SPOILER WARNING

Many people go to the internet for discussion. It is a place where they can discuss anything with complete strangers in relative anonymity, with little to no real world consequence (most of the time). This is, in my opinion, a great thing. There is no other place where you can get such a diverse range of opinions, even if it means sifting through “trolls” and the like to find something you actually want to read. However, it also presents an issue that has never been more apparent than in this prime age of internet discussion, that of spoilers.

It is often impossible to separate discussion about your favorite TV shows, video games, or other forms of entertainment from massive “SPOILER WARNINGS” that clutter most forums and other websites. No one likes having the end of a story ruined for them, that much has always been true. It can take a lot of the fun out of experiencing that moment for yourself. But of course, one of the best parts of watching or experiencing a piece of art is sharing and discussing that experience with others who have experienced it.  The internet is a great place to do this, except its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: the fact that it is open to everyone. While it is good to be able to read such a vast amount of opinions on a subject, those opinions are often posted in public places where not everyone may have watched/read/played whatever it is you are talking about.

It may be true that spoilers do not only occur on the internet, or that this problem has existed for as long as art and media have. A friend of mine (someone who might even read this post) once “spoiled” a crucial plot point of Breaking Bad for an audience of 500+ people by asking a question, a mistake that led to the loudest booing I have ever heard. However, there is no question that through the internet, spoilers have gotten to a point where they are out of control. Many times they are divided into “major” and “minor” spoilers, as if ruining a small joke or a small plot detail would completely ruin the experience. There are even browser add-ons that attempt to filter all spoilers out of the internet for you completely. The question I would ask about all this concern over spoilers is a simple one: why?

Why do spoilers matter? Isn’t the experience of watching/reading/playing something more important than knowing an arbitrary detail about the story? That detail will not mean anything to you without experiencing it for yourself anyway. For me at least, knowing how something happens is always more important than simply knowing what happens. 

I completely understand wanting to go into an experience spoiler-free. It will usually be more surprising, and therefore more fun this way. However, I don’t think it necessarily ruins the experience, and therefore I do not understand the internet’s crippling fear over spoilers. Many will completely avoid the internet until they have seen the latest episode of their favorite TV show, or after a major video game release, for fear of being spoiled. I think this is a ridiculous position to take. Does knowing who Luke’s father is really take away from The Empire Strikes Back? Absolutely not, and that is arguably the biggest and most widespread spoiler in film history. Spoilers only hold back internet discussion, and I believe they are an unnecessary obstruction to the great conversation and debate that the internet can offer.