Current Events > "A good movie shouldn't be ruined by a spoiler."

(+) Yeah! (+)

Do you feel this way?

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It depends

Edit: But when I think about it, nothing I've loved has been ruined by a spoiler.

I half agree. A good movie won't be ruined by a spoiler, but a spoiler can definitely rob someone of an emotional high point that otherwise might have really affected them while viewing.

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yep

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When I was younger, spoilers literally never bothered me in the slightest. Now, for some reason I actively try to avoid them. I don't think it bothers me TOO much, but I prefer not being spoiled ahead of time whereas before, I'd actively reveal spoiler tags.

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I find myself often more motivated to watch/finish something when I look up a later plot point, so I never really got the people who get immensely butthurt. Being bummed out makes sense, but some people seem to be literally raging inside.

s0nicfan posted...

I half agree. A good movie won't be ruined by a spoiler, but a spoiler can definitely rob someone of an emotional high point that otherwise might have really affected them while viewing.

This. The build-up to some major things could be impacted if you know what is coming beforehand.

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Nemu posted...

I find myself often more motivated to watch/finish something when I look up a later plot point, so I never really got the people who get immensely butthurt. Being bummed out makes sense, but some people seem to be literally raging inside.

Same with me.
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Sometimes.

Something like the Sixth Sense, which heavily depends on its twist, can be ruined by a spoiler.

But something like Endgame, where the big spoiler is just a normal part of the story, yeah, it's not gonna ruin the film unless you let it.

Personally, I've given up trying to avoid spoilers. Nor do I seek them out. I'm much happier now, I used to be real uptight about spoilers.

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s0nicfan posted...

I half agree. A good movie won't be ruined by a spoiler, but a spoiler can definitely rob someone of an emotional high point that otherwise might have really affected them while viewing.

This.

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No. Part of the fun of watching movies is not knowing what's going to happen until it happens.

If there's a plot about whether or not a little girl will survive, and you really want her to survive, then you're going to be emotionally invested in her survival, wondering the whole time if she's going to make it and hoping she does. When you learn that she survives despite the odds being heavily against her, it's incredibly cathartic. When you learn that she dies despite all the efforts to keep her alive, it's a fucked up gut punch.

Either way, you only get to go on this emotional roller coaster if it's all unknown information. And you only get to have that experience once anyway, so why ruin it by learning what happens in advance?

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logical posted...

Either way, you only get to go on this emotional roller coaster if it's all unknown information. And you only get to have that experience once anyway, so why ruin it by learning what happens in advance?

The implication of this line of thought is that a movie can only be worth watching once. Or that rewatches only have value in relation to the emotion invoked by the first viewing. Or that they have lesser emotional value on subsequent watches.

I would bet that most people here think the Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film, and I doubt that many people here watched it without knowing that Vader is Luke's father. The important thing is that you can put yourself in Luke's shoes when he finds out, regardless of whether you already know.

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Shit assholes say to justify spoiling movies

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A good twist should retroactively change your perception of the whole movie. Being spoiled ahead of time, you miss out on an entire interpretation of the movie you would have had before the twist.

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EmbraceOfDeath posted...

A good twist should retroactively change your perception of the whole movie. Being spoiled ahead of time, you miss out on an entire interpretation of the movie you would have had before the twist.

This is the correct answer.

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To say that spoilers shouldn't matter is to deny that shock and surprise are part of the movie-watching experience. And even beyond pure shock and surprise, just interest and intrigue in the unknown is part of the overall enjoyment. "Man, how the hell will they escape this type of captivity?!? Oh wow, what a clever solution! Wait, the villain anticipated that!?! HOLY SHIT, the whole place is gonna collapse; get the heck outta there!!! Phew, they all survived...wait. Oh no...that one super endearing character didn't make it out in time. :("

If you already know what's gonna happen next, you don't get to have those exciting real-time wonders of how the plot is going to unfold. You're not on the edge of your seat for anything, because you already know who lives, dies, wins, loses, etc.. I don't know about you guys, but I actually want to experience those real-time emotions. Being caught off-guard, encouraged to speculate, etc....all part of the experience.

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i remember back when Game of thrones was still a thing, and there were discussion topics of it here when a new episode dropped.

someone just wrote, not spoilermarked or any warning "I can't wait till next episode when that character jumps out a window and dies"

i don't know if it's relevant to the topic, i just know it annoyed me

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If a spoiler ruins the movie, it was never that great anyway, and depended on audience ignorance for its plot to work.
If however, a spoiler invokes "I gotta see that!" response, then it's just great word-of-mouth promotion.

Xavier_On_High posted...

The implication of this line of thought is that a movie can only be worth watching once. Or that rewatches only have value in relation to the emotion invoked by the first viewing. Or that they have lesser emotional value on subsequent watches.

Not quite. The implication is that twists and turns are meant to catch you by surprise the first time around -- not that they're the only thing giving a movie value. There is a unique emotional experience in not knowing what happens next, but that doesn't mean the movie stops being enjoyable afterwards. It's no different than getting a surprise present for your birthday/Christmas/anniversary/whatever and learning that it's something you really wanted; the curiosity/shock makes the revelation more exciting, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't have enjoyed the gift had you known about it in advance.

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Harry Potter series spoilers (applies to both movies and books)

the"Snape killed Dumbledore" meme that was going around when book 6 came out got me about 4 years before I actually had a chance to read the book. I did not, however know about his motivations or if it was even true until that point where I read it myself. However it was still a painful spoiler for me because it was just randomly posted in a topic (probably here on CE). It's a major climax and a huge spoiler that's kind of a misdirect without the full context but it definitely impacted my focus while reading that I wish I could have avoided.

I still greatly enjoy the movie and book but it would have been a better experience without that spoiler.

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EmbraceOfDeath posted...

A good twist should retroactively change your perception of the whole movie. Being spoiled ahead of time, you miss out on an entire interpretation of the movie you would have had before the twist.

yup.

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If someone tells you a twist, everything before the twist can feel more like filler than build up. Anyone who thinks their perception of spoilers should be universal is a self absorbed skank.

Some big movies I just never end up watching cause pop culture makes spoilers in references the norm. Which is fine tbh. I wouldn't want to take away that social experience from others just cause I didn't jump on watching very popular movies immediately. Like the superhero stuff.

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It doesn't ruin the movie, but it can certainly ruin the experience.
So a not so great movie that is relying on the experience is going to suffer a lot, while a great movie will only suffer a little.

I avoided spoilers for Ghostbusters Afterlife, but, the coming attractions totally ruined the next Spiderman for me

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If a piece of art can be spoiled then it had exactly one superficial and utterly disposable thing to offer you.

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that is just something people who like to spoil things say to themselves to justify their actions.

Depends on how important the spoiler is to the overall plot

I spoiled No Time To Die for me and it actually piqued my interest; I was always thinking of HOW that spoiler would be carried out instead of IF it would be done.

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Keyzer Soze was a dead sled all along

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seriously, the idea that knowing one detail from a plot "spoils" the experience of watching a movie is fucking stupid, and it necessitates an extremely shallow way of engaging with media

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yes i do.

but i dont think u should spoil things unsolicited and watching spoiled does take something from the experience but not the entire experience by itself

it is not ruined but something has been taken from the first experience

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Nah, I can think of plenty of great movies where the emotional payoff is built up but especially effective because it catches you off-guard with something that isnt usually talked about in the movies genre or in films in general. In these cases, giving away the climax wont necessarily ruin the movie but it will damage the viewers first experience with it pretty significantly.

I cant really give examples of this without spoiling, even if I only say the movies name.

Kami_no_Kami posted...

In these cases, giving away the climax wont necessarily ruin the movie but it will damage the viewers first experience with it pretty significantly.

it's not a "damaged" experience. it's just a different one.

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I don't give a fuck about someone spoiling a movie. Quit being a drama queen, shut your mouth and know your role

No.

Imagine going into Infinity War for the first time already knowing that Thanos succeeds in snapping half of all existence away. Will the movie still be good? Of course it will. It's one of the best films of its genre, if not the best ever made.

Still, if you know about its major events in advance, you will never, ever experience that visceral, emotional response of witnessing it for the very first time as the creators intended. Is the movie ruined if you have the ending spoiled? Maybe not. It's still a great movie on repeat viewings...but a huge portion of the payoff is missing if there's no suspense in those crucial moments.

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I don't care about spoilers at all in anything. This includes sports, any kind of TV, any kind of result, movies, etc. I care about the journey / build up to the result rather than just knowing the result. How it got to that point is more important that the outcome.

I kind of think people being adverse to spoilers is more of a mental thing because they still enjoy movies with obvious plotlines and outcomes like the Marvel movies.

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

No.

Imagine going into Infinity War for the first time already knowing that Thanos succeeds in snapping half of all existence away. Will the movie still be good? Of course it will. It's one of the best films of its genre, if not the best ever made.

Still, if you know about its major events in advance, you will never, ever experience that visceral, emotional response of witnessing it for the very first time as the creators intended. Is the movie ruined if you have the ending spoiled? Maybe not. It's still a great movie on repeat viewings...but a huge portion of the payoff is missing if there's no suspense in those crucial moments.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FkMWsO_-X7Y

averagejoel posted...

it's not a "damaged" experience. it's just a different one.

In your opinion. Fortunately, you don't decide for the rest of us =)

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I know many people waste their time and money watch shitty movie because avoid spoiler.
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trappedunderice posted...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FkMWsO_-X7Y

Name a better comic book superhero movie than Infinity War. There are some I'd hold in near-equal contention with it, but none that capture the feeling of an epic comic book story like Infinity War does.

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Questionmarktarius posted...

If a spoiler ruins the movie, it was never that great anyway, and depended on audience ignorance for its plot to work.
If however, a spoiler invokes "I gotta see that!" response, then it's just great word-of-mouth promotion.

I feel the exact same way

If a story hinges on a plot twist, it's only at it's best the first time you experience it

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

Name a better comic book superhero movie than Infinity War. There are some I'd hold in near-equal contention with it, but none that capture the feeling of an epic comic book story like Infinity War does.

The crow

Gwynevere posted...

If a story hinges on a plot twist, it's only at it's best the first time you experience it

The way I see it is the same as this user put it:

EmbraceOfDeath posted...

A good twist should retroactively change your perception of the whole movie. Being spoiled ahead of time, you miss out on an entire interpretation of the movie you would have had before the twist.

The first viewing is when you're trying to find out what's happening. You see things in a particular way, and certain events give you clues and ideas about what might happen. It's fun to try to predict, to try to anticipate, to try to put the pieces together before the story tells you.

Then, the second viewing is when you know what's going to happen and you can appreciate the reality of the foreshadowing and hints, as well as the things that were only there to deceive you. It's exactly as EmbraceOfDeath says: If you go into a movie knowing the ending on the first viewing, you will never know what it's like to watch it without that knowledge. I think that's a significant loss of potential enjoyment, even if the movie isn't objectively "ruined" by the knowledge.

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

Name a better comic book superhero movie than Infinity War. There are some I'd hold in near-equal contention with it, but none that capture the feeling of an epic comic book story like Infinity War does.

Most of them.

I tried to watch Infinity War three times because I fell asleep the first 2. It was a boring paint by numbers CGI romp.

I guess a bunch of the others were too, in hindsight, but it was a little more novel then. Still, movies like GotG and the Winter Soldier have a certain heart to them that makes them watchable, while IW is soulless and drags as a result.

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trappedunderice posted...

The crow

Really cool, love that shit, definitely top 10...

But it's a dark revenge movie with a supernatural element (which is fucking badass). It doesn't really convey the essence of "comic book movie" the way Infinity War does. It's more a movie based on a comic book than a movie that embodies comic books themselves.

Maybe I should have been clearer in what I meant.

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averagejoel posted...

it's not a "damaged" experience. it's just a different one.

So youve never seen a single film where not knowing a twist or event has enhanced the first viewing experience for you? If you have, then you must agree that knowing that twist or event wouldve been a detriment to your first viewing experience.

If you havent, then I dont know what to tell you. I guess were just different people.

marthsheretoo posted...

It was a boring paint by numbers CGI romp.

Bruh.

You can say a lot of things, but to call Infinity War "a paint by numbers CGI romp" is very reductive.

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Infinity War is a bad example, imo. Marvel is a hyper profitable franchise that wouldn't kill off so many major characters so abruptly. They were already marketing the movie as a "part 1", and also other movies starring characters that should be dead. Everything about the setup screams "this is only temporary".

The spoiler doest come from "Thanos snapped away half the universe", rather, its how the heroes "fix" it in the next movie, and what the "real" consequences will be.

I think a better one would probably be the death from Force Awakens. It's still a great and emotional scene regardless of whether you see it coming or not, but the surprise factor from the built up tension really adds to the first experience. The impact of the death isnt mitigated because the audience has no reason to expect that it isn't final. (Which is also why the Endgame deaths are more dramatic, because we know this is a "final chapter" and it's unlikely to undo any of its sendoffs down the line)

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i got some wow moments during cap murica holding mjolnir and goku x vegeta fusion vs broly.
if i get spoiled on those, it's not a big deal but they're surprisingly good action pieces and i'd probably just get hyped if got spoiled

but if the spoiler is 'mc is just dreaming or secret agent bs by the opposition' then yeah, the movie could be ruined

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EndOfDiscOne posted...

Shit assholes say to justify spoiling movies

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