The Year of the Spoilers
Is it wrong to assume that someone you’re talking to has seen a particular popular movie? With television, it’s different since not everyone watches TV. Plus there are a gazillion channels so there’s a huge chance that they’ve never even heard of the show you’re talking about. But with movies, must we shout “SPOILER ALERT” when mentioning every minor detail? And how do you know whether someone will care if you spoil them or not?
Did you know that it’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s head in the box? How about that Kevin Spacey is Keyser Soze? Or that Rosebud is the freaking sled? If you didn’t before reading this entry, congratulations – you have just been spoiled (maybe that can be a new Punk’d type show. SPOILED!). I think one of the biggest movie surprises that has been spoiled for quite a few people since it appeared in 1999 is the ending to The Sixth Sense. And I know it’s been revealed to others because I spoiled one of my coworkers a few weeks ago and couldn’t believe that he didn’t know the twist before. It wasn’t so much that I was sorry that I had spoiled him, but more that I couldn’t believe he had no idea (SPOILER ALERT) that Bruce Willis was dead the entire time. And I didn’t even mean to intentionally spoil him. A bunch of us were talking about movie endings at lunch and he was in the kitchen when I blurted it out. And it wasn’t even the only movie surprise he was given that day. Another coworker spoiled a plot point of Burn After Reading and didn’t even blink when mentioning it. It wasn’t the ending and a lot of important plot points occur after this character’s death (SPOILER ALERT – It’s Brad Pitt’s character who is killed by George Clooney’s character. And the Ocean’s 11 fangirl in me is giddy every single time), but he was still upset that it was revealed to him without his consent. But that’s the trouble with walking in on conversations – you never know what you’re going to hear. That’s also the problem with making assumptions about other people and their knowledge – you can be completely wrong.
A lot of comic book movies have been including post credits scenes, and they seem to get spoiled online and by others right away. My friend, Martel, complained that the after credits scene from Thor was spoiled at a comic book shop he walked into. If you don’t really read comics or aren’t a huge Thor fan, it may not be a big deal. But for the comic fans, the post credits scenes are sometimes the most exciting part of the movie. With Marvel movies, they’re a hint about what’s going to happen in the next movie (Iron Man – Avengers, Iron Man 2 – Thor, Thor – Avengers). Even DC is getting into this game via Green Lantern. The studios know that these extra scenes will build up excitement for their later films. I know that the scene after Iron Man 2 made me even more excited for Thor. Just seeing Mjolnir stuck in the ground caused me to shout “YES!!!” in the theater. But I didn’t rush out and spoil it for everyone within earshot. I know how to keep my mouth shut (most of the time) because I know I’d be extremely angry if I was spoiled. It’s difficult to stay away from all of the information thrown around on the internet, but in this day and age, it’s hard to stay off of the internet completely. For now, I suppose we’ll have to deal with spoilers as they come – close your eyes and plug your ears if you come upon any. Just don’t spoil Avengers for me or there will be hell to pay.
