Spoiled?

[Rudolph Quin]

How do you feel about spoilers? Does it ruin a show/movie/book to know what happens in it? What counts as a spoiler in your eyes? Because I've had people jump on me for even mentioning that something happens in a series, let alone something big and plot changing. How much is too much?

Personally, I don't really consider myself spoilable. Very often, I raid TV Tropes in much the same way I do for Goodreads book lists; I read a book like King Rat and I go digging for other books that either have a different take on the Pied Piper of Hamelin or that do modern retellings of fairy and folk tales. And I often highlight the spoiler sections to see if they're interesting enough or close enough to what I am looking for. I read up extensively about Supernatural before taking the dive, same with Neon Genesis Evangelion and Donnie Darko. Before you get into a series or movie/book, there's a kind of airy ignorance where anything mentioned is all very general and uncemented; I don't know how these plot elements work together yet because I haven't seen the characters interact. And very often, one fan's interpretation of an episode or work comes across differently to me when I'm watching/reading; like the preconceptions I had based on their description/synopsis change drastically when I see it for myself.

Even with new seasons of GoT still airing since I took a break at season 4, I read and keep up with discussions. If anything, this kind of enhances my excitement about what is going to happen next. And yet even knowing the characters, I still maintain this airy consideration where the pieces don't really fit yet. So, starting the next season and knowing a lot about it, I know bullet points of stuff that is supposed to occur but not necessarily what it looks exactly like when it happens. Like Danearys in the fire with the dragon eggs. Completely different to what I expected and when it happened there was a small validation of "Ah, so, it's now." but no less shocked and surprised by how it went down.

Poll to follow.

 

[Pragmatic]

Each case is different.

Throughout my life, I've met essentially three kinds of people amongst those who have spoiled things for me:

1.- Those who get so overly excited when talking about a certain work of fiction (GoT is a really good example) that they just can't help spoiling those seriously amazing plot twists and incredible key moments.

They can fuck off and grow up.

2.- Those who assume you're not gonna read/watch/play whatever they're talking about and spoil it for you.

They are more rare, but they can also fuck off.

3.- Those who don't give a shit and will shamelessly discuss it with other people around you who have also enjoyed the work of fiction in question and give you the options of either leaving or having the fun spoiled. 'If I could read it, you could have done that too by now'.

They can fuck off and die in a fire.

I enjoy both the "what" and the "how", the latter being ultimately the most important part, of course. You can create a great deal of anticipation in someone by telling them that there's something interesting going on in the following chapters of a book your acquaintance is reading, for example, but limiting those to simple hints will leave their entertainment unscathed (or, as you said before, it could heighten it!).

Still, as a general rule of thumb, if I've got the intention of enjoying a work of fiction, I avoid spoilers at any cost.

...Mostly because of types 1 and 2. I actually stopped reading ASOIAF because of the spoilers that I got forced into my head, be it due to the media or people I know.

I dunno, I just enjoy being surprised.

 

[Rudolph Quin]

Wow, those are some strong opinions. :blush:

I have to say despite my unspoilable nature, I can be extremely sensitive to spoiling others. Unless I'm trying to convince them not to see something, then I'll explain the exact reasons why, no holding back. If it ruined it for you, good, there's 2 hours of your life back. I'm jealous.

 

[Fruit]

Spoilers are the bane of my existence. I can't stand even the smallest spoilers, and won't ever tolerate them.

I remember getting in a fight with someone over spoilers. I'm someone who avoids trailers of shows I like, sometimes posters even, to avoid spoiling the watching experience.

Sometimes I hate Google because of that. I remember I once googled the name of a show I like just to see if they finished airing the entire season so I can binge watch it, and the very first search result had the title "{Show name} recap: {Character name} is dead". Like seriously, fuck you. Its a episode that was aired a few hours ago.. You don't have to write the damn thing in the fucking title >,>

 

[Mr Quixotic]

Ah, Fruit. I don't think you'd appreciate me (Not that you do anyway!). I hate spoilers as well, and have been known not to read a novel, no matter how great I've been told it is, because I'm already aware of the ending, and won't do it to others.

However, it can be fun sometimes to make up spoilers for my friends on the spot -particularly enjoyable when I haven't even seen the show or read the book they're referring to-, have them insult me, before I profusely apologise, and await their reaction when they find out what I told them was going to happen, doesn't!

I don't know, I might be the only one that finds that amusing, and you do really need to select the right targets; meaning ones who wouldn't hesitate to do it to me if they thought of it first, or had the opportunity.

 

[Rudolph Quin]

Lol, Quix, you're such a rapscallion!

It's not terribly surprising to me how many people actually don't like spoilers at all, since like I said, I've encountered that the most when having online discussions.

 

[cyx.]

my best friend keeps spoiling things that are happening in the next chapter of harry potter; it's just a screenplay, but still. important fucking information. i fucking breathed that series on paper, surprisingly fell in love with the changes they made on screen, and now i'm eagerly waiting my own copy of harry potter and the cursed child.

it's just one of those things that i really wish didn't exist; everyone lives through the series of which they watch and read differently. for me, i love being experiencing the show / book / whatever on my own terms. there's been times where i've completely shut down a video game because i couldn't hear a cutscene properly, and didn't want to miss out on anything. if someone shouts out a spoiler for something i'm heavily interested in watching in my own time (like walking dead for example: so many fucking spoilers for everything. got a WD colouring book for my birthday, and one of the images just made me go, 'oh carl :c'), i get extremely pissed off. not because it 'ruined' the show, but because it just ruined my surprise and reaction to that tidbit. it's not the same~

i heavily try and avoid spoilers, but a lot of the time, it's crucially hard to withhold. especially trailers these days; they reveal basically the whole goddamn plot and foreshadow all in one.

 

[Rudolph Quin]

i heavily try and avoid spoilers, but a lot of the time, it's crucially hard to withhold. especially trailers these days; they reveal basically the whole goddamn plot and foreshadow all in one.

I know! Like, they're supposed to entice you to want to see it not make you feel like you just did! What gets me even more about trailers though is when they pull a Quix(oh, snap! See wut I did ther?) and either through tone or misplacement of clips or clips for things that aren't even in the final product, make you think the movie is about something else than it actually is. But that's an entirely different matter, lol.

 

[Mitsu]

Spoilers have never once bothered me. I literally don't care if something is spoiled, because I'm not watching something to be surprised. I'm watching something to see how it unfolds. Sometimes I'm even more interested, because I want to see how something that has been "spoiled" happens. I want to see the performances, the direction, and every aspect that brings that thing to the screen. The best things I've ever seen are just as good when I know what is going to happen.

I already knew the ending of Goodfellas, but I sure as hell enjoyed the hell out of it when I actually saw it. I also knew how Toy Story 3 was going to end, but it still had one hell of an impact. I don't need to be surprised to enjoy a good story.

 

[Chai]

Spoilers have never once bothered me. I literally don't care if something is spoiled, because I'm not watching something to be surprised. I'm watching something to see how it unfolds. Sometimes I'm even more interested, because I want to see how something that has been "spoiled" happens. I want to see the performances, the direction, and every aspect that brings that thing to the screen. The best things I've ever seen are just as good when I know what is going to happen.

I already knew the ending of Goodfellas, but I sure as hell enjoyed the hell out of it when I actually saw it. I also knew how Toy Story 3 was going to end, but it still had one hell of an impact. I don't need to be surprised to enjoy a good story.

Pretty much this.

Spoilers don't bother me at all, mostly because even if i know what happens, actually watching the moment unfold is completely different.

When I watched The Force Awakens, I knew what was going to happen to Solo, but watching it was totally different than just knowing. It was different because I also watched all the events that happened before that moment, how they affected the story and ultimately that scene.

I don't think there's any movie or show I've watched that I didn't read the synopsis of prior to watching. It honestly saves me the time, because if the synopsis doesn't interest me, I'm likely not going to enjoy actually watching the movie/show anyway.

Strangely, I hate reading the synopsis of a book, but even those spoilers don't bother me. The emotions and drama is just as strong regardless of what I know or don't know, haha. XD.

 

[Rudolph Quin]

It's nice to see an about even measure of people on either side. I also find the reactions of people who don't like to be spoiled, interesting.

 

[Lady Rinne]

I really dislike spoilers, for me they take away the mystery of what is going to happen. One of my favorite things to do in movies is guess at what is coming next, to try and figure out how I would have run the plot of the story if it was mine and see how close I can come to getting it right. Spoilers take away my ability to do that, and it makes me very sad. On the other hand I won't go nuts on anyone for spoiling things.

 

[Sanoci]

My typical rule of thumb, you spoil something of mine you get it in equal doses. Needless to say I find such deterrence required at times or other means if they are the rare I don't mind spoilers type. Who needs violence when one can be persuaded it's against their best interest.

 

[Sleepingskill]

Unless it is something I don't plan on seeing or need info about first

 

[Phillia]

The first episode of GoT I ever watched was the Red Wedding one. Not on purpose. It was just the one that was being aired when I got access to HBO. Didn't bother me. I still liked watching the rest of the show because stories are more than just plot twists. It has a lot more going on for it than character mortality. I get why spoilers bother people, but the ones who freak out and start screaming need to (in my opinion) calm down and reassess their lives. It's not that serious.

 

[Asphodel Terrarium]

I don't mind spoilers. I think I have to see it myself to be able to enjoy it regardless if I already know what will happen. In addition, there is also things you will never know despite those spoilers; there is still an element of surprise.

Of course, I respect those who do dislike or hate spoilers. The rule is, respect others as they may not have the same opinion or view about spoilers. Do not be an ass. Do not spoil a movie or book for them if they did not ask for it.

 

[Rudolph Quin]

I actually anticipated a lot more people being against spoilers than have commented! In this day and age, it's really hard to avoid them if you're a fan of something, especially if it's mainstream or popular, so, maybe people are just growing used to knowing about stuff beforehand?

 

[Asphodel Terrarium]

Well, traditional Filipinos actually enjoy rewatching series, plays of ballads and epics such as the Biag-ni-Lam-Ang, the Adarna Bird, and Florante and Laura. They keep on watching because even if the story is the same throughout and they already know it, it is the undergoing that is important. They even sing the songs because they already memorised it.

As a bonus, the plays of epics and ballads are most of the time sung in a different way despite the lyrics being the same.

So main point: It is not about the ending, but rather the journey. And I think that is fricking beautiful!

If you are not familiar with the listed works, then treat it as the same as watching a play of the Odyssey or the Aeneid, and sung by muses.