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This is a great film, but I'm not sure why knowing more about the plot or the background to the design would ruin it for you? Do you also worry about spoilers f

This is a great film, but I'm not sure why knowing more about the plot or the background to the design would ruin it for you? Do you also worry about spoilers for works of literature or films from the past? What about spoilers for young people on the entirety of human output? I agree everyone should go watch this film, as it was really fascinating and a probably far more realistic take on living in space than most - the boredom, paranoia and drudgery were very effective - I feel compelled to stop discussing it here though in case I violate your no spoilers rule! I think I'll watch it again sometime, and I'll probably enjoy it more, not less, having read some of the discussion here and knowing more about it, and having seen all the twists of the plot already. Those are the least enjoyable and least important parts of the enjoyment of the film, and a focus on them omits all the other fascinating parts of this story (the repetition, the model-making as a way of escape, the corporation that controls his life, the convincing drudgery of space etc). If you really don't like spoilers, don't click on discussions which purport to be about the film until you see it, or stop reading them as soon as the film is mentioned. That's really the only solution for you, and more effective than calling for no spoilers. Where did this recent obsession with spoilers come from? A great story should not need the prop of plot-twists to be enjoyable - there are so many facets of entertainment which don't depend on plot (character, narration, allusions, themes, language, even setting and typography as here!). Stories like The Odyssey or Julius Caesar are not ruined by knowing the plot, because the pleasure is in the telling (and sometimes the retelling) and worrying over spoilers shuts down any sort of significant discussion of a film or story. To me shutting down all that discussion is far more damaging than any potential loss of momentary surprise when something happens you didn't expect.

icambron 13y ago
I disagree. Even without plot twists, a movie is often a process of discovery. You explore the character, narration, allusions, themes, and language in the order they're shown in the film. And Moon in particular is such a carefully paced movie. So while I agree that the plot spoilers may not matter much in this case, I think you'd have a much different and likely inferior experience watching Moon after reading this because of all the other stuff it reveals. So what Biot said: go watch Moon and then come back and read this excellent blog post.
- grey-area 13y ago
  If you do consistently find things spoiled by foreknowledge, there is a simple solution - just avoid reading articles or discussions which mention the film before you see it (stop reading at the word Moon!), no need to call out spoilers because every meaningful discussion of this film will be a spoiler in some sense, and many people enjoy discussing films and books online after or before they see them. I'm not sure where this cult of no-spoilers has come from, but it damages public discussion - all content could be spoilers for someone so reviews become a cryptic set of hints instead of a full discussion with examples and no-one can speak frankly about stories without hearing 'spoilers'. The responsibility for avoiding exposure should fall on the person who doesn't want to know things, rather than on everyone else. It's interesting, because I find more pleasure sometimes in rereading a book or watching a film again than the first time, specifically because of having a deeper understanding of it, the background to the characters, other films like it, and perhaps noticing things that were missed the first time round. Broader knowledge (from others or from previous experiences) actually helps further enjoyment in many cases, because it deepens your understanding when you are exposed. So I'd say go ahead and enjoy reading about things beforehand, you may well find it actually improves the experience - in some cases like James Joyce, or to a lesser extent Shakespeare, it becomes almost essential.
  - andyjohnson0 13y ago
    Like you, I often re-read books or re-watch DVDs. But I find the enjoyment that I gain from this is different the first reading/viewing, and I'd prefer to experience both. Spoilers would detract from this.
    - twocows 13y ago
      Different strokes. I find that spoilers make me more interested in how the story unfolds, personally. But yes, I understand that a lot of folks don't like them.
  - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
    > It's interesting, because I find more pleasure sometimes in rereading a book or watching a film again than the first time [...] So I'd say go ahead and enjoy reading about things beforehand, you may well find it actually improves the experience That's lovely for you. You are not me. You are basically doing this: me: "I don't like artichokes." you: "Oh, that can't be true! You must never have actually eaten artichokes! Surely you are laboring under a tragic and inexplicable delusion! Here, hold still while I stuff artichokes down your throat! You'll thank me later!" Yes, thank you, I have had artichokes. I have never enjoyed a work of fiction more for having pivotal plot details spoiled, and I have often enjoyed it less. I am quite capable of evaluating my own reactions to things, thank you very much. You are not doing a public service by telling everybody to just be more like you.
simonh 13y ago
I managed to get my girls to watch Empire Strikes Back at just old enough to appreciate the films, and fortunately before they had heard that Vader was Luke's father. More than most spoilers, for some reason for this one it was really important to me that they experience the revelation in the film.
- tragic 13y ago
  I remember watching Psycho with my first girlfriend. She had what you'd call a sheltered upbringing. (If readers have had one too, SPOILERS FOLLOW.) Janet Leigh gets in the shower. "Is...is this the film with the shower scene?", says my girlfriend. Janet Leigh is attacked. "But she can't be dead - she's the main character!" As a film student, I was grateful to see the initial 1960 reaction played out in my living room.
codeulike 13y ago
Classic HN comment. "The whole concept of spoilers is an anti-pattern"
biot 13y ago
Here's a radical concept: some people appreciate knowing when something contains spoilers, and now they know. Your entire comment can be boiled down to "suspense is an unnecessary prop", and I couldn't disagree more.
kyro 13y ago
What a weird, unnecessarily long and comprehensive response to a well-intentioned and relatively neutral advisory comment.
fragmede 13y ago
> This is a great film, but I'm not sure why knowing more about the plot or the background to the design would ruin it for you? Do you also worry about spoilers for works of literature or films from the past? Yes?

icambron 13y ago

I disagree. Even without plot twists, a movie is often a process of discovery. You explore the character, narration, allusions, themes, and language in the order they're shown in the film. And Moon in particular is such a carefully paced movie. So while I agree that the plot spoilers may not matter much in this case, I think you'd have a much different and likely inferior experience watching Moon after reading this because of all the other stuff it reveals. So what Biot said: go watch Moon and then come back and read this excellent blog post.

grey-area 13y ago
If you do consistently find things spoiled by foreknowledge, there is a simple solution - just avoid reading articles or discussions which mention the film before you see it (stop reading at the word Moon!), no need to call out spoilers because every meaningful discussion of this film will be a spoiler in some sense, and many people enjoy discussing films and books online after or before they see them. I'm not sure where this cult of no-spoilers has come from, but it damages public discussion - all content could be spoilers for someone so reviews become a cryptic set of hints instead of a full discussion with examples and no-one can speak frankly about stories without hearing 'spoilers'. The responsibility for avoiding exposure should fall on the person who doesn't want to know things, rather than on everyone else. It's interesting, because I find more pleasure sometimes in rereading a book or watching a film again than the first time, specifically because of having a deeper understanding of it, the background to the characters, other films like it, and perhaps noticing things that were missed the first time round. Broader knowledge (from others or from previous experiences) actually helps further enjoyment in many cases, because it deepens your understanding when you are exposed. So I'd say go ahead and enjoy reading about things beforehand, you may well find it actually improves the experience - in some cases like James Joyce, or to a lesser extent Shakespeare, it becomes almost essential.
- andyjohnson0 13y ago
  Like you, I often re-read books or re-watch DVDs. But I find the enjoyment that I gain from this is different the first reading/viewing, and I'd prefer to experience both. Spoilers would detract from this.
  - twocows 13y ago
    Different strokes. I find that spoilers make me more interested in how the story unfolds, personally. But yes, I understand that a lot of folks don't like them.
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago
  > It's interesting, because I find more pleasure sometimes in rereading a book or watching a film again than the first time [...] So I'd say go ahead and enjoy reading about things beforehand, you may well find it actually improves the experience That's lovely for you. You are not me. You are basically doing this: me: "I don't like artichokes." you: "Oh, that can't be true! You must never have actually eaten artichokes! Surely you are laboring under a tragic and inexplicable delusion! Here, hold still while I stuff artichokes down your throat! You'll thank me later!" Yes, thank you, I have had artichokes. I have never enjoyed a work of fiction more for having pivotal plot details spoiled, and I have often enjoyed it less. I am quite capable of evaluating my own reactions to things, thank you very much. You are not doing a public service by telling everybody to just be more like you.

simonh 13y ago

I managed to get my girls to watch Empire Strikes Back at just old enough to appreciate the films, and fortunately before they had heard that Vader was Luke's father. More than most spoilers, for some reason for this one it was really important to me that they experience the revelation in the film.

tragic 13y ago
I remember watching Psycho with my first girlfriend. She had what you'd call a sheltered upbringing. (If readers have had one too, SPOILERS FOLLOW.) Janet Leigh gets in the shower. "Is...is this the film with the shower scene?", says my girlfriend. Janet Leigh is attacked. "But she can't be dead - she's the main character!" As a film student, I was grateful to see the initial 1960 reaction played out in my living room.

codeulike 13y ago

Classic HN comment. "The whole concept of spoilers is an anti-pattern"

biot 13y ago

Here's a radical concept: some people appreciate knowing when something contains spoilers, and now they know. Your entire comment can be boiled down to "suspense is an unnecessary prop", and I couldn't disagree more.

kyro 13y ago

What a weird, unnecessarily long and comprehensive response to a well-intentioned and relatively neutral advisory comment.

fragmede 13y ago

> This is a great film, but I'm not sure why knowing more about the plot or the background to the design would ruin it for you? Do you also worry about spoilers for works of literature or films from the past? Yes?