An interesting debate broke out in the comments section of The Audio Edition yesterday regarding the nature of “Spoilers”. The debate got me thinking and I thought I’d think out loud here (as I often do).
As some of you may know, yesterday on the show I mentioned that Captain Barbossa is indeed alive in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and makes an appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean 2. The question is… was that a “spoiler”? The debate in the comments sections had some good thoughts on both sides.
So what is a “spoiler”? When does something stop being a spoiler? When is information not a spoiler? The Wikipedia defines a spoiler as:
A spoiler is a summary or description of a narrative (or part of a narrative) that relates plot elements not revealed early in the narrative itself. Moreover, because enjoyment of a narrative sometimes depends upon the dramatic tension and suspense which undergird it, this early revelation of plot elements can “spoil” the enjoyment that some consumers of the narrative would otherwise have experienced.
I “gave away” the fact that Barbossa shows up at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Was that a spoiler? Some people say yes, some say no. Reading through the debate, I tend to agree with what most people were saying… it was NOT a spoiler. Especially when you compare it to the definition above.
So then what is a spoiler? Is it giving ANYTHING away about ANY movie at ANY time? As one commenter brought up… is me saying “Darth Vader ends up being Luke Skywalkers father” a spoiler now? I mean, there are some people out there who haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies… therefore it is possible I just ruined a major plot point of the whole saga for them just now. Be that as it may, I don’t think many people would suggest I just gave away a spoiler.
But, on the other hand, I have never once mentioned the final twist of Sixth Sense. That plot twist hinges the entire movie. To give away the ending would be to ruin the experience of the whole film.
The fact I let slip about Barbossa being alive wasn’t exactly a secret either. Pictures have been circulating with him on set for a while, he’s been listed at “Staring” in Pirates of the Caribbean 3 for ages on most movies sites including the IMDB… it’s been no secret that Barbossa is indeed alive.
Here’s something I found interesting too. Earlier, I posted one of those pictures showing Barbossa alive in Pirates 3…. and yet…. no one suggested anything about that being a spoiler. But later I repeated the obvious in The Audio Edition… and BOOM! It’s a spoiler?
I’m usually very careful around The Movie Blog with spoilers. I’ll even edit comments left by other people (if I notice them) that give spoilers away. So was that a spoiler that I let slip yesterday? That’s not a rhetorical question either… I’m curious about your opinion on this.
To me, a spoiler is a fact whose knowledge influences how you understand and view a part of, or the whole of a movie. it is also something that is not already widely known and that the information is not already readily available all over the place.
To me, Pirates of the Caribbean had been out of theaters for ages, was already seen by most human beings on the planet, the point in question was not a plot point that gave anything of the movie away, and due to the fact that Geoffrey Rush was listed as in the new movie ages ago, and his images have been appearing all over the web in the new film… this incident doesn’t quality as a “spoiler”.
However… I could be wrong. What do you think? was this Barbossa thing a spoiler? And an even bigger question is how do you define what spoiler is?
