiled", I don't find it to detract from the experience.

 

[endnuen]

When things are spoiled from the get-go, like you say, the star wars prequels and such, then I'm all in for the execution. The hows and whys.
But I must admit that I usually avoid info on stuff I'm about to get into, for the sake of full enjoyment.

 

[Artina89]

I don't like people spoiling stories for me. I want to experience the plot twists that the movie/book/game has written, and I want to be surprised. I don't like it when my friends spoil stuff for me, because I know if I accidently let slip an ending or plot twist they will be pissed off at me so I expect the same courtesy if I am watching a movie, playing a game or reading a book to not have anyone spoiling my enjoyment of the story.