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Grimaldi: Social media changes how television show plots are spoiled

As technology changes, so does culture.And as that changes, so does etiquette. The spoiler alert is a new embodiment of 21st century manners. Social media users have managed to spoil countless plots for all forms of media — especially television shows.

Not being able to openly discuss my favorite TV shows feels restrictive sometimes, but I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest every time someone ruins a plot twist in one of my favorite shows. I’m an advocate of the same rules followed on New York City subways: If you see something, say something. If you’re going to reveal a plot, warn us.

New spoilers methods are the result of a number of modern innovations. The first is social media and news websites where most of the spoiling takes place without warning. The second is the DVR and time shifting.  Since TV is live-viewed less and less, the Internet is transformed into a minefield riddled with revelations and plot twists that audiences must avoid until they sit down with their favorite shows.

Spoilers beg a number of questions: Is TV getting more complicated or are people getting more obnoxious on their Twitter accounts? Probably the latter. What’s the statute of limitations on a spoiler? In my opinion, it’s forever.

If someone had ruined “Twin Peaks” for me before I had finished the 90s show in 2012, I would have been really upset. Theother day a friend was upset because a tweetruined “The Grapes of Wrath” for her. Storytelling is one of our most sacred institutions, and if you’re going to suck the pleasure out of it by spoiling the details, then you should reevaluate your life.  Storytelling is best left to professionals, not some random person on Twitter.



We live in a world full of television recaps and reviews, but if I’m not actively pursing a recap of “Game of Thrones” without having seen the series, it’s not up to anyone to ruin it for me. God forbid I watch it a week after it airs, I’d have to spend that week running down the street with my hands over my ears. “Game of Thrones” book readers managed to keep plot details under wraps for years, so try harder, TV audiences.

But if you’re a Harry Burns-style masochist, who always reads the back of the book first, then you’ve obviously only brought spoilers upon yourself.

There are some who argue that spoilers don’t ruin TV shows, like Gawker’s Brian Moylan and The Week’s Matt Cohen, both of whom are online reviewers. They do have one good claim that I can agree with.

As Cohen said: “It’s not the responsibility of critics and journalists to worry about whether readers have seen an episode from the night before, or when fans do plan to watch it, or how much they would prefer not to have it spoiled.”

So we can all agree that if you don’t want a show spoiled, do us all a favor and don’t chase after it.

But if you’re just the average person,show some decency and have some manners. I urge you to think twice before you tweet about what happens to Bruce Willis at the end of “The Sixth Sense.” Remember that wave of pleasure you got when you found out the twist in “Fight Club?” Preserve it for future generations. Save storytelling, save the world.

Cassie-lee Grimaldi is a senior television, radio and film major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected] and reached on Twitter @cassiegrimaldi.

 

 

 

 





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