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Luke, I am your father! Knowing the twist in a movie, book or TV show doesn't spoil the experience, a new study shows.
Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's dad. Rosebud is a sled. Soylent Green is PEOPLE. Kristin shot J.R. Maggie shot Mr. Burns. And Bruce Willis, a.k.a. child therapist Malcome Crowe? You guys, he was dead the whole time.
We hate for the twist endings of movies, TV shows and books to be given away. But here's a bit of relief for those of you who are just now learning that Snape, in fact, killed Dumbledore: Spoilers don't really ruin stories for us. In fact, a new study suggests that we actually enjoy spoiled stories more than those left unspoiled.
Tell me! No, wait, don't! TV spoilers tear at fans
"Writers use their artistry to make stories interesting, to engage readers, and tosurprise them. But giving away these surprises makes readers like stories better," write study author Jonathan Leavitt, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, San Diego.
In an experiment, researchers gave away the endings for three different kinds of short stories -- those with an ironic twist ending, mysteries and tales Leavitt calls "more evocative literary stories." These were real short stories by authors such as John Updike, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie and Raymond Carver; none of the 30 undergrad study participants had read these stories before.
The volunteers read three versions of four of those stories. One with a spoiler given in a paragraph that was independent to the story, another with the spoiler worked into the story's opening graph and a spoiler-free version of the narrative. They rated how much they enjoyed each version of the stories on a scale of 1 to 10.
Spoilers ahead, in case you're intending to read the report when it's published in the September issue of Psychological Science! But people "significantly preferred" the spoiled versions of the ironic twist stories and the mysteries. (The so-called evocative stories were less appreciated in general, "likely due to their more expressly literary aims," Leavitt writes. No spoiler alert needed there.) But in all three kinds of short stories, people like the texts with the spoilers worked into the opening graphs about as much as they liked the unspoiled texts.
Killed by pasta: Best 'Final Destination' deaths
Here's why you'll thank me later because you now know that Paul Bettany was just a figment of Russell Crowe's beautiful mind: Spoilers, Leavitt suggests, "may allow readers to organize developments in the story, anticipate the implications of events, and resolve ambiguities that occur in the course of reading." Previous studies have also proven the power of anticipation, including one that showed that people's happiness levels were as high pre-vacation as they were during the actual vacation.
Spoilers are hard to avoid in our current age of tweets and blogs and Facebook statuses (and Google Pluses?) -- and this finding suggests that we should perhaps be a bit kinder to entertainment bloggers we've blamed for "ruining" TV shows or movies by posting things that are inherently spoiler-heavy, like news or reviews. “Perhaps," the report concludes, "birthday presents are better when wrapped in cellophane, and engagement rings are better when not concealed in chocolate mousse.”
Also, Amy marries Laurie, Gatsby is murdered and Einhorn is Finkle, Finkle is Einhorn and Einhorn is a man.
When's the last time -- or the most memorable time -- a movie, TV show or book was "spoiled" for you? And how did that affect your enjoyment of the story?
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You didn't have to actually SPOIL to make your point...you could have just talked about the actual research. You just ruined my day.
Yeah, no kidding. I've been avoiding Harry Potter Part 1 until I could get Part 2 on DVD, then I was planning on watching them together. Now that I know Snape killed Dumbledore, it's ruined for me.
I'd type what I'm thinking of Melissa Dahl right now, except it would get me banned. For now, I'll settle for "What a witch." Thanks.
AG999 sorry for calling you a little dumb, but Snape kill Dumbledore in "Half-Blood Prince" NOT the Deathly Hallows.
delete
Did he? Crap. Or actually, good! Then it's not spoiled for me after all and I apologize to Melissa, although anyone who hasn't seen "Half-Blood Prince" yet might not be too happy. I remember he died, but not who killed him. Guess I need to watch that one again before I get to the 2-part finale. It's been a while since I've seen it (obviously).
I still hate spoilers though.
I thought that, in Part 2, it turns out that Snape didn't actually kill Dumbledore. In Half-blood Prince it seemed like Snape killed Dumbledore, but the switcheroo in Part 2 was a bit hard to explain. Of course I could be mistaken.
When I got the last Harry Potter book on the day of release, the biggest question for me was "does Harry live or die?" Instead of rushing through the book to find out, I flipped to the last page and read it. Satisfied with knowing that important (to me) fact, I could then read the book leisurely, enjoying it instead of feeling the desire to rush through to find out what happens.
I prefer spoilers. I like to know what's coming. I don't enjoy the "ride" as much if I don't know how it ends, because I'm too worried with "how does it end????" to be able to enjoy the small details and nuances of a film or book.
Well, you could always watch/read it more than once.
Glad I'm not the only person who does this!
I love spoilers, and am a complete and unrepentant spoiler junkie. My family and friends are horrified because I always read the last page of a book before I read the first page, and find out all the spoilers I can before I see a movie. Partly it's because I love happy endings, and I like to be assured there is one. But a big reason is that (probably because I'm a writer) I like to see how everything leads up to the ending as I'm reading or watching it. I enjoy finding the hints, and the red herrings, and the plot points that take you from one place to the next.
I don't mind a spoiler if it's my choice. What I hate is when people post spoilers to things I haven't seen or read yet in the comments on articles that have been deliberately worded to avoid spoiling readers. I found out about a certain major event in G.R.R. Martin's "A Storm of Swords" because some idiot spoiled it in the comments about casting of season 2 of "Game of Thrones" on EW.com, an article which had nothing to do with the third book in the series, and it definitely did not enhance my reading pleasure to know what was coming.
Well said Linda. I will tell myself that I hated having the spoiler, but then I'll catch myself looking for all the little hints along the way when I know.
Some of it also depends on the story itself. Watch Classic series Doctor Who. Those are stories that have been around for decades and we already know the main character survives. I've read summaries on Wikipedia that tell me which monster is really 'the man behind the curtain' and who turns out to be the traitor. I still enjoy it because those summaries and spoilers can't/don't capture all of the little characters moments that can be heartwarming/tear-jerkers/fist-pumping incredible/hilarious (sometimes all in the same moment). In TV and movies, the spoilers don't capture the actors' performances either and a well-acted scene can be enjoyable even if you know what happens and what is said. Rereading a book is always great because, when you KNOW what happens, you're free to pick up on all of the little things in the book that you missed before because you were distracted trying to figure out what happens next.
Stupid author. Thanks for telling me "But here's a bit of relief for those of you who are just now learning that Snape, in fact, killed Dumbledore".
What a jackass reporter you are. It's one thing to reveal stuff that's been known for 10-30 years. Quite another to reveal stuff that's pretty fresh. No I don't read Potter, I wait for the movies, and it's hardly even been out for what, a year, and you spill it? Nice job.
When was the last time someone spoiled something for me? Right now, moron.
if you weren't concerned enough to watch the movie in the more than 2 years its been out, i really don't think you can complain...
This.
This isn't a Harry Potter discussion board. Common courtesy would have been to list the stories that were spoiled at the top, so that people could choose to avoid this article if they wanted.
Just because someone doesn't see something right when it comes out does not give us the right to spoil it for them. I'm reading a book right now that has been out for 6 years. Care to spoil that too?
then maybe don't read a news story that says 'spoiler alert'...
So anything with the word spoiler in it should be avoided at all costs if you have not seen every movie and read every book? There was nothing to indicate that this had anything to do with Harry Potter before you got to the spoiler itself.
Quit your whining. You read an article titled SPOILER ALERT, and now you have a hissy fit because there was in fact, spoilers in the article?
And if you gimme the name of the book, Brett, I will.
I completely agree that whoever wrote this is a douche bag. Personally nothing was spoiled for me in it but to do something like that is just so unnecessary and without any kind of warning to. What an inconsiderate person
Please, Fight Club is a completely different movie if you watch it without any background information.
SPOILERS DO ruin stories, I am much less interested in a story if I have been informed of the plot and the SURPRISE twists beforehand.
I'm not even sure why this is news worthy.
I hold people who spoil movies/books in the highest contempt. The best experience I ever have at movies is when I go in completely fresh, knowing nothing about the plot or any twists that may come.
As for the commentor that read the last page of the seventh Harry Potter book first, thats fantastic that it works for you to know the ending before you get there. If someone have spoiled that ending for me it would have taken the suspense, tension and drama out of the entire book, ruining a decade long story for me.
People who enjoy spoilers can keep on being spoiled but don't try to tell me that it makes me appreciate the story more.
That being said, the responsiblity is largely my own to avoid spoilers. I am to the point now that I avoid watching movie trailers because they give so much away. Internet message boards and social networking like twitter and facebook also carry a large risk.
My worry after reading this article is that I will run in to a friend or stranger (on the internet or otherwise) that is taken in by the authors claims that spoilers increase the enjoyment of stories. This person will then proceed to spoil a movie or book that I was waiting to see/read.
Short version: Spoilers are bad.
Not sure why people care. We go to watch movies based on books we've read....now that's a spolier!
Also, we reread favorite books, right--and they have been "spoiled"? And how many times have I gotten caught up in an old episode of Seinfeld that I could basically recite by heart? Spoilers enhance the experience for me--I don't spoil for others, but I'm grateful when I can get the inside info. (And I checked the end of every Harry Potter--I figured Harry would be safe--but always worried about Hagrid.)
For me..don't like spoilers or the people who blurt them out. Ask me if I know the plot before discussing it with me. I avoid reviews of books and movies because sometimes too much is reviewed.
I can't count the number of times I've gone to Wikipedia for a quick synopsis of a movie before heading to the theatre. Not sure if I can explain the reasoning behind it, but for me it makes it more enjoyable. I've also not gone to see a planned movie after reading it's wiki article, mainly because it sounded dull or boring. But not one forces you to read a review or wiki entry and spoil the ending. It's a conscious choice to do so.
Then again, the video of that car driving past the line at the book store in which someone shoves their head out the window and screams SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE! might have irked a few people.
It's not always possible to avoid spoilers when you have people willing to post them in the comments sections of on-line articles that are even marginally related.
With the crap they put out there who cares? Call me when they start making real movies again.
I get a lot of movies ruined for me because I seldom go to new movies. I wait for them to get to the second run theater where over the years here in Tucson the price has run the gamut between 1.50 and 3.50. And because of my frugality both The Sixth Sense and The Crying Game were ruined for me. Another one I think of is The Godfather and how cool it would have been to not know about the horse's head in the bed. What a moment! But I new it was coming. I don't like knowing the twists, but they are hard to miss if you read a lot and don't go see movies when they open.
What a pointless study. It doesn't matter if some, or even the majority of people prefer spoilers. A lot of people don't, and not respecting their wish to experience a story 'fresh' is inconsiderate no matter what this study says.
Sadly, this study will just allow jerks to spoil things for others, and when the person gets annoyed, the jerk will have the excuse, 'But the STUDY says you'll like it better!' For an example, look no further than the author of this very story.
Spoil away. Much of the time, I'm writing fanfic for whatever it is I'm researching spoilers for, and knowing some of the twists will let me organize the data from the book or TV show or play "spot the plot hole." The anticipation then becomes "how are they gonna pull THIS one off?"
One of the best ones was when I read the strategy guide for the first Knights of the Old Republic. If you've played it, you know the twist, and it's on par with the Darth Vader example. I spoiled myself, but just thought it was a typo. Uh, no typo. Chinatown? Was spoiled for the big twist because we were analyzing the script in class. (I took as many film electives as I could get away with)
Sometimes, the massive spoiler twist is right in plain sight, and you feel like an idiot for not seeing it. The Twilight Zone and anything coming out of Shamalyan, you know the writer is going to pull something walking in. With Joss Whedon's stuff, it's not a spoiler to say someone is going to die pointlessly, just to prove "anyone can die." Torchwood on sweeps week is the same; it's only a question of "who dies." It's not much of a spoiler on James Cameron that his male leads will get put in a wheelchair or die (starting with Terminator. Avatar was odd in that he put his male lead in a chair before the film).
Darth Vader is Luke's father?? NOOOOO!!! That's impossible!!
If I know the twist then there's no point reading the book. Being surprised while reading is the whole point.
I hate spoilers, and I'm the only one in the world that hasn't finished the Harry Potter series--I'm on Order of the Phoenix--and I just read the spoiler about Snape. You. Suck. Big. Time. I didn't even finish reading this article because I am so pissed.
Such BS.
Oh, no. I haven't read the first Harry Potter book yet. Now I guess I'll just skip the entire series.
"Chinatown? Was spoiled for the big twist because we were analyzing the script in class. (I took as many film electives as I could get away with)"
That's a shame, because the ending of that film is devastating the first time you see it, if you don't know what's coming. Some stories can't really be spoiled. Chinatown is one that can.
You can still enjoy it on a second viewing and pick up other things you missed the first time, but you can't ever get that first experience back again if it's been spoiled for you. I reckon anybody who claims they don't care about spoilers is somebody who doesn't care much about drama. I can't imagine a film fan being okay with having their first encounter with a great film messed up. You never get a second chance to see something for the first time.
I suppose it was less a viceral enjoyment than it was an analytical one - it WAS a film analysis class, after all. What we were doing was analyzing the detective genre and how that film inverted/subverted the genre expectation. The enjoyment came when watching it in the context of old noir like Double Indemnity or "classic" detective stories like The Maltese Falcon, seeing how much of the same tropes and expectations were played straight, subverted, inverted, etc.
Then again, I've never watched TV or movies "normally," not even when I was a kid doing tactical planning with the TV Guide Friday nights to plan out what I'd be watching Saturday morning and actually taking notes during my shows.
Usually, I will let people know if I do not want to know about a spoiler, but I am also one to skip ahead to read the ending of a book before going back and starting it. Books are expensive and if I don't particularly like the way a book ends, I may read through my library, but I won't buy it. But that is my own personal preference and I don't think there is anything wrong with it nor is there anything wrong with not doing so. We each have our own ways of processing information and no one way is right or wrong for everyone.
What bothers me the most is people who insist on telling you what is coming WHILE you are watching the show - I miss important bits and pieces because someone else is talking about what is coming up. I much prefer processing what is going on in at my own pace, so I am actually happier to pick up the DVD and be able to watch it alone and rewind as needed if I missed something.
Point being, each to their own and like everything else in life, we have the right to our own opinions and ways of doing things. Doesn't make someone else a bad person because they do things differently. How boring if we were all exactly alike.
I know when "The Sixth Sense" came out, I didn't want to see it because I don't like children being frightened or in peril. But then my cousin told me the twist ending, and I found I had to see it to look for any clues. Now T6S is one of my favorite movies, and I own it on DVD. Go figure.
I know one of my favorite shows had an episode with an "It's a MAN!" twist to it that you really don't see coming. It's really convincing, too. Makes it fun to watch the episode with someone if you don't tell them the twist.
It's not magic when you know how the trick is done. The joke isn't as funny when you know the punchline. The thriller isn't thrilling when you know what's going to happen next. It's not a mystery when you know who did it and how they got caught.
Knowing that Bruce Willis was dead the entire time changed the perspective. Knowing that the anonymous voice on the phone was Keifer Sutherland killed the anticipation and speculation. Not knowing who Keyser Soze was until the end made for a nice twist. And the twist is the best part of the story.
Spoiler Alert: At the next reading, Beth survives and Jo marries Laurie.
Maybe this study is more about the "instant gratification" generation of college students who were studied? I absolutely hate spoilers. I pride myself on watching or reading a movie and being able to predict plot twists in advance (quietly and politely, in my own head.) Part of the fun is waiting for the big moment when I find out if my theories were correct.
Seems like yet another poor study done with too specific a population, being extrapolated incorrectly to the general public. Then a spoilerific article. Thanks for nothing.
The last time a story was spoiled for me was when I looked at the Facebook page of Hakuouki in the middle of watching the series. Posts there revealed the ending, which I absolutely didn't like by the way, and the excitement and anticipation of "I wonder what's going to happen to them next" disappeared.
Interesting article but I'm not sure how I feel about this. I went to school for video production so I've become pretty used to reading scripts and watching movies when I already know how they end. And I'm ok with it for the most part because I agree with the idea that it's all about how the story is told and how events unfold to get to the ending. On the other hand, I jumped into Harry Potter about 10 years after everyone else did and I know that I had much more fun watching the later movies and going to see the last movie without any knowledge of how the story ended. It's fun to become immersed in something and be nervous and anxious to find out what happens.
Wow. Must be a REALLY slow news day.