How long a spoiler should be a spoiler ? Caution : Spoilers !

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

At this point the movie is over 2 months old. 5 hour drive isn't a good enough reason to not have seen something for over 2 months that you want to see.
But in your view, how long is long enough to have not taken 5 hours to go be with friends to see a movie? 5 months? 5 years? 5 decades? How long?

If I have to justify my life, I just got my father settled in up here in his Memory Care, I've been looking for a new job non-stop which meant I was on a strict budget until new cash started coming in. I finally got one and that very week I was diagnosed with this ailment that restricted my travel, and my boss afforded me extra time off for recovery.

The next person you ask might say "I just couldn't get around to it"

The one after that will tell you how his or her best friend past away and it hit them hard (which, coincidentally, also happened to me in that two month period).

But the simple question I'll ask you in return is why is it so hard and vexing just to ask a simple question of "do you want to know?".

Go spoil all you want. I'll live. As will others. But as you must be unencumbered in your ability to say what you want, be prepared as others must be unencumbered to say how they feel about you for doing so.

That's how it works. Either both sides shut up, or Both sides are allowed to be free in saying whatever they want, picking whatever fight they want, and et-cetera.

But how long? How long until someone just has to admit they're really not going to see it, and needs to stop crying foul whenever a spoiler comes up?
Its not about asking if they want to know, its about hounding people retroactively because they didn't have the space brain needed to know what every single person has done at every single point in their life to tailor conversations accordingly.

If you're at a party and someone asks who your favorite Batman actor is, and you say Christian Bale, is it fair for someone in the group to go 'Dude, the fuck, I haven't watched Batman Begins! I had no idea Christian Bale ends up being Batman! SPOILERS!' because you didn't ask if people wanted to know that actor playing Bruce Wayne also plays Batman.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

But how long? How long until someone just has to admit they're really not going to see it, and needs to stop crying foul whenever a spoiler comes up?
Its not about asking if they want to know, its about hounding people retroactively because they didn't have the space brain needed to know what every single person has done at every single point in their life to tailor conversations accordingly.

If you're at a party and someone asks who your favorite Batman actor is, and you say Christian Bale, is it fair for someone in the group to go 'Dude, the fuck, I haven't watched Batman Begins! I had no idea Christian Bale ends up being Batman! SPOILERS!' because you didn't ask if people wanted to know that actor playing Bruce Wayne also plays Batman.

This went straight into hyperbole with the Christian Bale thing. Going to the extremes doesn't help your case as much as if I went to the extremes wouldn't help my own. Someone playing the main character isn't a spoiler. That's an unfair comparison say to someone playing a double agent or a false flag character would be.

And this feels like it is prefaced on the idea that conversations must go a certain way or it has failed. I might not want to talk about media when I am having a conversation. Someone might not want to talk about my interests in politics, race relations, science, or whatever. I do not get on their case when they ask me not to talk about these things because it doesn't interest them or they are uncomfortable with it. It's not up to me to have rage or any real feelings if someone isn't interested in something when I want to share it. And if that person's interests do not go along with what I'm interested in, the conversation can stop. Easily.

I don't feel the need to press them or keep talking about what interests me with someone who has no interest or rather not hear it. Then I'm just talking out loud for my own good. And hell, I can save my energy by just thinking about it to myself.

I honestly do not get your problem with having to tailor your conversations to someone who doesn't want spoilers, or pretty much anything they don't want to talk about. You don't have to talk to these people. And you don't have to get in gotchas for being angry that the situation isn't going the way you liked. You can simply just find someone else who's interested in talking about the things you want to talk about. You'll have much more fulfilling conversations with those in the know.

Instead of forcing the conversation down the path you like, because you feel people are kidding themselves about not going to see something at a certain time. Or that they have enough time to find out for themselves therefore you are allowed to tell them what they missed. Just disengage with people if it bothers you so much.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Being one of those assholes who went around with megaphones when Harry Potter books dropped was a dick move, and they were assholes for doing it. But now, having an open discussion about the death of Dumbldore shouldn't need spoiling, because its been long enough. If someone wanted to know the story, they would by now.

You know, unless they are just getting to the age where they are old enough to read them for themselves. There's always new people coming along who didn't have the ability to experience something at launch.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

SNIP

You make it seem as if every person knows what every other person in the world wants to talk about and what they've seen.
You're in a room and a guy walks up to you. What was the last movie he saw? What are his interests? How do you know you're not going to bore him? You don't. You can't tailor your conversation accordingly because you don't know anything about him. So, what do people fall back on? Pop culture. Its easy because of how common it is. 'Hey, you know the single most popular movie in the world right now, maybe even of all time? The majority of the world has seen it. Wasn't it great?!'

People don't exist in a void, everyone fully aware of everyone else. You can't tailor your conversations to meet everyone, and its absurd to even try.

SNIP

That's a whole new can of worms, because to follow it to its final conclusion there could be a kid who hasn't done X or Y or Z around the next corner, so why risk even talking? You and I could be talking about WW2 and spoil it for some kid who hasn't gotten to that chapter in history. Where does it end?

 

[jademunky]

There clearly is some kind of statute of limitations on movie spoilers although I doubt I could put my finger on the set number of years.

I've never even watched Citizen Kane yet know the twist ending there. People who have never seen Star Wars know the twist in Empire.

The Sixth Sense, OTOH I would say not to spoil just because the twist is the ONLY reason to watch it. If you take that away, all you have left is a really boring film.

 

[Silent Protagonist]

I don't really believe in spoilers. In my opinion, if knowing the story ruins the story, then it's probably a bad story. The best stories are the ones that you can experience again and again, that get better after you know how it ends as you are freer to notice the subtleties of how well the story was crafted to lead to that end.

I know many people are weird about spoilers so I avoid spoiling things for others. However, if someone wants to talk about a movie they saw or book they read that I haven't, I actually encourage them to talk about the spoilers because that will help me understand their opinion better. When/if I do get around to that piece of media myself, my experience will be better for it, not worse.

I would encourage anyone who is spoiler-phobic to watch Columbo. For those unfamiliar, it was a murder mystery show following Lieutenant Columbo the homicide detective as he solved crimes that first aired in 1968 and was hugely popular. What makes it different is that the viewer is usually shown who did it, why, and how at the very beginning of the episode. For those who believe in spoilers this must sound ridiculous. If we know who did it, why would we want to watch as someone else tries to put the pieces together and collect the proof he needs to put the killer away, all while the killer does everything they can to foil the lovable Lieutenant? You should watch a few episodes to find out. I certainly wouldn't want to spoil it for you.

 

[votemarvel]

As long as 'spoilers' is put in the thread title then I say anything goes from the day of release. At that point it is up to the person if they want to enter the thread or not.

 

[Kwak]

How much is the point of a film the plot and its twists as opposed to the characters, setting, aesthetic, mood, dialogue, etc? I think it's pretty minor really. Knowing the plot doesn't remove all those other elements which make the film what it is.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Potentially there's always going to be someone who hasn't seen the movie, read the book, watched the show or whatever, so it's always going to be a spoiler.

 

[Majestic_Manatee]

3 centimeters of spoiler, no more, no less.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

TFA is almost 3 years old. dont you think that if you didnt saw it already, you will never see it and the spoilers isnt really affecting you ?

You don't watch movies older than 3 years?

 

[Souplex]

There clearly is some kind of statute of limitations on movie spoilers although I doubt I could put my finger on the set number of years.

I've never even watched Citizen Kane yet know the twist ending there. People who have never seen Star Wars know the twist in Empire.

The Sixth Sense, OTOH I would say not to spoil just because the twist is the ONLY reason to watch it. If you take that away, all you have left is a really boring film.

The statute is 2 weeks.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

It shouldn't go beyond car's roof.