Following the biggest entertainment weekend in recent memory, as Avengers Endgame coincided with The Battle Of Winterfell, there has been much discussion about the rules around spoilers in our “knee-jerk social media reaction” culture.
The impetus behind this conversation was the huge disparity between the way spoilers for Avengers and GOT were handled. Spoilers for Avengers were treated like the plague. If you had them then you needed to be quarantined or else the community would execute you for everyone’s safety. But on the other hand, spoilers for GOT were given out like the hottest gossip at the high school party. Whatever was the most interesting aspect of the night was made public to everyone within moments of it occurring. A wild disparity. I didn’t have to watch GOT last weekend to know someone named Arya did something real big (I couldn’t spoil it in this blog could I?).
So is this fair? I think absolutely and here is why. There is a huge difference between appointment TV and a blockbuster movie. GOT is appointment television. Everyone knows when it airs and has the opportunity to watch it at the same time. In fact, part of the fun lies in the universally shared watching experience (sadly now an artifact of TV past). If you miss it then, well, tough luck buddy. It doesn’t air at 4 PM on a Wednesday. It’s 9 PM on a Sunday. If you weren’t already on your couch then you’ve messed up regardless.
But for movies it’s a whole different story. Not everyone in the world can watch it at the same time. People have come to a general understanding that one full week is the proper grace period before you can openly discuss a movie. I don’t even think that’s fair. Unlike TV, it doesn’t take place in your house. You need to actually plan to go to the movies. Pick a time, move some things around, travel. It may seem silly but this makes a huge difference. Thus, I think the real grace period should be about 3 – 4 decades. I think that gives people a bit more time to get their other priorities in order and then check out the movie. I’m being serious. If the movie came out later than the 70s or 80s then I just don’t think it’s fair game to be spoiling it for everyone. People are busy.
Listen, I know some people don’t care about spoilers. There is definitely a crowd online that thinks people are being babies about spoilers. Screw these clowns. There are few things that bring joy in this world. I’m talking about real joy not just entertainment. A TV show or movie can be good but real joy is only truly experienced when we are shocked. With comedy or drama, it’s the shock, the “wow I didn’t see that coming”, that hits us in the sweet spot. And to take the ability to be shocked away from other people should be a crime.
