4 ms·

Regardless of the subject matter and opinions expressed, I think any reviewer who decides to give away all of the plot details within the first few sentences of

Regardless of the subject matter and opinions expressed, I think any reviewer who decides to give away all of the plot details within the first few sentences of a review should not be given much (if any) merit.

sanderjd 10y ago
That's an interesting perspective. I guess there's a philosophical question: what is the point of reviews? If it is to help determine whether to read or see something, then I guess I agree with you that this sort of thing largely defeats the purpose. But if it is instead to have a sort of "conversation" with the reviewer about their thoughts on something you've already read or seen, then this sort of recap is less problematic. I think I use reviews for both purposes. Using movies as an example, I'll check rottentomatoes before-the-fact to see whether there is at least a vague consensus that the movie I'm about to pay to see isn't going to be a total waste of my time. But then after I've seen it, I'll sometimes also go read what a smaller set of reviewers who I enjoy had to say about it, and compare and contrast their thoughts with my own. Both things have value to me, but in very different ways.
- bjterry 10y ago
  It's unfortunate that there aren't separate widely-used terms for recommendation style reviews and critical breakdown style reviews, because it makes it hard to find the latter when I want it. For an example, Jamahl Epsicokhan has written reviews of all the episodes of Star Trek on his site Jammer's Reviews. They break down both the plot and give criticism of the entire work, including parts that would be spoilers. Sometimes you can find these kind of articles under the term "rewatch" though.
hbosch 10y ago
I could tell you exactly what you'll see when you go to Big Sur, but that still would not spoil your trip should you drive down there yourself. You cannot spoil The Great Gatsby just by recalling the major plot points. Indeed, the novel's beauty is actually in between the parties and deaths of it's characters.
- thefalcon 10y ago
  I beg to differ, as the deaths of its characters have far more impact on first consumption, and that colors the work. If the narrator began the story by announcing which characters would be deceased by its conclusion, then it would be a different story entirely.

sanderjd 10y ago

That's an interesting perspective. I guess there's a philosophical question: what is the point of reviews? If it is to help determine whether to read or see something, then I guess I agree with you that this sort of thing largely defeats the purpose. But if it is instead to have a sort of "conversation" with the reviewer about their thoughts on something you've already read or seen, then this sort of recap is less problematic. I think I use reviews for both purposes. Using movies as an example, I'll check rottentomatoes before-the-fact to see whether there is at least a vague consensus that the movie I'm about to pay to see isn't going to be a total waste of my time. But then after I've seen it, I'll sometimes also go read what a smaller set of reviewers who I enjoy had to say about it, and compare and contrast their thoughts with my own. Both things have value to me, but in very different ways.

bjterry 10y ago
It's unfortunate that there aren't separate widely-used terms for recommendation style reviews and critical breakdown style reviews, because it makes it hard to find the latter when I want it. For an example, Jamahl Epsicokhan has written reviews of all the episodes of Star Trek on his site Jammer's Reviews. They break down both the plot and give criticism of the entire work, including parts that would be spoilers. Sometimes you can find these kind of articles under the term "rewatch" though.

hbosch 10y ago

I could tell you exactly what you'll see when you go to Big Sur, but that still would not spoil your trip should you drive down there yourself. You cannot spoil The Great Gatsby just by recalling the major plot points. Indeed, the novel's beauty is actually in between the parties and deaths of it's characters.

thefalcon 10y ago
I beg to differ, as the deaths of its characters have far more impact on first consumption, and that colors the work. If the narrator began the story by announcing which characters would be deceased by its conclusion, then it would be a different story entirely.