How to Avoid Spoilers

The first episode of the last season of Lost aired last night and every single second of analyzed information is already available, in one form or another, on the internet. One of those unfortunate pieces of collateral brought on by the internet, the dreaded spoiler isn’t a new thing, but definitely more of risk than in the past.

By the time I saw the entire Star Wars trilogy in 1985, I already knew most of the juicy bits. The misquote, “Luke, I am your father” (it’s actually “No, I am your father”) was already part of the vernacular; appearing in sketch comedy routines, movies and re-enacted during recess. The closest equivalent right now is probably The Sixth Sense, whose spoiling has become more locked into popular culture more than the actual movie. The argument could be made that these movies are good even if you already know the important plot points, but there’s no replacing a good twist.

Sites exist for people seeking spoilers. Below is a chart (via Compete.com)that tracks visitors to The Movie Spoiler (http://www.themoviespoiler.com/), a site that’s exactly what it sounds like.

The spike in July is likely due to the release of the latest Harry Potter movie.

In a way, I feel sorry for people a year, 5 years, 20 years from now who are going to watch Lost for the first time. Much like Star Wars, Lost is in the cultural zeitgeist and the major twists, most likely including the ending, will be too. It will be unavoidable. But as anyone who deals with researching the blogosphere will tell you, most sites deal with a variety of topics. TV reviews can show up in personal blogs, culture blogs, parenting blogs, religious blogs, etc. Spoilers are out there and they don’t just reveal themselves to people who are looking for them. They’re out there, hiding within your favorite foodie blog or developer network, waiting to ruin everything.

So how do you avoid spoilers? Never, ever go on the internet.