Do you have any thoughts on the TADC finale showing in theaters earlier than it will be posted elsewhere? Really just seems like an attempt to use the fear of spoilers to drive ticket sales.
I can see how you'd arrive at that thought, but like... on a very basic level, that is just the business model of movie theaters. It used to be, once upon a time, that you could only see movies in theaters, so either you bought a ticket or you missed out forever.
Home video and eventually streaming comes along, now it's more of a timed exclusive deal, but "the fear of missing out" is, like... that's the business model. That's how The Movies™ work. It's how entertainment works in general, really. You go to a Broadway show or a play at the theater because if you don't buy a ticket to go see them, you're probably gonna miss out forever, most of those shows don't ever get filmed. Same with concerts—even if you've bought the album and can listen to it on repeat forever, that's not the same as seeing the music live, and if you don't buy tickets when the band is in town you might miss out forever. Hell, even shit that's going to drop on streaming as soon as physically possible like Marvel movies use FOMO to get people in theaters, that's what all those novelty popcorn buckets are.
So, yeah, it's a bit annoying to have to Matrix Dodge spoilers for two weeks, but, like... I've been doing that with movies and TV shows for as long as I've been alive, that's just what existing in culture is like. Many times in your life, other people are going to have seen something you really want to see before you can see it, and you have to ask them not to spoil, or you have to carefully curate your own interactions to avoid it.
TADC and Glitch aren't doing anything unique or egregious here, we've just gotten used to the instant, ubiquitous convenience of streaming and video-on-demand, and now that they are introducing some mild friction in order to create an extra special experience for a smaller segment of the fandom, it grates on us because we're not used to that being the norm as much anymore.
And also, not to be an old man here, but... if you get spoiled on TADC, you're probably gonna be alright. Like, you'll live, it's not actually going to hurt you. Some stories lose a lot of their impact when you lose the element of surprise, because the surprise is the impact, but that's usually a sign of an underlying weak construction.
If knowing that The Butler Did It ruins the experience of reading a mystery novel for you, then it wasn't actually a very good novel, it was just a mystery box keeping you hooked with the promise of a Big Reveal, and if all of the value is in the Big Reveal then the rest of the story is kinda wasting your time. Really good mystery fiction you can re-read again and again, regardless if you know every twist and secret, because the point of a good mystery novel isn't to find out what the mystery is, it is to be with the characters through the process of revelation. That's why people still read Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, it's why people re-watch Knives Out movies.
TADC isn't a mystery show to begin with, it's an ensemble character drama with a few worldbuilding mysteries to frame that drama. The staying power and appeal is seeing the characters Go Through It and be changed by their ordeals, and that will remain no matter how much of it is spoiled to you. If the show is any good, it will remain no matter how many times you re-watch it, too, and it will remain in twenty years when someone posts a clip from "this old show my mom used to be obsessed with" on social media and you feel a warm glow of recognition, even as your bones crumble to dust inside your body.
If it i's good art, it stays special no matter how well you know it. If it's not, honestly, a big spoiler ruining the whole thing for you isn't that big of a loss. It didn't really deserve your time, and better stories will come along.
Yeah, getting hit with a spoiler by some dipshit who went to a screening and can't keep their mouth shut will suck, probably, but it's not gonna ruin anything. It's just gonna suck a bit.
blakekathryn
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
