Yeah, I agree. I avoid spoilers that reveal what happened in a novel. But with movies and TV, they don't really matter.
Sean
spoilers don't matter?
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
Yeah, I agree. I avoid spoilers that reveal what happened in a novel. But with movies and TV, they don't really matter.
Sean
It depends on a few things.
1) How invested am I in the story? For example, spoilers for a TV show I love bother me a lot more than spoilers for a random movie.
2) What is the magnitude of the spoiler? ""Batman is going to die in The Dark Knight Rises" is a much bigger spoiler than "Bane is the villain of The Dark Knight Rises."
3) Is the spoiler a twist meant to surprise me? I bet "The Sixth Sense" would have been a much more fun experience if the ending hadn't been spoiled for me ahead of time.
1) How invested am I in the story? For example, spoilers for a TV show I love bother me a lot more than spoilers for a random movie.
2) What is the magnitude of the spoiler? ""Batman is going to die in The Dark Knight Rises" is a much bigger spoiler than "Bane is the villain of The Dark Knight Rises."
3) Is the spoiler a twist meant to surprise me? I bet "The Sixth Sense" would have been a much more fun experience if the ending hadn't been spoiled for me ahead of time.
Of course I like surprises ... and, as a point of fact, I am surprised ... when I hear about the twist as a spoiler.
Then there is the Shawshank Redemption factor -- that film takes on a whole new dimension after you know how it ends.
Of course spoilers matter - sometimes. For instance:
The thing about whodunits especially is that the first time you see it, you are supposed to be in the dark about how it ends. That's part of the viewing or reading experience. But of course it's not for everyone.
@OP: So the poll is flawed - it depends. Sometimes they matter, sometimes not.
- Darth Vader: No, I am your father!
- The Sixth Sense, as said above, or any twist ending.
- Whodunit.
The thing about whodunits especially is that the first time you see it, you are supposed to be in the dark about how it ends. That's part of the viewing or reading experience. But of course it's not for everyone.
@OP: So the poll is flawed - it depends. Sometimes they matter, sometimes not.
Oooh no, I'm not gonna let people say maybe because then everyone will say maybe. 
My polls must be definitive or nothing! 
My polls must be definitive or nothing! Of course I like surprises ... and, as a point of fact, I am surprised ... when I hear about the twist as a spoiler.
But surely the best way to find out about the twist is to watch the movie so that the twist is revealed at the time and in the manner that the film maker intended?
That's why people have been known to watch movies more than once.
Oooh no, I'm not gonna let people say maybe because then everyone will say maybe.
Then I choose not to vote.
The problem with The Sixth Sense, for me, was just knowing that there was a twist ending - if you know that fact itself, the situation is almost immediately obvious - I say "almost" because after all these years, I can't remember whether I got it when Willis met the boy's mother or when he met his wife for dinner.
Spoilers matter to me.
However, generally not in the sense of ruining my enjoyment, but in altering it. Instead of "I wonder what happens next?" it's more of a "How do we get there?" Both of those can be fun.
It heavily depends on what I'm watching/reading, or in what mood I am.
As someone said: Sports! If it's a close and/or important game, I might get really nervous, experiencing a mix of happiness/worry or a mix of disappointment/hopefulness during the game for example.
If I know the outcome? The game often has to be of high quality throughout so I won't just watch the highlights, it's a completely different experience. Then again, sometimes I don't want that feeling of nervousness and watch a game later, reading a spoiler behorehand.
Sometimes I'll read spoilers (plot summaries) about a book or TV series to gauge whether I'd be interested at all. In some cases, that leads me to read the book, sometimes, I decide to skip it. In a few cases I think, yeah, that would've been a nice book to read, but now knowing all this stuff, I don't really care to anymore.
However, generally not in the sense of ruining my enjoyment, but in altering it. Instead of "I wonder what happens next?" it's more of a "How do we get there?" Both of those can be fun.
It heavily depends on what I'm watching/reading, or in what mood I am.
As someone said: Sports! If it's a close and/or important game, I might get really nervous, experiencing a mix of happiness/worry or a mix of disappointment/hopefulness during the game for example.
If I know the outcome? The game often has to be of high quality throughout so I won't just watch the highlights, it's a completely different experience. Then again, sometimes I don't want that feeling of nervousness and watch a game later, reading a spoiler behorehand.
Sometimes I'll read spoilers (plot summaries) about a book or TV series to gauge whether I'd be interested at all. In some cases, that leads me to read the book, sometimes, I decide to skip it. In a few cases I think, yeah, that would've been a nice book to read, but now knowing all this stuff, I don't really care to anymore.
