Spoiling It For Everyone

SPOILER ALERT! Two words that serve as a warning; a disclaimer to inform an individual that what follows can potentially ruin the material for them, and that they should proceed at their own risk or remove themselves completely before it's too late.

Be it in regards to written stories, films, or television shows, stating a spoiler alert beforehand allows those who have already experienced the material to continue onward and discuss it in depth, while preventing those who have yet to complete the experience from having it prematurely ruined. It's both a polite courtesy and a exoneration of blame.

But do spoilers actually ruin the story, the twist, the plot line? Not really, according to some shallow study from the University of California in San Diego, whose psychology department ran experiments on 12 short stories of different types. The study found that participants highly preferred the spoiled versions of mystery and ironic-twist stories, and by a slimmer margin, still preferred the spoiled versions of literary stories as well.

So why is that? Why would anyone prefer to know the facts firsthand? Does it make it easier, not having to figure things out as one goes along, leaving one to focus more on the events that lead up to the moment of spoilage? Exactly yes, so says the study. According to those running the experiments, not knowing what will happen can cloud one's understanding of what is presently occurring.

I can see their point there, but honestly, having to go back a second time and piece things together more clearly is part of the fun. That feeling of revelation one gets when you go back and discover the hints and clues that were overlooked the first go around is a pure joy to experience. Being spoiled beforehand deprives you of a second run-through, a retread, that more often than not, reinforces the material's staying power.

This unscientific study also only focused on, and applies to, written works...so what about visual? Do they think the same applies for films and television shows? They probably do, and in which case I obviously still disagree with them.

Nobody likes to be spoiled, especially by the hands of someone else. If you end up spoiling the story for yourself, well then that's your choice to do so and it's your own fault if you end up getting mad and regret having made such an ill-advised decision in the first place.

Whether it's a book, film, or general life, having the facts spoiled first, then the experience second, is rarely ever preferred. Sure, I've had a film or two spoiled on me before, and sure, it can sometimes be interesting to know beforehand and still see how things led there, but it's nowhere near all that rewarding or fulfilling.

Nothing beats the experience of going in blind from the start and not knowing what comes next. That's pure gratification.