Aquaman Drowns in Endgame
I saw Endgame yesterday, and there's no doubt it is one of the greats: up there with Iron Man 1, Captain America: Civil War, and Infinity War. There were so many great references to past MCU movies and it was a satisfying conclusion to the Avengers series. But with the release of this long-awaited film many people have been wary, even terrified of spoilers regarding the plot.
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| Look at that smile! |
I can understand their viewpoint: you only ever get to see a movie for the first time once, and being able to experience enthralling moments in the theater is the reason so many go to the movies on opening day with friends and family. Naturally, spoilers ruin the this feeling when you already know what will happen next.
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Unfortunately, a certain Thejas Thota spoiled Endgame for me while we were at the theater. Obviously, Thejas should take a leaf out of Pinker's book and know that "Words let us say the things we want to say and also things we would be better off not having said." After watching it, I surprisingly realized that I enjoyed the film more simply because I was able to enjoy the process, the twists and turns, the journey that led to major plot points. In fact, University of California San Diego researchers focused on this in their study titled "Story Spoilers Don't Spoil Stories".
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| he's got moves 😳😳😳 |
In the published article, Leavitt and Christenfeld write that "suspense regarding the outcome may not be critical to enjoyment and may even impair pleasure by distracting attention from a story's relevant details and aesthetic qualities." They go on to say that "reading a story with foreknowledge of its outcome may be analogous to perceptual fluency, in which perceived objects are processed with ease, and experience that is associated with aesthetic pleasure, positive affect, and story engagement."
Ultimately, people will always stay away from spoilers whenever a popular movie or other form of media releases. But the intense fear of spoilers as of late is excessive and unnecessary when you realize that Hulk dabs and Thor plays Fortnite in Endgame.
I like how you connected Steven Pinker's perception of words to a massive event in our history. Your eye-opening thought process of spoilers really show that it is not the end of the world if you know what happens during the movie because there are many twists and turns that lead to that main point. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteHey Anish, I also like how you described the new Avengers movie as "a massive event in our history" in this comment. Hyperbole or not, truly a fascinating take on the role of film in our society.
DeleteThis is a really interesting take on the psychology behind spoilers Amigh. I love how truthful and honest you were about that friend that definitely spoiled the movie for you, that was absolutely unnecessary of him to do, even if you begged for it! Great job! -... .-. ..- .... / -.-- --- ..- .----. .-. . / -.. --- -. . .-.-.-
ReplyDeleteI loved the connection with Endgame! I just watched it this morning and I agree that it was awesome! I spent the last couple of days staying away from YouTube and Reddit because someone spoiled Infinity War before I watched it and did not want a repeat of that.
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