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Spoilers make movies more enjoyable

JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
edited August 2011 in General Movies & TV Posts: 1,380
In a new study, researchers have found that spoilers actually improve the enjoyment of movies:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2011/aug/15/licence-to-spoil-film-spoilers

Comments

  • H007MERH007MER
    Posts: 136
    B*&%$*^*! There is nothing better then going into a cinema with a sense if anticipation and excitement, not knowing how the next 2 hours are going to play out. Not knowing Vader's identity, not knowing the end of Seven, not knowing much of anything about Cloverfield, all these experiences worked because I didn't know what was going to happen. To paraphrase; Just because we can know a thing doesn't necessarily mean that we should.
  • SharkBaitSharkBait
    Posts: 2,107
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited August 2011 Posts: 13,356
    I can understand this view point. It's always nice to see how what you know will fit into the finished film I find.
  • JamesPageJamesPage Administrator, Moderator, Director
    Posts: 1,380
    Thing is lads, it's not a viewpoint. They sampled audiences and found those who knew something of the ending enjoyed the journey more.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    The statement that a movie is better when you know how it ends is absolutely imbecilic. Knowing what will happen takes away the thrill of the twist and/or resolution in the film, and you can only see a film for the first time once. It is without a doubt untrue in my opinion, and I can't understand why It is a positive thing to have a film spoiled. Especially the classics.
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    edited August 2011 Posts: 642
    If anyone what's to know what happens at the end of Titanic message me! :-)

    On a serious note though, I think it's down to personal preference. I think knowing a spoiler before others, actually gives the one holding the info an edge over their fellow spectators, watching THEIR reaction can be quite a buzz. Not in an arrogant way but from an enthusiasts point of view, seeing how it all plays out, how well it is executed and then the chance to gague audience reaction is quite fun.

    Case in point being the 24 series. So many twists and turns and sometimes I just couldn't help myself but dip into the next episode info... Then not tell my wife and then watch her reaction.

    A very strange thing to explain but spoilers can be exciting.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    I agree @Monsieur_Aubergine if and only if the film isn't ruined by the observer to his peers. I enjoy seeing reactions and have been played like a violin by my friends on the opposite side of the coin. I love watching The Departed with fresh viewers. My dad and I sat and watched it one time and I almost cracked up when he theorized that everything would end well with the good prevailing over evil. Ha ha, that is not how Scorsese works. ;-)
  • Monsieur_AubergineMonsieur_Aubergine Top of the Eiffel Tower with a fly in my soup!
    edited August 2011 Posts: 642
    " if and only if the film isn't ruined by the observer to his peers" absolutely mate.

    I can't stand people who openly ruin it for you though. Grrrr!

    Love the Departed example. lol
  • GeorgeLazenbyGeorgeLazenby
    Posts: 295
    Thing is lads, it's not a viewpoint. They sampled audiences and found those who knew something of the ending enjoyed the journey more.
    Sure it is...it's just a collection of viewpoints. My viewpoint is that I get more out of movies when I don't know what to expect.
  • j7wildj7wild Suspended
    edited August 2011 Posts: 823
    LOL!

    This reminds me of me and my friends coming out of the movie theater after viewing The Empire Strikes Back and walking by the long line of people waiting for the next show and we INADVERTENTLY said out loud to each other:

    "Man! I still can't believe Darth Vader is Luke's Dad!!"

    The people in line were screaming at us:

    "Shut the up! We haven't seen the movie yet!!"

    We didn't do it intentionally - it was an accident!!

    Or the other time my friend and I were coming out of the movie theater after watching Titanic and we said: "Man, the special effects of the ship sinking was so cool!"

    Once again, someone in the line of people waiting for the next showing said:

    "Be quiet! You are giving the movie away!!"

    We looked at him with a WTF face and said: "The Titanic is supposed to sink! Everyone knows that!!"
  • thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
    Posts: 1,370
    It depends on the person. I love not knowing what happens next and the tension and expectation that comes with that. However, an old friend of mine can't stand the tension of not knowing what happens next - he's on medication for anxiety problems. He wouldn't see a film until he found someone who had seen it and could describe every plot point in detail so he knew what would happen! And even with that he would still get all tense, cover his eyes, or grasp the armrests with nervousness through certain scenes. If he had forgotten some of the plot he would ask in a desperate voice "What's going to happen next?! WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?!" even though I hadn't seen the film and didn't know! Suffice to say I stopped seeing films with him long ago.

    A coworker of mine - not a friend - wanted to know everything that happened in a film before he saw it simply so he felt that he had power over all the other people in the theatre. He had the power to ruin the film for everyone by shouting out plot points or surprises just before they happened (which he sometimes did, especially in mystery films). Pretty sad that this was all he had in his life to make him feel like a "somebody". He also loved just sitting there knowing that he knew things that other people didn't; he thought that made him better than them!

    Finally there was a woman I worked with who wouldn't see a film until she knew that it had a happy ending, such as the two leads getting together in the end. As she said, there was enough unhappiness in her life that she didn't want to spend $12 and invest two hours of her life to feel sad once a movie ended...
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Seconded @j7wild. Who in the world doesn't know about the Titanic sinking?!
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Seconded @j7wild. Who in the world doesn't know about the Titanic sinking?!
    You would be surprised how the general knowledge of some folks has quite some gaps. I worked with teenagers when the movie came out and quite a few were surprised to hear that the sinking of the Titanic had really happened.

  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    I disagree.

    EON invited journalists to shooting in Chile for QUANTUM OF SOLACE. This included the final fight between Bond and Greene. Some journalist from AOL published details of Greene's death scene, with Bond driving him out into the desert. Nobody else published these details, probably because they knew it was a major spoiler. The AOL article gave no indication that it was publishing spoilers at all. It ruined the ending of the film.
  • j7wildj7wild Suspended
    Posts: 823
    I bet I can make a movie about the Hindenburg and 1/2 of the people in the audience didn't know it blew up
  • LudsLuds MIA
    edited August 2011 Posts: 1,986
    I disagree.

    EON invited journalists to shooting in Chile for QUANTUM OF SOLACE. This included the final fight between Bond and Greene. Some journalist from AOL published details of Greene's death scene, with Bond driving him out into the desert. Nobody else published these details, probably because they knew it was a major spoiler. The AOL article gave no indication that it was publishing spoilers at all. It ruined the ending of the film.
    This sort of thing is to be is to be assumed, any article whatsoever about an ongoing movie shoot can contain spoilers. The only answer is to avoid reading and watching any article whatsoever about the flick. ;)
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