“It’s a cookbook!!” . . . words that if known ahead of time, would have changed the enjoyment gotten out of the revelation. For we enjoy the surprise, the twist, the unexpected. Whatever the reason, humans consistently appreciate the entertainment value of a surprise; the treasure waiting for us at the end of the trip. We may not like being fooled in real life, but we really appreciate it in movies, books, and TV shows.
So much so, that we came up with an appropriate name to something that takes that away from us. “Spoilers.” I feel sad for those people who want to know, who do not want the surprise, who are not drawn to the adventure of the unknown. Yes, there are people like that. People who want the comfort of the known; who do not want their world shaken by the unexpected.
I’m writing today for all the others. The ones who want to discover, and interpret, those moments of revelations on their own. I write because I heard a statement recently advocating “He’s a replicant” is not a spoiler. They arrived at this conclusion based on the fact the movie in question is 25 years old. Apparently they felt anyone interested should have watched the movie (“Blade Runner”) by now.
But they are forgetting the people who mature into new viewers every year. They forget younger viewers and readers. Or even older ones who happen to be new to the genre. In addition to keeping up with all the new movies, books, and TV shows (their general poor quality notwithstanding), they have an increasingly large body of work to wade through.
We may have had years between each classic, but they are entering the world of sci-fi with a large volume of movies they need to watch before they catch up with us; before they have the same history we take for granted.
The reason we should not take their moments of realization away from them is that, although it may occur years apart, it is that experience that bind us as Science Fiction fans. So next time you speak of a sci-fi classic, and the person is not familiar with it, don’t diminish their discovery of it by blurting out something like “And at the end, he steps on his glasses, and breaks them!”
I hate spoilers as much as anybody. I would have been mightily annoyed if before seeing Serenity I had been one of the people that found out … oh wait … apparently I can’t say what I might have found out, just in case someone who hasn’t seen it might read this?!?
In can see your point, I really can. At the same time though one of the great things about sci-fi films/tv/books is getting to talk about it afterwards. Being able geek out with friends about how cool that scene was, or rip apart an idea for making no sense, or argue about if Deckard is or isn’t a replicant!!
The internet represents the best way these days to do that sort of thing with the widest group possible. Message boards, forums, podcasts are a great way to share our love of scifi. We can’t not talk about some of the coolest aspects of the films/shows we love just because someone who hasn’t seen it “might” read what has been written or heard what has been broadcast.
Sure spoiling for the sake of it is wrong! Ruining the end of a film the day after release or blurting something out without warning should be frowned upon. I do think though that some responsibility has to rest on the shoulders of the viewers. If you are going to see a film thats been out for years, don’t go reading or listening to content about it before you see it!
But when you have such a wildely debated topic as Deckard and the director of the film FINALLY reveals how he sees it after 25 years, thats has got to warrant discussion hasn’t it!
I have to agree with Andrew. At some point, in order to be able to have an entertaining show and discuss and debate movies, you have to make an assumption that the majority of listeners will have seen it. Kick Ass Mystic Ninja’s couldn’t exist without such a policy. And part of the “initiation” into SF Fandom, in my opinion, is being able to hear those discussions and then going back to see what all of the fuss was about. Yes, “It’s a cookbook!” would spoil the surprise for those who haven’t seen the movie, but given that its become a general pop-culture reference (Simpsons anyone?), how could you avoid it! We need some semblance of reasonableness, and caveat emptor.
New SF fans will have to understand that they will not be able to avoid spoilers for the “classics” — but everyone should have some expectation of protection from spoilers for the newer media. How long? That’s hard to say, but possibly some form of spoiler warning until a DVD has been out for a month or so on a movie. TV shows — that’s harder with DVRs, but perhaps spoiler warnings until a couple of weeks after the end of the season. I don’t advocate waiting until after the DVDs. That’s torture for those who actually watch the broadcast shows. Again, I’m not saying don’t discuss it, but be prepared to provide warning.
Perhaps SoSF could adopt a form of what The Signal did with their “SciFi Review” segment, a disclaimer at the front of the discussion that the segment discussion may contain spoilers for movies/TV shows and if the listener hasn’t yet seen it, they may wish to skip. That may be harder with the more free-wheeling nature of the SoSF shows, but perhaps Mike could add such a warning at the beginning of the edited show as to the content of that particular show. “Warning, this show includes discussion of the following movies/shows/books that may be considered spoilers for any who have not yet seen/read them.”
That’s my 2cents.
Taz
This from the podcast that brought you “x Dies!” when Serenity came out! That coloured my entire viewing of the movie.
Thanks though, I’ve just gone to find what the glasses reference is from – sounds worth looking up..