I was torn as to whether this thread would be more appropriate for Cafe Society or In My Humble Opinion. I flipped a coin and it came up heads for Cafe Society.
Are there people who don’t care about spoilers? Folks who believe that if something is good enough then it will stand on its own merits rather than hinging entirely on a clever plot twist or secret? I actually look forward to spoilers since it gives me an idea of if I’m getting myself into a steaming morass of poo that suddenly becomes good once I find the magical gold nugget at the bottom or if the quality of the entertainment is consistent throughout without relying on gimmicks. I mean it’s patently silly for people to bitch, whine and moan regarding spoilers when it comes to movies that have been out for a decade. Seriously who doesn’t know:
Darth Vader is Luke’s father, Kaiser Soze was the gimp, the gay guy shot Kevin Spacey’s character in American Beauty, the chick in The Crying Game wasn’t a chick or Bruce Willis was dead all along in The Sixth Sense
They’ve been out for at least three years and have been talked about more than enough that even if someone didn’t see those movies then they have a fairly concrete idea of the outcome or storyline. The whole experience of a movie, book or show is about getting there not what lies at the very end.
And to those who despair most greatly when cinematic secrets are revealed, why is it so important to be surprised? Of course people will leave the theater talking about how great the surprise was but what if you went to see the movie, experienced the surprise and it really wasn’t that good in the first place. Wouldn’t you rather have heard the spoilers, or intimations of a spoiler, rather than being disappointed?
A 12 year old, a 15 year old, me, me, and I wished it were me when I first saw it.
Seriously, people aren’t born having seem every film so why not put a couple of words in spoiler tabs so people don’t know a huge pivotal part of the film.
For example, in Titanic, I don’t think you need to put ‘The boat sinks’ in a box, but I do think you need to put Leo de whotsit dies in a box, it’s not hard.
If the movie’s still in the theatres, I think it’s rude to spoil surprise endings. After three years it’s pretty much been shown everywhere it’s going to be shown, is out on video/DVD, and may have hit network television. It might be considerate to give spoiler warnings just in case, but it’s not the end of the world.
To quote myself, from a Pit thread on the subject of spoilers:
Now, all of the spoilers above are for movies that are at least 10 years old, most of them from movies before 1981. Still, people had a big ol’ snit about it. Oh well.
Personally, I feel that the word “spoiler” is overused. Knowing some little surprise in a movie doesn’t “spoil” it; the movie is still perfectly enjoyable. If you’re just going to the movies for the surprises, that’s pretty sad. And knowing that “Rosebud” was his sled doesn’t diminish the experience of watching Citizen Kane, even for the first time.
Knowing the end of a film doesn’t bother me in the least. I happen to like the journey the viewer has to take to get to the end just as much as any payoff. I’ve even read entire screenplays before seeing the film, and I still enjoyed the film. Oh, by the way
Ed Norton’s character and Tyler Durden were the same person.
See, I have a friend who’s instilled in me this beliefe:
“If it’s been out for over two years and you haven’t seen it yet, you don’t deserve to be suprised.”
By now, with all the talk that’s been around and all the hype the film got, if you don’t know the “Suprise ending” of The Sixth Sense, you’ve been living under a rock and most likely won’t bother to see the movie anyway. Having someone tell you “Bruce Willis is dead” shouldn’t ruin the film for you, because by now, you should have seen the damned thing, or you’ve at least seen something else discussing it. The worst is when one is talking about a story that’s been out for an incredibly long time, and the movie just came out. for example, posting spoilers about The Lord of the Rings. There are animated adaptations that are over 25 years old by now, and the books are even older. For people who have read the book or seen these to be upset that someone posted information about the film is ridiculous. Sure, there are variations of the two, but is it really worth getting all pissy because someone talked about Gandolf’s fight with the Balrog before you could see it on screen even though you already know what happens?
Personally, I love finding out about movies before I see them. It helps me determine whether or not they’re worth seeing. If I ask someone to tell me about it, and they get excited and spill the beans about a secret, I don’t care. It means that it worked for them, and if it’s a good enough movie, I’ll forget about the little twist so that when I see it, I’ll be so enthralled that it will still catch me off guard. Kinda like in horror movies, when you know the thing is going to jump out, but you still jump when it does. Maybe I’m just easily entertained. But for years, I was scared of watching horror movies, yet I was still fascinated by them. I must have had every friend I had who’d seen Aliens and Predator spoil them for me when I was a child. After about fifty descriptions of each movie, I finally got over my fears, saw them both, and enjoyed every minute of it. Not the best example, but if the movie’s good enough, you won’t care. And if it’s been out for over two years, go see the movie or quit bitching.
Well, I’m glad that it’s common courtesy to warn for spoilers before even very old stories. My life is not an endless stream of movies, and very often I don’t get a chance to watch a film until it’s been out for three or fifty years. I agree that a “little twist” will not spoil your enjoyment, but it’s not the little twists that people complain about; it’s the stuff that’s the very essence of the story. The fact that movie previews do not contain spoilers should give you a big hint - people like it that way!
I think the point is that you don’t get to decide. The people who hate having their movies (or books or whatever) spoiled shouldn’t have their feelings dumped on just because you’ve come up with an arbitrary date after which they can get trashed.
The Board has been better since vBulletin came up with the spoiler tags. There’s a reason they put them into the code: enough people wanted spoilers to make it worth the effort.
And I’m also a writer, who thinks that if I decide to write my story such that it has a twist, a character development, a plot surprise, or anything that you couldn’t see from a mile away - and just about everything in my story had better be like that or it’s not worth writing - then that’s the way I want the story to be read. I did it for a reason. Do not provoke my wrath!
I am finding it very hard to bite my tongue but a gimmick does not a novel, story, movie make. Especially a good one. A work should stand on its own merits rather than “being clever”.
I actively seek out spoilers. Irritates the crap out of my friends, but, if anything, it makes me look forward to a good film more, as well as knowing which ones to avoid.
I don’t like spoilers simply because, personally, if I know the ending, I’ll spend the whole movie waiting to see how they get there. I don’t want to dwell on the ending the whole time, I want it to unfold before me the way that the writer/filmmaker intended it to be seen. For me, that’s all part of the experience.
I’ve never seen The Sixth Sense and am surprised by the ending.
I don’t care that it’s been spoiled for me though… the only time I try and avoid spoiling a movie or a book is if it’s something I thoroughly enjoy, like Star Trek. Even in cases like that, it happens and I don’t care that much… I knew for months about the ‘surprise’ ending to Nemesis and it didn’t bother me that I knew.
