# When is a spoiler no longer a spoiler? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049 "2001-08-25T04:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/1 "2001-08-25T04:01:26Z")
How long does the book/movie have to be out before you can stop giving spoiler warnings? Today I was talking about the movie “Contact” in the [Your favorite movie and Why](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=83093) thread and, not wanting to piss anybody off, I put a spoiler warning in front of my post - this for a 5 year old movie and 20 year old book! Isn’t that a bit excessive? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/2 "2001-08-25T04:22:08Z")
I don’t think it’s ever bad form to throw a spoiler warning in there, regardless how old the film is. There’s always younger people who may have heard about it but not seen it. Someone out there may be a teenager who recently saw _Cool Hand Luke_ on TV and decided to check out other Newman films and has _The Sting_ on his/her list. Then, because the film’s nearly 30 years old, someone thinks it’s ok to spill the ending here? That’s not really fair to the person, regardless the age of the film. There are sitll some people who have never seen _Planet of the Apes_ (the original) or _Soylent Green_ (me for example, yet thanks to the SDMB I don’t need to rent the movie to know what Soylent Green is.) In short, keep in mind no matter how old a film is, not everyone has seen it although they may want to. Conversations about older films may spark interest, but that interest may be diminished if the ending has already been spoiled for the reader. So when discussing films, no matter how old, I think a spolier warning is appropriate. It’s fair for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, doesn’t take the much time, and doesn’t cost anything. ---
**Author:** ![Sasquatch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@Sasquatch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sasquatch)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/3 "2001-08-25T04:25:36Z")
\*\*\*\*\* WARNING: “BRAVEHEART” SPOILER \*\*\*\*\* I was at a party a few weeks ago, and the movie “Braveheart” came up. I glibly commented that I must be the only person in the US who hasn’t seen this movie, adding, “The only thing I know about it is that Mel Gibson’s character dies”. I immediately received a “Thanks, asshat! I haven’t seen it and I didn’t know that!” I figured that this was common knowledge…even for people who _haven’t_ seen it, but I guess I was wrong. (And I ALMOST forgot to put a spoiler warning on this post, thus digging my hole even deeper. Whew!) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/4 "2001-08-25T04:28:33Z")
But to me it’s the journey, not the destination. And how old is old? Would it be in bad form to “spoil” the plot “twist” of Oedipus Rex? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/5 "2001-08-25T04:29:54Z")
But why does knowing that Mel Gibsons character dies spoil Braveheart? It is a good (or bad) movie regardless of what happens at the end? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/6 "2001-08-25T04:31:14Z")
And **Sasquatch!** reminds me - never assume people have knowledge of their country’s past events. When _Apollo 13_ was released, I was in no rush to go see it. When asked why (a bunch of friends wanted to go on opening day), I replied that I already knew how it ended. I was then asked how could I know when the movie hadn’t even been released yet. I reminded them that _Apollo 13_ was based on a true story and had to bite my tongue to keep from telling them what happened. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/7 "2001-08-25T04:33:06Z")
That last “question” should be a sentence. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/8 "2001-08-25T04:37:06Z")
_**MORE BRAVEHEART SPOILERS (if JohnT’s earlier post didn’t already do it for you)**_ > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnT \* > \*\*But why does knowing that Mel Gibsons character dies spoil Braveheart? It is a good (or bad) movie regardless of what happens at the end? \*\* Maybe not for you, but for others, it is a bummer to know that the hero does not live through the end of the film. It’s always bad manners, I think, _regardless of the age of the material_ to spoil an ending of a film if you don’t know that everyone has seen it. Not everyone has seen or even heard of even the most famous endings. I thought the ending to Agatha Christie’s _Murder on the Orient Express_ was pretty famous and well-known. I felt horrible when I opened my big mouth and spoiled it for my brother-in-law just a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Sasquatch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@Sasquatch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sasquatch)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/9 "2001-08-25T04:53:27Z")
\*\*\*\*\* WARNING: “LONESOME DOVE” SPOILER AHEAD \*\*\*\*\* The best spoiler story that I’ve heard is when my sister and brother-in-law rented “Lonesome Dove”. You know how some video store clerks feel the need to comment on your choices of movie rentals? This clerk told them, “Oh, I loved this movie! I was so sad when Robert Duvall died!” My sister and brother-in-law just stood there staring at the girl, who sheepishly asked, “Oh, you haven’t seen it yet, have you?” When they both told her that no, they hadn’t seen it, she replied, “Well…I didn’t tell you _how_ he dies!” Oh, and the best part of this story: I haven’t seen “Lonesome Dove”, so in retelling this story, my brother-in-law effectively ruined the movie for me. HA! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/10 "2001-08-25T05:43:32Z")
Warning!! “Hair” spoilers and “Little Women” spoilers ahead … I try not to spoil. I know a lot of people who agree that the journey, as **JohnT** describes it, is the best part, but I still enjoy being surprised. I vowed never to spoil books or movies after having a college roommate who routinely blurted out spoilers. The best (worst) was when we were watching “Hair” and she walked in and pipes up with “isn’t it just so sad when you find out that Treat Williams dies in Viet Nam?” However, I slipped just recently when I made a joke about Beth dying in “Little Women.” I honestly believed that Beth’s death had become part of cultural knowledge, sort of like Rosebud or Soylent Green. As soon as I said it, my teenage cousin’s face just fell. How was I supposed to know that a teenage boy wearing those ridiculous pants hanging off of his butt cared whether or not Beth died? But in a thread like the recent discussion of To Kill A Mockingbird, I do assume that everyone participating has read the book or seen the movie in question. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/11 "2001-08-25T10:00:19Z")
I managed to see both “Sixth Sense” and “Planet of the Apes” knowing full well there was a spoilerific ending for each, but not know what those spoilers were - despite the fact that everyone in the US posted PotA threads on the day it opened (several weeks before I got to see it). But it took willpower and luck. The internet is not a good place to be to avoid spoilers for contemporary movies, and even worse for movies long released. By the way, Darth vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/12 "2001-08-25T12:34:59Z")
**SPOILER WARNING!** \> \> \> \> \> \> \> \> \> \> \> The ship sinks. Shane doesn’t come back. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. It’s his sled. “He” is really a “she”. “She” is really a “he”. They win the war. They lose the war. Spock dies. Spock lives. Kirk dies. Finally. The dog dies. Bambi’s mother dies. They live happily ever after. They live miserably ever after. They don’t live. Wesley is the Dread Pirate Roberts. They get married. They shack up. They get divorced. They kill each other. She leaves him. He leaves her. They save the Earth. They don’t save the Earth. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/13 "2001-08-25T14:00:46Z")
How long until you stop using “Spoiler”? Never. How much effort does it take to add it? It’s one line. Each new generation is discovering older movies at their own pace. I’m an Agatha Christie fan, and I know a lot of people who STILL don’t know how **Murder on the Orient Express** , **And Then There Were None** , and **The Murder of Roger Ackroyd** ends. Yes, the books were written in the twenties and thirties. Movies were made. Plays were done. The endings ought to be well known. But not to everyone. My kids still don’t know how the Sixth Sense ends. I’m not going to spoil it for them either. Anyone else remember the big outrage when spoilers weren’t posted on a Survivor thread. The poster assumed that everyone had seen it by then? Didn’t realize that Australia was behind in the viewing? Don’t assume. Add the one lousy line, and if everyone who reads the thread DID already know, still no harm done. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/14 "2001-08-25T16:07:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Shane doesn’t come back. You don’t know that! You can’t be sure. They never made a sequel did they? Maybe they left out the last 5 minutes of the movie. The alternate “happy ending” version. Stop assuming these things. SHANE COME BACK! I suppose it is necessary and not that time consuming to put a warning on all movies, but… **ACHTUNG BABY! WIZARD OF OZ SPOILER AHEAD!!!** Seems kinda silly. Is there anyone in the free world that wants to see this movie but hasn’t? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/15 "2001-08-25T16:30:00Z")
If I go to a thread entitled (for example) “Can you believe what happened in Survivor?” w/o having seen the show in question, then I should just expect spoilers. Personally, I think the use of the spoiler warning goes a bit too far. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/16 "2001-08-25T17:31:55Z")
I don’t see the harm in posting a warning about a spoiler. My feeling is, even if you think 99% of people have seen a movie, you should always be polite enough to not tell the other 1%. I will avoid giving anything away in this post without warning you. I had heard about the ending to “Braveheart” before I saw the movie. My husband had been trying to get me to see it and I had been putting it off. When someone slipped the ending to me, I was even more reluctant to see it, since I already knew how it ended. I eventually did see it, and it is an astonishing film, but I would have rather not known the ending. We rented the original “Planet of the Apes” a while back. We both already knew the ending, which I believe is common knowledge (just in case, I won’t repeat it here). I think the movie’s ending would have had more of an impact had I not known. I liked the movie quite a bit, but knowing what was coming diminished my enjoyment. My m-i-l gave away the ending of “Finding Forrester.” She had assumed that we had seen it, since we see a lot of movies. I never assume anything. Before discussing a movie with a friend, I will ask, “Have you seen it?” If they have not, I will give my opinions, but I avoid giving anything away. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/17 "2001-08-25T17:46:47Z")
What bugs me is when people are talking about movies in general and then one poster just puts _ **SPOILER!** _ before his/her post. Thanks for telling me what movie you were going to spoil. :rolleyes: Please put the specific title of the movie in your spoiler warning. That way, everyone knows whether or not they should read your post. Putting _ **SPOILER!** _ doesn’t help unless everyone already knows what movie you are about to discuss. ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/18 "2001-08-25T17:53:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnT \* > \*\*If I go to a thread entitled (for example) “Can you believe what happened in Survivor?” w/o having seen the show in question, then I should just expect spoilers. > > Personally, I think the use of the spoiler warning goes a bit too far. \*\* True… but you should NOT post the name of the person who got voted out in the thread title. Which was pretty much done. It was obvious who got voted out by the title alone. If you are discussing this weeks TV show, you should probably remember that everyone is not in the same time zone, and some people may be following a week, a month, or a season behind. _ **Buffy Spoiler** _ **Example** : There’s nothing wrong with the title you suggested for Survivor, but a thread titled “Can You Believe That Buffy Died?” on Wednesday morning would be upsetting to those of us who got the show 4 days later in Canada. I’m merely suggesting that a more appropriate title might be “The Gift - Buffy finale discussions”. Make sure you give people some warning. **/spoiler** Again I say, what’s the harm in one or two words to warn those who may not know yet, and don’t want to? I had to wait to see the Sixth Sense on video, and the newspaper ruined the ending for me one week before it was out on video. Some of us who were pregnant mothers of three in school full time with a cast, surgery, and a crashed vehicle when it was in theatre were waiting for the video release. We didn’t ALL get to see it in the theatre, no matter WHAT the newspaper thought. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/19 "2001-08-26T01:50:51Z")
Our local TV guide gave away the finale ending to Friends a week before it screened. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049/20 "2001-08-26T03:36:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sasquatch! \* > \*\*\*\*\*\*\* WARNING: “BRAVEHEART” SPOILER \*\*\*\*\* > …adding, “The only thing I know about it is that Mel Gibson’s character dies”. I immediately received a “Thanks, asshat! I haven’t seen it and I didn’t know that!” I figured that this was common knowledge…even for people who _haven’t_ seen it, but I guess I was wrong. > \*\* Yeah, and don’t let anyone know that Jesus gets it at the end of “Last Temptation of Christ.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-spoiler-no-longer-a-spoiler/78049.md?page=2)