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Spoilers - really that big a deal? • Page 2

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  • Mola_Ram 18 Jul 2012 14:48:11 2,374 posts
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    @BinaryBob101 Game of Thrones is a bit of a special case, in that some people who have read the books write things that they don't think are spoilers, but those who haven't read the books see as spoilers. There can be a bit of a grey area.

    That being said, there are some things that are objectively spoiler-ey, like saying "oh man, I can't wait to see how the TV series shows what happens to such-and-such, it's going to be SWEET". That stuff is ridiculous, and the people writing it should have their head examined.

    I don't know about this PazJohnMitch person. Hope it wasn't too bad.
  • SolidSCB 18 Jul 2012 14:49:12 4,532 posts
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    I'm pretty sensitive to spoilers, in so far that I'll go on a complete blackout when something I know I'm going to get/see is announced. Got really pissed off yesterday when EG plastered a big 'RESIDENT EVIL 6 HAS A FEMALE SPIDER BOSS' headline on the front page, when I've gone out of my way to avoid trailers and news stories for so the whole game feels fresh. It's generally why I avoid reviews on EG, because a lot of them are written in a lazy style that relies on revealing big parts of a game. I can't remember how many times I read a review on here and something along the lines of "This exact thing happens halfway through the game, and it is really good" spoiled a game for me.

    Don't know how people can be okay with spoilers. If you don't have the fucking patience to sit and watch a movie and/or play a game without having to be the first one to know the ending and completely ruining it for yourself in the process, there's something a little bit wrong with you.
  • Mola_Ram 18 Jul 2012 14:49:44 2,374 posts
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    Also, some M Night Shymalan movies are completely spoiled if you know the twist. But that's because, apart from the twist, there's not a lot else there. imo, of course.

    I liked Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, though. I'd watch those again.
  • Blakester 18 Jul 2012 14:52:48 2,934 posts
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    Mola_Ram wrote:
    Also, some M Night Shymalan movies are completely spoiled if you know the twist. But that's because, apart from the twist, there's not a lot else there. imo, of course.

    I liked Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, though. I'd watch those again.
    I'd shout from the rooftops that Mark Whalberg talks to a plant in The Happening if it meant fewer people watched it.

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  • psychokitten Moderator 18 Jul 2012 14:57:57 7,625 posts
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    It's not really a grey area as far as the Games of Thrones topic is concerned, people are discussing the show rather than the books and a lot of people won't have read the books, ergo they are spoilers, sometimes massive ones. They're essentially separate.

    I avoid spoiling things for people, I'm very careful when discussing movies or shows (or games), discovering something yourself is always a lot more interesting.

    Even as small instances go, the Waltz of the Flowers fight-section in Bioshock for instance I saw in a gameplay vid weeks before the game came out, and that section (as fantastic as it was) would have felt a lot better if I hadn't seen it already, before playing it. How big a spoiler something is, is in the eye of the beholder, so I don't see what the big deal is with erring on the side of caution and not giving too much detail, as a courtesy.
  • disusedgenius 18 Jul 2012 14:58:31 4,840 posts
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    ecureuil wrote:
    Study says no.
    I'd be interested to see if the same was said about other media, though. I've read a few books where the ending is presumed to have been known beforehand (crummy 40k sci-fi, but still!) but they still managed to suck me in well enough. I doubt whether a spoiled film would have the same effect.
  • LeoliansBro 18 Jul 2012 14:59:22 35,124 posts
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    Batman dies.

    LB, you really are a massive geek.

  • disusedgenius 18 Jul 2012 15:02:55 4,840 posts
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    Is that that hentai site for gothic emos?
  • mrpon 18 Jul 2012 15:06:21 24,078 posts
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    LeoliansBro wrote:
    Batman dyes his pubes.
    Phew, think we got away with that one.

    Give yourself ½ gig or a £, you're worth it.

  • LeoliansBro 18 Jul 2012 15:06:22 35,124 posts
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    It's actually a German sitcom.

    LB, you really are a massive geek.

  • Mola_Ram 18 Jul 2012 15:06:51 2,374 posts
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    psychokitten wrote:
    It's not really a grey area as far as the Games of Thrones topic is concerned, people are discussing the show rather than the books and a lot of people won't have read the books, ergo they are spoilers, sometimes massive ones. They're essentially separate.
    Well, I'm talking about things like, for example, talking about certain characters having their name changed, or how their personality is slightly different from the book version, or that such-and-such a scene wasn't in the book, or whatever. None of that is plot-related or particularly spoiler-ey, but it still rankles some people (so I try to avoid it).

    What it is, I guess, is information that non-book-readers won't get anything out of. So I guess it's not spoiling, but annoying in a different way. Like having several people in a thread talking about something irrelevant, in a language that you don't understand.

    So uh, yeah, I see your point and agree. I think. I'd wager that Game of Thrones spoilers have been discussed to death, though, so I'll just leave it there! :)

    Edited by Mola_Ram at 15:07:45 18-07-2012
  • DFawkes 18 Jul 2012 15:08:59 19,303 posts
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    It's called a spoiler because it spoils it! A spoiler that doesn't spoil anything isn't a spoiler, it's just a thing. I hate having some stuff spoiled but not others. It's certainly not something you can analyse via a study as it's entirely subjective. All you can really tell is how the people in the study feel.

    That said, the best films and games make the journey entertaining enough that it doesn't feel as important.

    Kirby is the man! Even if he wasn't, he'd just ingest and become one.

  • Mola_Ram 18 Jul 2012 15:16:34 2,374 posts
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    I might add that I have some sympathy for film reviewers that are trying to write a review without spoilers. Of course having a complete synposis there is a bit much. But it's often very difficult to talk about what you liked/didn't like about a movie without talking about plot details. It's a tough gig.
  • Dougs 18 Jul 2012 15:42:35 59,112 posts
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    My wife ruined virtually every film for me by pointing out that there's always a slightly more famous actor that's on the periphery at first, but always ends up being the killer etc. Because my knowledge/memory is rubbish, this rather obvious fact had kind of passed me by
  • Rhythm 18 Jul 2012 15:56:02 2,046 posts
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    DFawkes wrote:
    It's called a spoiler because it spoils it! A spoiler that doesn't spoil anything isn't a spoiler, it's just a thing.
    That's just it, plot elements are not spoilers but they seem to get treated as such by certain people on the internet. Just finding the whole "wah, spoilers" backlash very frustrating at the mo, especially with the Batman crowd being so vocal about it
  • Aargh. 18 Jul 2012 16:00:46 11,177 posts
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    Of course plot elements are spoilers. Why are you going to be as excited about discovering the story when you've just stumbled across what happens? Why should someone else get to decide that you are told?

    Is this a joke thread?

    After chasing sunsets one of life's simple joy is playing with the boys

  • disusedgenius 18 Jul 2012 16:01:02 4,840 posts
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    Rhythm wrote:
    That's just it, plot elements are not spoilers.
    Sure they are, to varying degrees.
  • TechnoHippy 18 Jul 2012 16:01:10 14,256 posts
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    BinaryBob101 wrote:
    The Game of Thrones TELEVISION thread is a testament to how shitty spoilers can be.

    PazJohnMitch still has a LOT to answer for in my book.
    Don't mention the book!

    The Cult of Me [ Blog ] [ e-book ] [ An Odd Quartet ]

  • Tom_Servo 18 Jul 2012 16:02:02 13,224 posts
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    If details of the plot aren't a spoiler, I'd love to know what is TBH.
  • Rhythm 18 Jul 2012 16:03:44 2,046 posts
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    Aargh. wrote:
    Of course plot elements are spoilers. Why are you going to be as excited about discovering the story when you've just stumbled across what happens? Why should someone else get to decide that you are told?

    Is this a joke thread?
    Only if this is a joke reply. By your logic "Arnie finds an alien in the jungle", "shark terrorises small coastal town" and "cowboys do some bumming" are spoilers. Spoilers, by definition, are only spoilers if they actively spoil the film/game/book.
  • Aargh. 18 Jul 2012 16:06:11 11,177 posts
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    But all of those are spoilers.

    After chasing sunsets one of life's simple joy is playing with the boys

  • Rhythm 18 Jul 2012 16:06:42 2,046 posts
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    Taking it a bit further, if *all* plot elements are spoilers then surely we should stop naming films altogether?

    Alien, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hannah and Her Sisters, Kramer vs Kramer, spoilers, the lot of them.
  • disusedgenius 18 Jul 2012 16:07:01 4,840 posts
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    I believe it's a contraction of 'spoiling the surprise', rather than to either ruin or to defecate on a film.
  • TechnoHippy 18 Jul 2012 16:07:42 14,256 posts
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    Surely they are the overall premise of the film, rather than specific plot elements that would be spoilers?

    The Cult of Me [ Blog ] [ e-book ] [ An Odd Quartet ]

  • Aargh. 18 Jul 2012 16:08:39 11,177 posts
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    Rhythm wrote:
    Taking it a bit further, if *all* plot elements are spoilers then surely we should stop naming films altogether?

    Alien, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hannah and Her Sisters, Kramer vs Kramer, spoilers, the lot of them.
    Didn't take you long to go from silly to completely idiotic there.

    After chasing sunsets one of life's simple joy is playing with the boys

  • ZizouFC 18 Jul 2012 16:10:38 4,935 posts
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    Just put everything in spoiler tags.
  • Aargh. 18 Jul 2012 16:12:11 11,177 posts
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    TechnoHippy wrote:
    Surely they are the overall premise of the film, rather than specific plot elements that would be spoilers?
    Yeah, they're only spoilers in the sense of someone completely avoiding anything about the film. In the case of Predator there is the short period of not knowing what is killing things and the subsequent discovery. Could be a guy from the future.

    They are all stupid examples anyway as they're all based around as simple a plot as you can get so there's not a lot to spoil.

    After chasing sunsets one of life's simple joy is playing with the boys

  • Rhythm 18 Jul 2012 16:16:05 2,046 posts
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    Aargh. wrote:

    They are all stupid examples anyway as they're all based around as simple a plot as you can get so there's not a lot to spoil.
    Much like Batman, then.
  • Lukus 18 Jul 2012 16:18:26 18,702 posts
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    I'm not sure I can take this topic on film spoilers seriously. At least not from a man who doesn't go to the cinema and who refuses to upgrade from betamax.

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