Spoiler Alert: Why Be Spoiled

Some of the new Star Wars characters
Photo Courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart & @my123cents on Twitter

This past weekend (July 26 to be exact) I attended the San Diego Comic-Con for the fifth time. Originally I wasn’t going to go, but changed my mind on Saturday morning, found someone selling a pass on Craigslist and decided to make the, what was supposed to be, two hour drive from Hollywood to San Diego. Part of my decision to go was based on friends being down there since opening night and posting pictures on Facebook. Friends that I didn’t tell I was coming nor tell them I was there until after I had left. 

Part of the reason for not telling anyone I was at Comic-Con was I figured they would be sitting in panels and I was only interested in walking around the main floor seeing the displays and picking up some free swag. I have never been big on the panels. Maybe it’s due to living in Hollywood where on a monthly basis there are film screenings with actor/director Q&As so standing in line for hours on end (people camp out overnight in order to get into Hall H) just to hear an actor/director talk positively (seriously, has any actor while promoting a film ever said the movie sucks, making the movie sucked, or the co-stars are horrible people?) about a film doesn’t sound like time well spent. Add in the fact 90% of the panels will be up on YouTube either legally or not within minutes of the panel being finished so again, why spend hours to watch something you can view on your own time? 

Yoda
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

Some Comic-Con attendees will say the chance to see “exclusive” footage of films months in advance is a draw for attending the panels. This makes even less sense to me. First off, some panels in the past have shown the first 10 minutes, or scenes from upcoming films. I, speaking from a strictly personal perspective, don’t want to see 10 minutes of a film. I want to see the entire film. I will wait 6-12 months too see a film in its entirety instead of being teased with a small portion and then having to wait to see what happens next. 

When I got home from Comic-Con there were postings on Facebook of a scene from Superman vs. Batman. I didn’t watch the clip. I think it showed Wonder Woman, if I remember the description on the clip correctly. Again, to me, why would I want to have part of a film spoiled before seeing the film? 

More new Star Wars characters
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

A month or two ago, Kevin posted an article on the My 1-2-3 Cents Facebook page regarding Star Wars: Episode 7. I used to be a HUGE Star Wars fan. I have a tattoo of Han Solo on a tauntaun, so it’s fair to question my judgment. The prequels kind of killed my Star Wars fandom, but I’m still interested in seeing the story being told in Episodes 7-9. However, I don’t want to know everything about the movie before I walk into the theater. That’s something I don’t understand about today’s 
entertainment society. 

With all the entertainment news websites and all the “Cons” throughout the year there is so much information being passed out on a daily basis if one wanted to know every detail about a movie, pressing a few keys and a couple mouse clicks and there’s really no reason to go to the movies anymore. My question is, why? 

Boba Fett
Photo courtesy: My 1-2-3 Cents

Why would you want to know if Boba Fett is going to make an appearance in Episode 7? Why would you want to know what Avengers villain would show up at the end of Avengers 2 to set up Avengers 3? 

If you know what’s going to happen, where’s the sense of wonder and just going along for the ride? If you read a book do you turn to the last page to see what happens before starting the story? I know I’m probably in the minority and some may claim the spoilers add to the excitement and anticipation they feel for a film. 

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this subject.