Do spoilers bother you?

Morrus · Mar 19, 2014

I know how Breaking Bad ends, I know most of what's going to happen in S.H.I.E.L.D. when it restarts here in the UK in a week or so, and the same with Walking Dead. I just saw some concept art for the upcoming Avengers movie which contains a major plot point, and I know which superheroes will be appearing in Batman vs. Superman. I am familiar with the plots of upcoming Arrow episodes, and I know what's coming in The Big Bang Theory. I knew how Battlestar Galactica ended long before I saw it. I know the date of The Doctor's regenerations months in advance, and who he'll turn into.

Some of this info is promotional stuff (the movies stuff, mainly) and other stuff is simply because shows broadcast at different times in different countries.

Someone said a year or so back "For those who are concerned about spoilers - perhaps the internet is not the best place for you". An odd suggestion that entire swathes of the planet not use modern communication and infrastructure.

But anyway -- putting aside the practicalities involved, the ease of difficulty of avoiding spoilers, or any random complaints about the epic unfairness of it all, I was curious. Do spoilers actually ruin stuff for you, do they make you more/less likely to watch something, do they make no difference to your enjoyment? Would you rather watch each episode/movie with no prior knowledge, or do you enjoy knowing in advance?

Kramodlog · Mar 19, 2014

Spoilers increase my enjoyment. I do not liek to rewatch films or TV shows, so by knowing what will happen, I can enjoy the foreshadowing or the contnuity problems.

A study was made on this that says the same thing.

Umbran · Mar 19, 2014

goldomark said:
A study was made on this that says the same thing.

Well, what the study actually says is still not available. What is that "hedonic rating"?

Plus, what it gives are averages - that implies that there's a spread - for some it increases enjoyment, for others it decreases enjoyment. The chart in the article makes it seem like a pretty close thing. You only increase enjoyment a smallish amount by spoiling it.

For me, personally, it depends upon the work, and the spoiler. For many things people call spoilers, I admit it doesn't make a difference. But, I can think of very few times when a spoiler would make my experience better, and I can think of rather more where a spoiler would substantially reduce my enjoyment. As far as I can tell, the net effect is apt to be negative. So, I tend to avoid them on anything I already intend to see or read.

For things that I don't really intend to see, spoilers are a generally a non-issue.

There is a caveat to all this. I find that most of the time, if a good book is made into a movie, I probably prefer to read the book first. I would not, for example, want to watch Game of Thrones before reading the books involved. I think I prefer running into the twists and turns of the plot in the written form is more fun for me than seeing them first on screen.

Kramodlog · Mar 19, 2014

What is that "hedonic rating"?

Answers await!

Zombie_Babies · Mar 19, 2014

Spoilers don't bother me at all. I mean, you're gonna find out anyway, right? I guess I just don't need that sense of wonder or whatever anymore. Just don't care.

Homicidal_Squirrel · Mar 19, 2014

Zombie_Babies said:
Spoilers don't bother me at all. I mean, you're gonna find out anyway, right? I guess I just don't need that sense of wonder or whatever anymore. Just don't care.

That's what happens when you get married.

EricNoah · Mar 19, 2014

Sometimes I seek them out and I enjoy them. Sometimes I want to be surprised, and an accidental spoiler does indeed spoil it.

Russ, do you have a thought about what is an appropriate amount of time before the general public should be talking about big surprises without warning? I think most people know the big surprise of Empire Strikes Back, for example. Would you say it's after something has come out on DVD or after its theatrical run (if we're talking about movies, for example)?

Morrus · Mar 19, 2014

EricNoah said:
Russ, do you have a thought about what is an appropriate amount of time before the general public should be talking about big surprises without warning?

Not really. I think it varies so much. I think putting it in a headline or subject requires the most care -- stuff people can't avoid even if they're being careful. The problem is, the delays vary massively. A given foreign TV show (by which I guess I generally mean US shows, since I don't really watch non-English language stuff) might show here the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year. And vice versa - stuff made in my country might show in yours the same day (as they seem to be doing with Doctor Who these days) or up to years later (as you're getting with stuff like Downton Abbey).

Can I spost Who spoilers when the episode ends? Can I post Abbey spoilers now, depsite the fact that there's a year-old season you guys haven't seen yet? Should I have posted Avengers or Iron Man 3 spoilers two weeks before the US theatrical debut? Do you want to know who the bad guy was in Broadchurch?

Additionally, we seem to get all the Marvel movies a couple of weeks earlier than the US; but half the Oscar nominated movies this year didn't reach our shores until Jan/Feb.

So I don't think it's possible to really put a rule on it. Years later is obviously OK, but we're going to extremes there.

I do notice that some habitually spoilering folks get really angry when the reverse happens, which is odd.

tomBitonti · Mar 19, 2014

My answer is "it depends".

The trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy mostly is OK. There is nice background information which tells me what the movie will be about, and which doesn't really tell the plot.

However, "mostly OK" is not "entirely OK". The scene with

Rocket Racoon shooting with abandon on Groot

is an apex scene, and should not be put into a trailer. Also, knowing the plot in as much detail as has been provided is too much for me. On the other hand, the bio's and character previews were quite nice.

I do wonder if those same scenes will be present to the same degree in the movie. Seems like a waste of screen time if the scenes are duplicated entirely.

Aside from plot reveals, I find spoilers to be increasingly necessary so that I can gauge the character of the movie and of the story: Is the story one which I want lodged in my brain, or is it sludge which I'll need to carefully scrape away when the movie is over? I find this particularly a problem in terms of gratuitous scenes of violence and/or cruelty, and to a degree, nudity or sexuality. Is the story one where the writers / author make unconvincing or heavy handed shifts in which the authors take advantage of their role in defining the narrative for effect, but at the cost of making an ugly shaped story.

Thx!

TomB

Morrus · Mar 19, 2014

tomBitonti said:
Aside from plot reveals, I find spoilers to be increasingly necessary so that I can gauge the character of the movie and of the story:

Why increasingly so? Why didn't you need spoilers to gauge the character of the movie and of the story in the 70s, 80s or 90s? And why do you need spoilers, specifically, to do that?

Do spoilers bother you?

Do spoilers ruin stuff for you?

Spoilers reduce my enjoyment

Spoilers have no real effect

Spoilers increase my enjoyment

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

Umbran

Mod Squad

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

Zombie_Babies

First Post

Homicidal_Squirrel

Adventurer

EricNoah

Adventurer

Morrus

Well, that was fun

tomBitonti

Adventurer

Morrus

Well, that was fun

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