The politics of online spoilers

[matgb]

One of the things that always bugs me online is different peoples reactions to plot 'spoilers' for media things—unpredictable and at times downright weird, as Nick Mamatas demonstrated last month. Now me, I tend to seek them out for shows I like—before the internet I had a subscription to SFX partially for the spoiler zone section, I loved reading about shows way in advance and knowing what would happen. But then I tend to rewatch stuff I like a lot anyway. So, inspired by this old poll at nmg's, I thought I'd update it a bit.

Warning though, below the fold are some minor spoilers for recent films such as Iron Man, Harry Potter 5 and Spiderman, and also endings/character reveals for Hamlet, Sixth Sense, Citizen Kane, the Star Wars trilogy, Soylent Green and Fight Club. Nothing is revealed that isn't on this classic t-shirt but if you really are that averse, just scroll to the last question...

[Poll #1199471]

Obviously some things, like the end of a genuine mystery, are worth hiding if that's how it's written—knowing who did it never seemed to hurt my enjoyment of Columbo though, and a chunk of my reading is always history books where, y'know, I normally know the ending. It's not what happens that matters to me, it's how—I'm there for the ride, not the big splash at the bottom. You?

Comments

[pmoodie.livejournal.com]

The revelation that Willis is a ghost,is frankly all the film has going for it.

I have to disagree with that. If you watch the film a second time, the knowledge that he's a ghost gives the whole thing another dimension. It makes his situation more poignant when you know he's a ghost and he doesn't. The twist is certainly a key moment, but the film doesn't unravel as an experience once you know it.

I'd agree on Shyamalan's other films though. He quickly got caught up in the twist gimmick and his films become weighed down by a stifling self-importance. And now his films are more exercises in "guess the twist" than entertainment in their own right.

But I think The Sixth Sense is a very intelligent and skillful bit of film-making.