So, it’s not that the internet started this – obviously, you’ve got critical spoilers for widespread, mainstream media as far back as who knows when. But there’s a difference between having your friend tell you what/who Rosebud is/was, and having CNN.com or some schmoe on some messageboard spoil a plot point of a major media event for you.
On a messageboard I frequent, apparently one of the new users spoiled the new Harry Potter book, which is sort of the cause in the cause-and-effect of this post. But I’ve had other things spoiled for me via the ‘net – Survivor, Alias, part of Batman Begins, etc. And basically, what it comes down to is that I consume so much information from such a widespread variety of sources in a given day, it’s almost impossible to insulate myself from spoilers for something like Harry Potter, or a major movie. Hell, even for something like Halo 2.
What this means is that essentially, in order to guarantee a spoiler-free experience, I have to essentially consume that media experience as fast as possible, and so does everyone else. This means that essentially, we have a setup where anyone who wants to maintain the integrity of the experience *has* to partake in these things as soon as they’re released, and as fast as possible, or sequester themselves quite thoroughly from any potential spoilers – things that can appear anywhere, from discussion about politics, to … whatever.
I wonder if there was anything that forces such synchronized media consumption – well, I suppose TiVo/Replayless broadcast TV did that at one point – but frankly, having gotten used to being able to control when I watch anything, the notion that I must adhere to a societally imposed schedule or have that experience ruined for me is a bit… irritating.
I think the level of “sequesterization” (“sequesterment”?) required to avoid spoilers is pretty minimal. Since I stopped frequenting message boards, I don’t think I’ve had a single thing unintentionally “spoiled.”
And I’m not particularly “thorough” about it. I watch TV, I read magazines, I certainly browse the web. And I never see anything slightly spoiler-esque outside of message boards.
But when I wanted a particular detail about Anakin’s fight with Obi-wan before I saw it, I went straight to theforce.net boards.
Avoiding message boards, doesn’t seem particularly onerous.
Of course, it also depends on what you mean by “spoiler.” If you mean knowing any plot points whatsoever, then, yeah, hide under a rock. I know of people that would consider knowing that War of the Worlds deals with non-humans to be a spoiler for the entire movie. Or that Anakin becomes Darth Vader.
As long as your definition of “spoiler-free” doesn’t extend that far, then I don’t think it’s too difficult to avoid them.
Consequently, I think the idea of consuming media as fast as possible is a far worse remedy. Sure, it’ll work, but is spoiler-free access to message boards really worth the cost?
Here’s a challenge, find me a link to the ending to any recent movie or the Harry Potter book not on a message board. It has to be posted within, let’s say, a month of release. Extra-credit for mainstream sites like CNN or something. War of the Worlds, something that has been out for 100 years, is off-limits!
I got a spoiler for “Million Dollar Baby” within a week of its release, which was posted without warning on a page on CNN that only tangentially dealt with the controversy surrounding it. I read a spoiler for American Idol on the site’s headline summary before having seen the last episode (literally, less than an hour before it was over).
The problem isn’t relegated to just messageboards, though messageboards are by far the worst culprits. Often, comments on unrelated sites (political blogs like Eschaton, “culture” sites like Gizmodo or Slashdot) or even references in headlines or articles give major plot points away.
The Daily News posted that a certain actor made a mystery guest appearance at the end of Wedding Crashers. It would’ve been a lot funnier not to know who it was (and the movie makes a big deal out of the reveal so it’s supposed to be a semisurprise). He’s not in the initial trailers either.
It wasn’t as big a deal as the Harry Potter thing would’ve been for me but it could’ve been for someone.
I said to Kristen on Saturday, “If I don’t read the book by Monday, someone, somewhere will spoil it”. Sure enough I heard a conversation between two idiot kids at the deli I just stopped at. They were discussing it and if I hadn’t already read it, the two would’ve felt the cold whack of a Snapple bottle across the back of the head.
Seppo is one hundred percent right on this. Get in on it, get in NOW, or get spoiled. Or avoid newspapers and the internet until you do. But that’s just not fair.
What was the Million Dollar Baby spoiler?
As for American Idol, think of the situation you put yourself in. The show was less than an hour away from being over, and you were at the site. Instead of simply avoiding it for a little longer, you went to the site.
And the AI situation doesn’t really fit in your model anyway. You proposed either sequestering yourself “thoroughly” or “consume the media experience as fast as possible.” With AI, you simply had to wait for the time zones. You couldn’t really consume it faster. So sequenstering was the only option. And it sounds like you really weren’t even trying. You might as well gone to a message board.
And I need specifics. I don’t know what you consider a “major plot point.” I mean, take Wedding Crashers that opened this weekend. I already know they go to weddings and crash them (most obvious). I also know from the trailers that Owen Wilson’s character likes a girl and Vince Vaughn’s is stuck with a clingy one. Are those the types of things you’re talking about? I don’t know without specifics.
Or is it something like, the ending, which for this movie I don’t know. But, if I read that Owen Wilson ended up with the girl in the end, sure, that’s a major plot point, but an utterly predictable one as well.
I read Eschaton and Gizmodo every day, religiously, and I have no recollection of any spoilers at all. Those guys are mainstream and I’d be surprised, given their audience size, that they would ever post a spoiler.
By contrast, I wouldn’t be surprised if some low-traffic site out in the boonies posted a spoiler.
I don’t think “general” plot spoilers are “true” spoilers. The Daily News Spoiler would be on the level of um, crap, Sean Connery at the end of Robin Hood:Prince of Thieves? Unexpected but welcomed?
That being said the newspapers and things I read are constantly spoiling things. Hell, I think that certain TV shows spoil too much in the coming attractions at the end of the episode.
Still, people I speak to on a daily basis are still the biggest spoilers I know. Open Water, the Village, you name it…the gym is spoiler central.
” But there’s a difference between having your friend tell you what/who Rosebud is/was, and having CNN.com or some schmoe on some messageboard spoil a plot point of a major media event for you.”
So what is the difference? Kero’s stuff (gym, deli) seems to bridge the two. From the way he tells it, he basically has to hide under a rock since he is inundated with spoilers.
LMAO@a.
Oh, and angry chad is angry over this too.
*back to rock*
I thought the definition of a spoiler was pretty evident.
spoiler = suprise
The Wedding Crashers thing was definately a spoiler, and I remember reading that Million Dollar Baby one too. That one was huge.
Oh and Kero, we all have Bloglines, so we know pretty much immediately when the others have posted 😛
Get with the Bloglines!
“spoiler = surprise” is a synonym, but not a workable definition because it simply leads back to the question of, what’s a surprise? People enter into it with differing degrees of knowledge. “Wedding Crashers” might be about people who drive a bus into a wedding party to a person that doesn’t know anything about the movie.
Can you post a link to the Million Dollar Baby spoiler?
A true spoiler where I really feel like I was protecting myself pretty well:
Shortly after The Others was released on dvd, I was reading a message board (so yes, it was a message board) on American Idol (shaddup) when in the midst of talking about who should get kicked off AI, someone just blabbed what was up with The Others, as though it were common knowledge. They didn’t preface it with any sort of other movie talk or anything else related to The Others, or anything that would have warned me not to read further, but just said it. My feeling is that given that the dvd just came out, the movie was still close enough to “new” that the general populace couldn’t expect to know what was up.
The other weaker example is when around Oscar time, I was just perusing CNN, when one of the lead-ins on the Oscars told me what was up with the friend (or was it roommate?) in A Beautiful Mind. The general article was just briefly covering nominees, and no other spoiler bombs were dropped. It’s true that I prob should have avoided the article entirely, but I did cautiously scan a little to make sure it was just basically a list of nominees, which it was for the most part. Oh well. I still haven’t seen that movie, but it’s not like I’ll ever forget the spoiler.
While I think people should exercise some restraint and give some warning before posting clear spoilers (i.e., end of the movie), I also think there is a “statute of limitations” on what is acceptable discussion.
To me, it’s a sliding scale. When a movie is first released, you should respect that people haven’t seen it, so avoid discussing the end. But once the movie has been out for a while, the people that haven’t seen it should respect the fact that a lot of people have and they want to talk about it without constantly bending over backward for the few people that haven’t seen it.
If the movie is out on DVD or it’s around the time of the Oscars (i.e., at least 2 months after the movie was released), then I think the onus is on the person who hasn’t seen it to avoid spoilers. Sure, it would be nice to have a warning if it’s a huge “twist” plot point (I haven’t seen The Others, so I don’t know), but I would expect by the time the DVD has come out, that I should either get around to seeing the movie, or try to learn how to stop reading in the middle of a sentence.
But the sentence ended with “The Others”! Heh. Like so (with madeup details of every kind): “American Idol should kick off Bob Someone because it pissed me off when Jane Doe and John Doe did the hokey pokey, releasing Godzilla that killed everyone at the end of The Others.” But I do agree that it’s not the same as walking outside of a theater after a movie is over and shouting the ending/surprise twist to the people in line.
Back to the original point about Harry Potter though — it literally is like that. I have to duck around and cover my ears at work and walking around stores because people keep loudly talking about it in detail in public. It’s not like I have a right to object, but I wish people would just be a little more cautious.
“Back to the original point about Harry Potter though — it literally is like that. I have to duck around and cover my ears at work and walking around stores because people keep loudly talking about it in detail in public.”
Sounds like hell. Not the spoiler bit, but that you work in an environment where Harry Potter is loudly spoken about, not only at all, but in detail by coworkers. :p
My Harry Potter conversation was this:
Co-worker: Bought Harry Potter for my son. He’s about half-way.
Me: How old is he?
Co-worker: 10.
Me: What are you doing for lunch? …
re: American Idol – when I said “the site” I meant CNN – not the AI site.
And no, I can’t post a link to the MDB spoiler. I have *no idea* where it is. It was in some tangentially related blurb in the entertainment section.
I don’t really know what the issue is, though – I’ve had a couple experiences spoiled for me in places I would *never* have expected to find them. Whether I remember the link to them is somewhat irrelevant, as is whether you’ve personally had items spoiled for you.
For me, personally, I find that if I want a media experience to remain unspoiled, I do have to be careful. Atrios doesn’t post spoilers on Eschaton, but the comments aren’t as stringent, and people will post references that they think are oblique, but to anyone with half a brain, are completely obvious.
“Sounds like hell. Not the spoiler bit, but that you work in an environment where Harry Potter is loudly spoken about, not only at all, but in detail by coworkers. :p”
I know! But I’m in Sillicon Valley, working as a software engineer. There is no getting around it.
Okay. The statute is as follows.
Sixth Sense revelation? That’s not a spoiler anymore.
Aerith’s fate in FF7? That’s not a spoiler anymore.
Luke’s father? Not a spoiler.
Rosebud. That’s a paddlin’.
It was earth. You blew it. Damn you all to hell!?
Not a spoiler anymore.
What happens at the end of book 6 of Harry Potter?
That’s a spoiler.
Oh and a, your coworkers ten year old “gets it”. What did you have for lunch BTW?
Chicken pad thai.
I was going to post a joke about the spoiler of The Usual Suspects, but I wasn’t sure where this movie fell in the limitation of revealing spoilers, so I’ll just say I had chicken fried rice and a cookie.
– Mike
OMG! This very thing is being discussed on an e-mail list I am lurking because of the US MotoGP at Laguna Seca!
It’s not only intentional spoilers, but unintentional as well. I remembered to place a disclaimer before posting links to my pictures; but sometimes people forget. One guy, let’s call him “John” (well, that is his name), apologized because he copied and pasted text about the 2006 MotoGP; unknown to him it contained a spoiler about the ’05 race. But I understand his concern because on that list I’ve been chastised for saying, It’s a great race that you shouldn’t miss. I had no intention of spoiling anything, nor do I feel that is a spoiler… but now I just try to keep my big mouth shut.