You know, I know a lot of people think that spoiler warnings arent necessary if a piece of media is old, but i don't think that i agree with that. there are generations of people who haven't had the chance to experience many older pieces of media yet. Not to mention that there are so many THINGS out there to watch and read and experience. you can only experience these things for the first time once.

Doesn't mean that we still can't talk about them. we should, but a little courtesy warning beforehand isn't so much to ask, i don't think.

Sounds reasonable.

I think some works (like Star Wars, for example, or the Sixth Sense) are staple pop culture pieces that are so well known/prevalent that spoiler warnings might be redundant, at least from an age up. Still, though, doesn't hurt to give a little warning. Costs nothing.

There are people out there who never saw an episode of classic Twilight Zone so all those twists have to be kept under wraps.

Spoiler alerts remain in place for one century. After that all bets are off. So feel free to reveal the twist in the silent classic Cabinet of Dr. Caligari but don't even think of revealing the one from a 1960 Twilight Zone Except the cookbook. Everyone knows about the cookbook.

You should do it to be polite but feel less constrained about it for older media because people are less likely to watch it anyway so you're worrying about spoiling something that they're probably never going to see (for really old stuff).

Generally it's the polite thing to do though,

yes they do, just like people. also just like people a little consideration goes a long way. I was watching the new twilight zone the other day and in the second episode… spoiler warning…

ah sod it, i can't be bothered to type the twist up. I kind of liked it though.

The thing is people on social media turn into asshats so it would be daft to expect any form of consideration. Do forums like this count as social media? places like this, it's not daft to expect it, but facebook and the like bwahahahahahahaha! NOPE!

When studying film a lot of times spoilers are freely given so you don't bother with plot but the structure of the film or show so you get an understanding of how it all comes together. So you get an idea of why some twists work and others are just tracked on.

So personally I think if you really want to study a show you have to spoil it so you get how it comes together. The point isn't the twist but how it's portrayed.

But some people get upset if you give away the twist in O. Henry or Ambrose Bierce so just keep the mouth shut. Unless it's the cookbook, everyone knows that one.

that's funny; I was thinking of the cookbook myself.

I agree that some works are so well known, or the twists are so well known that they get a pass. But just being an old piece doesn't mean much, as you said, because there are more and more people coming up who've never seen the movie/show in question.

I've always thought that spoiling up to the point where the premise of the story comes into play is okay. Some pieces are so much better experienced completely cold. But my rule of thumb is normally that everything up to and including the premise coming together (usually the beginning of Act 2) is okay to spoil. That's what would appear in a TV Guide blurb.

I have to sadly admit I don't know the cookbook one.

Pretty sure I knew all the “twists” to Twilight Zone episodes long before I ever saw them. But I knew only the twists. I didn't know the rest of the episode. So when I watched them, I didn't know which they were. (But it was even more fun that way, because I was able to guess. Like, “Oh! This must be the one with the gremlin!”)

80% of classic TV/movie/literature spoilers are because of The Simpsons.

Also, anything produced before we had the phrase “spoiler alert” is free to spoil, imo. Oh, and anything that is just garbage. Save me time and suffering. Just tell me what happens.

Tantz -

Respectfully submitted for your perusal:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOrnVJ23aLQ

It's a five minute edit - more watchable than the entire episode xD

Banes- thanks!

That was fun! Kinda got wind of it from the “To Serve Man” title XD

Haha - Yeah, I was thinking just hearing the title would explain everything. xD