I was going to make this a twitter thread, but then I realized...I could just ramble on about this here instead.
Apologies in advance if this isn’t thrilling – I’m working on some more cooler stuff to post soon!
Also, I don’t want to talk about what is “right” or “wrong” here, and I want to be clear that I think however someone wants to experience a story (spoilers or no spoilers) is right for them.
Sitting at my computer, desperately wishing my brain would focus on work, I started instead zoning out thinking about spoilers/the spoiler debate. Why people get mad vs why people like them. What purpose do they serve? When people angrily insist spoilers run something, what do they mean?
I think there are actually a few different conversations happening when people argue about whether or not people should post spoilers, how long people should wait before they do, etc., but the same term is being applied to all of them. I think people are often talking around each other in this debate, and it amused me as I was running errands later in the day to see if I could tease out what and why that is.
Purpose of spoilers
I think the purpose of a spoiler can be as straightforward as giving information about a story (whether for trigger warnings, or to discuss the story). I don’t think it is always that, but for the purposes of this ramble, I’m talking about ones where there is no sinister intent.
I think people like talking/posting about stories that they’ve just absorbed because it is a good way to connect with others, and it enhances the enjoyment of stories. Those are both great reasons to jump online and start posting about the latest episode of [insert the latest Big thing here for yourself].
BUT, that leads to a lot of arguing and resentment, which is not great.
Categories
My casual, not at all philosophically rigorous examination of the “problem” lead me count three (3) distinct categories of things that are called “spoilers” in the context of experiencing and publicly sharing thoughts about stories.
Story As Experience
Story As Information (contents of the story)
Story As Surprise (related to story as experience, but distinct in that the “twist” portion is the focus, as opposed to the whole experience)
Terms
There are a lot of definitions for these words. I am cleaving as close to what I think is contextually the most appropriate!
Stories: an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment [or information].
Spoiler: a description of an important plot development in a television show, movie, or book which if previously known may reduce surprise or suspense for a first-time viewer or reader.
Experience: practical contact with and observation of facts or events; an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone.
Surprise: an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing.
Okay, so…???
Again, my completely causal half distracted musings about this got me thinking about what it means to “ruin” a story through foreknowledge about it.
How is that possible? Once you have seen/heard/experienced a story, is it forever ruined for you?
I landed on the idea that what people mean when they say “ruin” is “detracting from the first exposure to the media (book, movie, show, podcast, whatever).”
Using that understanding of ruin, and the three categories of story, I landed out the following:
If the story's enjoyment is based on surprise (during the initial experience), then does detract from it.
If the story's enjoyment is based on the experience, then a spoiler can potentially detract from it.
If the story's enjoyment is based in the contents of the story, then a spoiler does not detract from it.
What do I mean when I say this?
Surprise:
If the bulk of the enjoyment of a story is centered around being surprised by one or more elements of the story, then knowing them beforehand absolutely ruins the story. I would argue that a good story doesn’t rely on surprise to give it value (there are surprises but the story doesn’t need people to be surprised to be good). There are stories that do, and they are good the first time, and fall flat after, but that’s my own opinion.
Experience:
If the bulk of the enjoyment of a story is based in how you experience the story (immersion for example), then having information about what is coming beforehand could potentially distract you during the experience. But, sometimes having foreknowledge enhances an experience. It really depends on what the story is, and who is experiencing it. There are definitely stories that are as much experiences as they are an exchange of information. I think of video games here, or other interactive storytelling (TTRPGs especially). But there are thousands of examples where secondary observers enjoy and connect with these kinds of stories (Let’s plays, Critical Role and Adventure Zone, etc).
Contents:
This is pretty straight forward, I think. If the enjoyment of a story is centered in the contents of that story, then learning parts of the story (even out of context) shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment of the story. There is an argument to be about having out of context information being a distraction when first experiencing the story, but while that may be, I would argue that our unconscious expectations and biases can distract just as much, but a good story is enjoyable through all of that.
Now what?
To come clean about my position on spoilers – I personally hate surprises as a rule, but I respect other’s enjoyment of being surprised. I usually don’t care about spoilers, unless I want a specific kind of experience for my first exposure to a story. I like re-experiencing a story as much, if not more than an initial experience, because I think you gain better understanding about it that way.
There is no real button to these thoughts, other than, it doesn’t really matter why someone doesn’t want to be spoiled for a story. And it equally doesn’t matter if a spoiler wouldn’t ruin a story. Regardless of your own preferences, it is a good practice to at the very least tag a spoiler as such.
Why ramble this long about spoilers?
Because I wanted to understand the idea of spoilers better. I wanted to see if I could find a way to get at a reason for the arguing. And I process the best when I’m rambling (out loud or on paper). And since I don’t have those medium-to-deep dive posts ready yet, I figured I’d share my silly brain wanderings with y’all…
SOPHIE CAMPBELL HAS A SUBSTACK - and she’s using it to produce the sequel to Shadoweyes - Shadoweyes For Good! I cannot express how insanely excited about this I am. Sign up, she’s already put up links to Shadoweyes for folks to get caught up!
X-MEN: TRIAL OF MAGNETO is just getting started, and it’s already bananas!
The rest of TQS: Leah Williams and Tini Howard both have Substacks!
I also have a website where you can find more info on my work and some comic industry resources!
THANKS SO MUCH!
I’m grateful that you’ve decided to join me here, and hope to make it worth your while! <3