The other day an acquaintance/fb friend posted that the last Game of Thrones episode was very sad. At least two people jumped on her for spoilers. This just seems crazy to me. I’m on board with not spoiling plot points, but now it seems like if you reveal the most trivial of details people act like you killed their dog. I see this on the dope also, where you have to spoiler box anything an actor says in an interview, even in a thread for people who have already seen the episode.
For example pretend Empire was released this past Friday. Saying things like “Vader is Luke’s father” or “The annoying swamp creature actually is the great Jedi master Yoda” would not be cool at all. But now it seems people would get upset if you said something like “Han makes a wisecrack” or “There is a pursuit in space.” It just seems like an overreaction.
I went into Endgame with two very minor spoilers, one from here that got modded. It didn’t affect my enjoyment at all.
Does anyone else feel like we’re overdoing it on the spoiler-phobia? Or am I one the one that’s wrong? Spoiler alert: I’m not.
First of all, spoilers don’t “ruin” anything. I remember reading the original National Lampoon article that coined the term. Finding out that Norman Bates was impersonating his mother did nothing to ruin my enjoyment of Psycho. If spoilers ruined a movie, then why would anyone see a movie twice?
It’s mostly a fear that your experience won’t be exactly the same as others who didn’t know the twists. You can enjoy the movie knowing the twist (I liked The Crying Game even though I had seen the twist before I got to see it), but your enjoyment will be different. Which brings up the question: why do you need to have the same experience?
But in the micro level, the issue is that <Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster>“spoiler bad”</Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster> and thus any comment on the film gets the spoiler police on your case, even if you don’t post anything that gives anything away.
The spoiler police also use this to show that they’re superior. It allows them to perform a “gotcha.” So they get the same egoboo by crying “spoiler” even if you allude to twists (“Wow! I didn’t expect that ending!” “Spoiler!!!”).
I agree that it’s just politeness to avoid giving away big plot twists. But, ultimately, the cry of “spoiler” has nothing to do with the movie being spoiled.
Because the second viewing is a different experience. The first viewing of The Sixth Sense is much different than the second.
If someone says that a GoT episode is sad, then it gives away that a liked character is probably going to die. When you watch it, you anticipate that happening and it changes the viewing experience.
Personally, I don’t like spoilers at all. If I’m going to watch something, like Avengers or GoT, I don’t need to know anything in advance and I’d prefer to watch without knowing anything. I don’t watch movie trailers, don’t watch teasers, don’t see any promotional material before watching. I find that I enjoy the experience more, especially given the frequent major spoilers that are present in these things. On Sundays before GoT, I go on an internet embargo pretty much just to avoid spoilers.
No kidding. There are some people around here who are spoiler martyrs - mention the day the next episode is on and they freak out. Purposefully revealing plot points to a current release is being a jerk, not committing murder. If you can’t stand the slightest clue to what is happening, then either be first in line to see the movie or get the fuck over it. After a week it’s on you. People shouldn’t have to tip-toe around discussions just because you are psychotic.
Oh, and about your life…valar morghulis. Hope that didn’t spoil anything for anybody.
I never was one to give a shit if something was “spoiled” for me. If it’s a good movie or show, it’s a good movie or show, and I don’t really care whether I know ahead of time a major plot point or not. Sometimes, hell, I look it up and spoil it for myself.
But I know I’m somewhat odd in that. Of course I would never purposely spoil anything for anyone, but saying an episode is “sad” is not a spoiler in any way, shape, or form. I’ve never watched an episode of GoT, but don’t people die left and right in the series?
Just to clarify, I don’t like spoilers for major twists. I remember the surprise when I found out about Vader and Luke. But I don’t think “This movie is darker than Star Wars” should count as a spoiler. It doesn’t spoil any surprise. Hell it’s just an opinion.
It’s a reasonable courtesy to be mindful of spoiling major things for people. It’s also a reasonable courtesy to take some personal responsibility for avoiding them if it’s really important to you. If you’re too busy to watch it when it airs, maybe be a little careful about diving into social media will silly.
Of course, Facebook is a multibillion corporation, and some how doesn’t even have the basic spoiler tools this rusty old message board has. There is something profoundly wrong with that.
It always amazes me that people who don’t want things spoiled read the threads about them. It seems to me people shouldn’t be able to cry about spoilers if they don’t even have the discipline to stay out of a thread. If I don’t want anything spoiled, I stay off the internet!
So? That’s my point: people are afraid they won’t have the same experience than everyone else. Why is it essential you follow the crowd?
Knowing the twist on the Sixth Sense only means your experience is more like seeing it a second time than how others felt when they saw it the first time. Why is that such a horrible thing?
But if the surprise is the only reason to see a movie, it’s not a very good movie. Again, it’s the fear that you won’t experience things the same way as everyone else.
Yes, it was a clever surprise when Darth Vader’s identity was revealed, but that’s one minute of a two-hour movie. That clearly can’t be the only thing that was worth watching in that two hours.
Now, I understand that it’s bad form to blurt out major plot twists. But if someone does, the movie is just as good as it ever was. You just don’t get to experience the surprise you won’t experience anyway on the second viewing. If someone gives away a twist, it’s not really a big deal.
But the surprises and plot twists and wanting to find out what happens are a big part of the pleasure that a movie (or novel, or TV show) provides—for some movies, and to some people. It sounds like you don’t value this as much as some other people do.
Why do you have to bring “everyone else” into it? It’s the fear that you won’t experience things the same way, or derive the same enjoyment from them, as you otherwise would have.
Movies are carefully crafted for the twists and turns to have maximum impact. There’s only one first watching experience. It’s a great shame to ruin that ahead of time. Obviously for some people that doesn’t bother them, they read the last page of murder mysteries first, and watch TV series five years after everyone else, and read the wikipedia plot synopsis first to make sure they will like it. Those people are not everybody, and their opinion on spoilers can bugger off.
I grew up in a country where all movies and TV shows got to us sometimes as much as a year after the US release, so we got spoiled on a lot of things by osmosis. I regret that time a lot, and am totally invested in being able to watch now pretty much in real time with the rest of the world. I hate spoilers, I do not want to know big twists ahead of time, and am very careful not to spoil back in turn.
I’m okay with casting announcements. I’m okay with trailers that only show snippets from the first third of the film. But I have taken to avoid trailers or TV spots that are weeks out from release, as they tend to give away too much, where you can almost piece together the full plot from each of them. Give me more trailers that are like specially filmed with no scenes from the final movie.
I’m not sure what you get out of making the argument you’ve been making lately. Personally I just cannot bring myself to believe that you are in earnest here. Which isn’t to say that I believe that you are lying, rather, I believe I simply have a blindspot that is preventing me from understanding your perspective and your purpose.
As for this particular example, I had an incredible experience watching the Sixth Sense for the first time. I didn’t get the chance to see the movie in the theaters, but I did watch it at home pretty much as soon as it was available. I was fortunate that I was able to avoid spoilers (I doubt such a thing would be possible today - headers on Youtube and Reddit spoiled elements of Endgame and last week’s GoT within hours of their respective premiers).
Unlike some on the ‘Dope, I did not predict the twist to the movie as I watched it, at least not consciously. There was definitely something tickling the ol’ noodle as I watched the film, however, and the subtle tension built with each hint dropped by Shyamalan. Then, at the instant the twist was about to be revealed, I experienced a most delightful epiphany. I was swimming in excitement as the realization that Bruce Willis’ character had been a ghost for most of the movie blossomed in my brain, and my memory quickly supplied the evidence. Scene by scene, I recalled the secret hints, and was greatly rewarded as Shyamalan replayed each scene in sequence on my television a moment after my memory flashed upon them.
It was a singular experience, and one of the most enjoyable moments in movie watching I’ve ever had.
So, for anyone who is ambivalent or apathetic about the importance of spoilers, I wish you would at least hear those who ask that you not extinguish our enjoyment, however small or trite. I just don’t get how anyone can’t see it’s a dick move to spoil things for others.
I’m with you, Larry. My cousin rightly was called out by his sister when he popped on FB about 10:30pm on Sunday night and revealed a GoT spoiler. He wasn’t thinking (he also didn’t take down the post, but he’s nearing senior citizen age so maybe he hasn’t figured that out). But saying GoT had a sad episode is like saying that the rain yesterday was wet. A GoT spoiler would be revealing that the Queens smiled at each other and put their differences aside while their armies were performing a West Side Story-ish dance (which, given how the series has spoiled the books, is how George R.R. Martin is now intending on ending it. Clegane-Bowl will actually be a GotG dance-off, only this time Gregor (Ronan) takes part.) (guess I should have spoilered that…)
Thank you, D_Odds. This is not quite where I wanted the discussion to go. I am anti-spoiler and reject RealityChuck’s odd arguments. I don’t like major plot points ruined. My points are only:
A.) What counts as a spoiler has gotten ridiculous. Nowadays people would freak out if you mentioned that Empire had a darker tone than Star Wars. Spoiler warnings should be for major plot reveals, not for the most trivial things.
B.) Even if you get some, how to put it, medium plot twist spoiled, it’s not the end of the world. You can still enjoy the flick. I had people at my bar relentlessly discussing Rogue One, and although it pissed me off, I was still able to enjoy the movie. Would have preferred it without spoilers, but it was still a good time.
Oh come on, seriously? Because you can enjoy both experiences, the first and second experience of watching the movie. If someone spoils it for you, now you can only enjoy the second. Half the experience has been taken away from you. You pretty much say right there in your post why it’s bad, and then ask why it’s bad.
You ask why you “follow the crowd” and that makes no sense at all. You’re following the intent of the author. The author intended the shock of the audience and having them look back and piece everything together to be part of the experience. You’re taking away a significant portion of the enjoyment a first time viewer or reader is supposed to have. Being “part of the crowd” has nothing to do with that, and this too is a nonsensical argument.
I can understand if, you, personally, don’t think that you derive enjoyment from the shock of having a mystery or hidden narrative revealed to you the first time. But acting like you can’t understand why other people enjoy that strikes me as very dishonest and indicative of a weird agenda.
Also, I know people think I’m the poster child for spoiler oversensitivity on these boards, since I get snipes thrown at me in unrelated threads all the time. But that’s not actually accurate at all. I stepped in and tried to come up with rules for the Game of Thrones thread a long time ago because the threads were a fucking mess that devolved into bickering over what and wasn’t a spoiler, with a lot of people being assholes about “I’ll decide what a spoiler is, besides you’re a big baby for not being spoiled” and people trying to keep that out of the thread. GoT discussion threads were like 40% bickering without those rules. I read the books like 6 years ago anyway.
Yeah, I don’t understand these people either. There used to be people like this all over the place when IMDB had message boards too. Why are you reading message boards about a movie before seeing it if you don’t want spoilers?
Threads here often are about a season of a given TV show. If you’re not caught up to the most recent episode, don’t read it again before you are and then whine that there are spoilers, geez.
I’ll say this, in about 3 weeks, this hyper sensitivity to spoilers is going to go away for a while.
Spoilers are only a “thing” at certain times, when big projects are being dropped that have an OMG moment.
GoT and Avengers have been the last two big projects with those moments, and people were understandably sensitive to being spoiled. Nobody gives a crap if you spoil the ending to Aquaman, Black Panther, or The Big Bang Theory.
But if a work does have an OMG moment, you miss out on that moment if you get spoiled.
Why would someone go on FB to announce that the GoT episode was sad? What do they get out of that?
If someone asks you how last night’s episode was and you say, “I won’t spoil it for you but it was sad,” and that person gets upset about spoilers, then I agree with the OP that they’re being too broad in what they consider a spoiler. But only because it was part of an organic conversation. If you call someone out of the blue and say, “OMG you have to watch this episode, something shocking happens!” then that’s a total spoiler and a dick move, even though it’s not a plot point and doesn’t seem like you’re giving anything away. Because nobody asked. Posting reactions on FB for all the world to accidentally see definitely falls into that category. Keep it to yourself.