With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there have been a ton of posts on social media that have asked people to not spoil the plot and ending of the movie. Other blockbuster movies had posts requesting the same thing. This leaves the question...when is the acceptable time period okay to talk about a movie plot or ending?
Some examples of opinions online have stated that while a movie is still in the theaters, it should be off limits. If that is the case, some movie theaters exhibit movies far beyond their initial release date. The Dark Knight Rises lasted in some theaters for almost two years after it was released. On the flipside, if it is okay to talk about the movie after it has stopped being exhibited at movie theaters, then how is this fair for people waiting for it to be released for sale on DVD or Blu-Ray? People pay good money for a movie that is released for home viewing, so why would it be fair to spoil the movie for them?
From personal experience, I once got an earful from a person at my work when I talked about the plotline to the ending of Batman...during the week of the release of Batman Begins which was released 16 years later. The other person complained that they had planned on having a Batman themed movie weekend planned before they were going to see the new one in the theaters. Is this fair to complain about? In this particular case, the Tim Burton movie had nothing to do with the series starring Christian Bale.
When talking about a movie, should a pre-question be posed to the group of people who might participate in talking about the movie, whether or not they have seen the movie or at least not mind hearing about it? Does this conversation have to stop or be paused if someone enters the room? This seems like it would take the fun out of talking about movies if you have to worry about talking about them in front of groups of people. It can be understandable if the movie had been just released, but if it has been out for a while, it seems like the movie should be fair game.
Another question that can be posed...does the popularity of the movie play a difference on when it can be "spoiled"? A blockbuster hit like a Star Wars movie has more people who want to see it than say a movie such as a sequel to Joe Dirt. Does this make it more okay to talk about the smaller anticipated movie within a shorter amount of time after the movies release date? If a Star Wars movie has a six month "no spoil" limit, does a Joe Dirt movie have two months? On the flipside of this question, shouldn't a blockbuster have a shorter spoil limit since it presumably has a higher demand to see it as soon as possible?
I feel that on average, a three to four month limit on spoilers should be placed on a movie. A person should be self aware of friends or coworkers that have been wanting to see a movie, but have yet to see it, but in the situation of casual conversation, one hundred days sounds about right. Yes, it might not be for sale in home video form yet, but this isn't exactly fair to those who have seen the movie and want to share their experience with friends and family.
Photo Credit: Storyboard from Dark Knight Rises
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