I, too, disagree with the OP, particularly when it comes to major spoilers. Speaking as a Star Wars fan:
Back in 1980, I first saw The Empire Strikes Back a couple of weeks after its release. The internet wasn’t really a thing back then, of course, but people were actually keeping mum about the “I am your father” reveal, so it really was a big shock when I actually saw it on screen, and saw Luke’s horrified reaction to it in real time. Had I heard about it ahead of time, i have no doubt that it would have diminished my enjoyment of that scene.
In 1999, a week or so before The Phantom Menace premiered, they released the soundtrack album. I rushed out and bought the album right away…and discovered that the names of two of the tracks on the album conveyed a major spoiler: “Qui-Gon’s Noble End” and “The High Council Meeting / Qui-Gon’s Funeral.” Thus, I went into the movie already knowing that a major character was going to die before the end of the film.
Just so you know you’re not the only one, OP, I agree with you. I rarely watch new movies but if someone what you all call “spoilers” it, I might decide I should see it. If no one even tells me what it’s about, why would I decide to see it?
I guess I should admit I read books more than once, even murder mysteries where I know whodunit. If I do see a movie I will probably see it again if I liked it. So I guess “knowing as little as possible” about what I am reading or seeing is not my thing. I must admit I am surprised that so many people have their pleasure in a movie ruined by finding out some information ahead of time. I don’t get that.
I think there’s a big difference between “this is what the movie is about,” versus “this is the big plot twist in that movie.” I don’t classify the former as a spoiler, but I certainly classify the latter as one.
I think this is an important distinction. To use The Good Place again, the reveal changes the entire premise of the show and the relationships between all the characters. Learning that before watching the first season would make for a completely different viewing experience; one that I contend would be less enjoyable than an unspoiled one. You may not feel the same, but different squids for different kids.
Compare that to learning that a particular character dies would disappoint me, but unless it’s the lead of the show it’s unlikely to change my overall appreciation of the series.
In fact, I’ll go even further on the spoiler debate … If I’m interested / invested in a particular sporting event, and don’t get to see it live (but I’m recording it), I’ll actively try to learn the result before watching the recording if I can. I can enjoy the event much more knowing the end result. Or, alternatively, I can elect not to waste my time watching the recording if the person / team I was rooting for lost.
that would be me as well. i’m fine with being spoiled, i can enjoy what ever it is even knowing the details. yes, i would look at the end of the book sometimes, then finish it.
I got spoiled by that actually but considering I was like 8 years old maybe my fellow 8 year olds had less self control than adults about spoilers. And I had even ordered the book before the movie came out, thinking correctly that I would be able to find out what happened before anyone else, but they delayed the release of the book until after the movie. I’m still salty about that deception.
There was another huge spoiler for the sequel trilogy that was spoiled right here on this MB within the first few days of release, outside of a spoiler box and not even in a thread specifically talking about the plot of the movie. I think that it diminished my enjoyment of that movie, but I’m not sure, because the acts in that spoiler happened so quickly and unflamboyantly that I might have been disappointed regardless.
I respect other’s desire to be spoiler free, but I don’t just not mind them, I usually seek them out. It’s the journey that I enjoy, and if knowing the destination ruins the journey, it wasn’t a good trip to begin with.
If spoilers ruin something for me, it wasn’t something I would have enjoyed without the spoilers.
Knowing all the spoilers ahead of time isn’t just knowing the destination. It’s having every step of the journey meticulously planned out ahead of time and never experiencing any surprises or unplanned events along the way.
Every time I re-watch The Force Awakens, I see, more and more, how it’s so clearly a re-skinning of the original movie. The particular spoiler you mention is an obvious analogue to Vader striking down Obi-Wan.
So there’s some kind of statute of limitations, right? And is it connected to the fame of the work?
When I was about 7, I was spoiled about one plot point of Citizen Kane due to the classic Peanuts cartoon below, whose URL I will break Just In Case. It’s true that as an adult, I went into the movie knowing the spoiler, but it’s hard to fault Schulz for “spoiling” something that famous, decades old at the time he wrote the strip. Having been spoiled by a Peanuts strip at an age when I hadn’t even heard of Citizen Kane ended up much more amusing to me than the movie’s spoiled plot point itself.
This is actually an example that sprang to my mind and that I was tempted to bring up. Since you brought it up, I’ll make a poll:
There’s a game or sporting event that you’re interested in enough to want to watch, but because of a conflict, you can’t watch it live. If you record it, which of the following best describes your attitude toward watching it later:
I would prefer to know the outcome before watching the game.
Knowing the outcome ahead of time would diminish my enjoyment, but I would still watch.
I wouldn’t bother watching if I knew ahead of time what was going to happen.
Even if I didn’t know the outcome, I wouldn’t bother watching it later if I didn’t get to see it as it happened.
Huh, if you say so. I would think that the idea that reading a book or watching a movie being like a journey would be a fairly common analogy. In any case, it was an analogy as to how I feel about spoilers, so I don’t see how it could possibly be “flawed”. (Unless I am wrong on how I feel about spoilers.)
What you replied with was not an analogy, but a false dichotomy, in that knowing spoilers meant knowing every step and never experiencing any surprises, ignoring the vast middle ground that exists there.
Many spoilers aren’t just about the destination, they are about the journey. Knowing the spoiler in the Sixth Sense makes the entire movie experience different, and, IMHO, diminished. The director created a piece of art for me to enjoy and I believe for the most part their approach is the one I want to see.
As a writer, let me speak - glibly and overgeneralizing - for their side.
Good writers work on several levels, from the overarching plot to the characters to the individual scenes and bits of dialog. All of them are of critical importance to the overall experience, and the various pieces should fit together into a pleasing whole.
The power to lead viewers/readers in the direction that will create the greatest overall enjoyment drives writers to excel in all the basics of construction. Few are great in everything - some are great plotters, others write fine dialog - but they have to work together: dialog often is plot.
When a young playwright, Tom Stoppard wrote a little throwaway called The Real Inspector Hound. (The Wiki article doesn’t quite give the spoiler directly, but don’t read the “Detailed Summary” to be safe.) It’s a parody of murder mysteries with perhaps the greatest twist of all-time. But the twist isn’t at the end; but part-way through. The audience slowly realizes what is happening and it’s both jaw-dropping and immensely funny. I love Tom Stoppard; I’ve seen as many of his plays as possible, which have garnered piles of awards. Nothing has ever affected me as much as this revelation of what skillful construction and perfect writing can accomplish.
Spoilers demean writers. it’s like the writer invited you into their house for a dinner party and you peeked through the medicine cabinets. That’s not why you’re a guest. Entertainment is a two-way game. When one side cheats (and yes, writers do sometimes and I hate that too) the game is a lesser product.
My main objection was to the idea that spoilers were necessarily about the destination as opposed to what happens along the journey.
If you go on a carnival spookhouse ride, there’s no surprise about where you’ll end up at the end. The surprises are about what happens before you get there.
I went into the sixth sense blind, not knowing the “spoiler”. I really hated the movie, and by the time the spoiler came around, I really didn’t care.
Watching it again, knowing the spoiler, actually made it more entertaining to me.
As I said, I respect other’s decision to avoid spoilers, just saying that I don’t share that desire. You can tell me that I am enjoying media wrong all you want, but it won’t change how I feel about it.
Fine, then knowing the landmarks I will be passing along the way doesn’t diminish my enjoyment either. Still doesn’t mean that I have the entire way mapped out.
