The title of this article isn’t clickbait. No, I mean it! And I’m being kind, being mindful of not posting stuff that’ll have the algorithms flagging me for hate speech.
Otherwise, I’d simply have called for lovers of spoilers to be hung, drawn, and quartered.
Or subjected to the classic/medieval millstone treatment.
But, I digress.
All I want to do is give you, my dear Littafi readers, seven strong reasons why you should never spoil a book or movie.
There’s no point reading a book or seeing a movie when you’ve been exposed to a spoiler, as the element of surprise is entirely gone.
The reason why we consume art is to enjoy the story, to be surprised, and to ooh and ahh at the twists, just the way the writer intended it to be. Spoiling the story takes away a huge part of the thrill, leaving something very hollow in its place.
Starting a book or movie is like getting on the road with a certain destination in mind. A well-plotted story ought to take you steadily through different terrains, from smooth roads to the bumpy stretches riddled with potholes, through swamps, mountain ranges, and sometimes even underwater, or through space, until you finally arrive a the destination.
With stories, the thrill lies as much in the experience as it does in the satisfaction of finally reaching the end. When you’re exposed to spoilers, you ruin the entire experience, which disrupts the flow, and frankly makes the journey not worth it.
There are a number of spoiler-lovers in my book club whom I always pick bones with every time they begin spewing their unhallowed profanity. The spoilers they randomly drop frankly make it hard to enjoy book discussions!
I mean, couldn’t you just leave the juicy parts out for the benefit of those who haven’t read it yet? Or better still, throw around the spoilers with your fellow spoiler-lovers!
Another reason why spoiling a book or a movie should be an imprisonable offense is that it undermines the intent of the writers who spend months, or even years working on the stories.
Put yourself in their shoes!
Just imagine, a writer putting in the hard yards, through multiple drafts and revisions, and hundreds or even thousands of hours of painstaking work, to create a comprehensive story and experience for their audience. And then someone comes along, bold as brass, spoiling it for everyone! How do you imagine the author will feel?
Surely, now you see why a lifetime prison sentence without parole is what lovers of spoilers deserve!
While many spoiler-lovers will beg to differ, the truth is that your perception of the story is bound to be altered, when you’re exposed to spoilers.
You’ll come to have different expectations or see certain elements of the plot in a way not intended by the creators. Rather than following the narrative naturally, you end up focusing on things that don’t matter and ultimately get disappointed.
Great books and movies stand out because they get you emotionally invested. More than half of the reason why the Game of Thrones books and TV series were such a resounding success was because of the unpredictability of the plot. With spoilers involved, the Red Wedding and other key scenes in the stories involving the Starks, Lannisters, and other houses would not be intriguing.
Imagine getting spoiled on the events of the Battle of Hogwarts! Or knowing what happens to Frodo and Sam at the end of the Lord of the Rings! You’d have to be some sort of superhuman to stay fully emotionally invested after being exposed to spoilers.
Some stories, especially those with major twists, rely on first-time reactions. Once spoiled, the initial experience loses its uniqueness, making revisiting the content less exciting.
True, not everyone rereads books. But, if you do, take my words as a Divine Message from the Almighty, telling you to stay away from spoilers, as well as folk who parrot them about!
As a purist, I’d say that movie trailers and book blurbs are soft spoilers. While I can abide some movie trailers, I never read blurbs. Call it extreme, but it’s just how it is for me.
Regardless of my preferences, it’s a fact that spoilers keep you from exploring new books or movies. When you already know the juicy details, you’re less likely to want to check out the book or movie.
And what does this translate to?
It translates to poor commercial performance. So many people have opted against buying a book or shelling out the money to watch a new movie at the cinema, all because some folk couldn’t keep their mouths closed.
No author or movie producer wants their work spoiled! So, the next time you’re inclined to drop something amounting to a spoiler in your circles, remember that you’re losing someone, somewhere, their hard-earned money. And, in many ways, this makes you no better than a book pirate!
I know people will come at me for passing such supposedly harsh judgment on the lovers of spoilers. But, believe me, time behind bars is a kind fate for them.
At least, the harsh realities of losing their freedom will help them remember that books and movies are a wonderful form of art, to be enjoyed the way their authors intended. Nothing more, nothing less!
Say no to spoilers today!
