That’s exactly how it was for me. Sure, he says that at the beginning, but there’s so much that happens in between the beginning and end that you forget about it. And, to be nitpick-y, this is what he actually says: This is my life. I’m 42 years old. In less than a year, I’ll be dead. Of course, I don’t know that yet…and in a way, I’m dead already.
I thought I had Lord of the Rings spoiled for me. I was waiting to see the third movie (I hadn’t read the books), and I overheard someone say “Isn’t it sad how Sam and Frodo die?” So I was waiting the entire movie for Sam and Frodo to die–and there were plenty of opportunities–but it never happened. In a way, I was almost sad.
I’m currently reading the book Middlesex (which is the best written book I have read in years, incidentally). A few days ago, when I had just started (I’m literally on page 10 or so at the time) a waitress (who is also a college student) asked "Oh yeah, that’s the one about the hermaphrodite* whose
grandparents are really brother and sister
I’ve been meaning to read that."
Well, I didn’t know that little plot twist at the time, and while it’s revealed fairly early into the book (page 50-60 or so), it would have been nice to find out at the point the author wanted you to know it.
A friend who didn’t realize I hadn’t seen Fight Club casually spoiled it by saying "This is one of those Fight Club type things where you’ll find out later he just completely imagined the whole thing and the other person is a figment of his imagination
Does anybody remember a thousand years ago when Roger Ebert literally looked like he was going to have a stroke as he cursed out Gene Shalit for giving away the twist of The Crying Game? (The cool thing about that movie is that I’ve recommended it to college kids I’ve worked with and enough time has passed that they have no idea what the secret is.
*That part is not a spoiler- it’s in the first paragraph.
Ah, Sampiro just reminded me. (Mild spoilers for Demian by Herman Hesse and Fight Club follow)
We were reading Demian in my HS English class, and discussing whether Frau Eva and Demian were just figments of Emil Sinclair’s imagination. A bunch of students told our teacher that this was just like Fight Club. The teacher hadn’t seen it, and neither had I. So when I finally got around to watching it several years later, I knew exactly what to expect. That kind of angered me.
I’m sure many people (including myself) do know how it ends, but I just have to butt in to mention those geniuses at 20th Century Fox and their choice for cover art for the DVD edition of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes. Damn them! Damn them all to hell!
I’m not going to go around in fear of talking about movies that came out three years ago because some dickwad doesn’t want me to “spoil” something he may or may not see in some indefinitie future. Life is too short to worry about shit like that. Move it or lose it, people. If you haven’t seen the movie after six months or a year then live with the consequences of people spoiling it for you.
Really, why is it a big deal anyway? Is anyone’s life really so damaged because somebody told them that the chick in The Crying game has a cock or that Soylent Green is people?
There are worse things that could happen to you. Three years after a movie comes out is a ridiculous amount of time to get pissy because somebody talks about the ending in a class.
Y’know…I’m always shocked that this is supposed to be a twist.
First time I saw a preview I figured that was supposed to be obvious. To the point where whenever I got around to watching it, I was expecting that, or some variant, to be on screen in the opening shots.
It’s funny that you should mention Sidewayscricetus, because those were our two options, and we went with Hide and Seek because I think it’s better to see a scary or suspenseful movie in the theater, where you can feed off of other people’s nervous energy. Sideways, on the other hand, I will want to enjoy without being distracted by corn and cup noises or talking. Apart from that, my wife hadn’t taken note of the spoiler from the waitress, so she was still interested in seeing Hide and Seek.
Yup, cause it’s totally possible to see every single movie that comes out within the year that it came out. I didn’t go psycho on the people who spoiled the ending. I didn’t even say anything to them. But it was definitely a disappointment to have the ending spoiled. Plus, the people in my class were recommending the movie to someone who hadn’t seen it before (the teacher). It’s pretty stupid to give away the twist to someone who you know hasn’t seen the movie.
Sampiro mentions that he still recommends The Crying Game to people who don’t know what the twist is. So obviously there are people who haven’t seen it even though it came out 13 years ago. And does Sampiro say, “You’ll love it! There’s this big secret, and you’ll totally recognize and empathize with the gender-confusion issues…” and blah blah blah (I haven’t actually seen the movie). My guess is no.
So life’s too short to be worried about getting movies spoiled, but on the other hand what good does it do you to spoil a movie? How hard is it to ask, “Have you seen _____?” before you start in any conversation regarding the twists and the ending? (Hint: it’s not hard at all! In fact, I do it all the time!)
I think it’s really just so easy to inadvertantly do, though. For example, Hide & Seek was spoiled for me by reading this thread, even though I didn’t click on any spoiler boxes. One person said the OP’s spoiler box said the waitress said something about Robert DeNiro, and another person later said something about the waitress not being certain he was the bad guy, and poof, it seemed instantly obvious to me that the original spoiler box said something along the lines of “Robert DeNiro is the bad guy”
It’s too bad, and I didn’t really wanna know, but I totally see how people don’t realize how what they’re saying might be taken. I don’t think many people do it on purpose.
Aw, no worries, it’s no big deal. I just meant to say I feel your pain, but I feel for the waitress too, in a way. It does suck to have a surprise spoiled, but at the same time I can see how tricky it can be to discuss a movie without accidentally giving something away. Could even be that you don’t say anything that would give it away, and the person you’re talking to heard something from someone else who also didn’t give anything away, but if they are super extra clever like we all are here, then they can Sherlock Holmes their way to the answer.
Why do people feel the need to spoil things? Here on the west coast, we don’t get to see “live” shows. Last April I was checking in on one of my message boards and a troll had posted 50 threads all with the title “Bill wins!” (I’m not going to bother putting that in a spoiler box. If you cared at all, you would already know who Bill is and that he won. If you didn’t care, you shouldn’t care that I “spoiled” it for you.) The entire first page was one solid “Bill wins!”
I must admit, I am guilty of the accidental spoil. I saw Forrest Gump the day it came out. As we were leaving I said, That was so sad when she died at the end. My date looked at me and pointed to all the people standing against the wall waiting for the next showing. He explained to me that I just spoiled it for all of them. :smack:
I’m not sure why people think that knowing the ending of something “spoils” it for them. Everyone for the last 400 years has known how Romeo and Juliet ends, but you can still enjoy watching the play.
Aside from a murder mystery, where you’re presumably able to figure out who did it from the evidence at hand, a twist ending is often arbitrary if it’s to be kept truly secret. I hate arbitrary surprises with no real reason for them; it’s a sign of a true hack.
More than half the enjoyment in watching a movie or reading a book is the experience. That’s why we like watching re-makes, or why one person’s version of a story is more valued than another’s. If a movie is ruined by knowing what happens in the end, it’s a shitty movie.
