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.
Released in 1999, The Phantom Menace has a 62% positive review rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While it has earned over $900 million worldwide, the backlash from critics and fans, over what is often seen as a movie with a confusing plot with too much reliance on special effects, has been brutal and unrelenting. So how is it that ten years later, a Youtube video adding to a conversation that has been going on for a decade can be so popular?
It’s been less than a month since it was posted, but the first part of the video series, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review already has 963,599 views, 1,699 comments and is linked to from over 23,000 sites. In its entirety the review has seven parts and it almost as long as the actual movie. These type of numbers imply a high level of authority, but more importantly, they imply the kind of authority so crucial to the internet; the kind given to you by your peers. Created by video production company Red Letter Media, the review thoroughly critiques almost every aspect of the movie. When you combine the fact that this review is so complete and has been seen by so many people, this post on Spots Unknown brings up the question of whether or not George Lucas has seen or even heard of it.
I had a long-time employee of his confirm afterward that this is him, in line in front of me today at Borders at the Westfield mall. He’s got some courage coming out in public right now with this thing (the review) going ’round the sphere
While the accuracy of this title comes into question after watching the clip, and while there is no real reason to make a connection between the review and Lucas’s appearance on The Daily Show, it’s pretty easy for individuals on the internet to connect the dots and engage in a conversation based purely on speculation; several comments on the review page mention George Lucas’s visit to the daily show.
The point of all of this is that conversations are happening and it’s not always clear who’s in charge. Quotes, which have always had the danger of being taken out of context, are now everyone’s personal property. George Lucas doesn’t need to respond to the review, he just needs go to a book store or appear on TV and internet users will transform his actions into a response. He may be in the position to ignore all of this, but many artists are not and they need to have an understanding of how these phenomena can affect them.
