JACK PARKS: If a movie is good, it’s good … spoiler or not

I don’t go see many movies. Not in the theater anyway. There’re a couple of reasons for this; the ever-rising cost of tickets, the personal urge to get the largest drink and the biggest popcorn with the most butter I can legally purchase, and then, of course, the difficulty of finding a babysitter and then having to pay the babysitter about what you’re paying just to see the movie.

My wife and I may go see two or three a year in theaters. And that’s now, when there are tons of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek and more being released all the time.

We tend to wait until we can either watch it on Netflix, rent it on Redbox if we want to see it “early” but don’t know if it’s good enough to buy, or just purchase it on DVD/Blu-Ray.

I say DVD/Blu-Ray because I have yet to actually buy a Blu-Ray that doesn’t also have the DVD included. They do that because people will buy the Blu-Ray and not realize that it won’t work in a DVD player. That’s another rant for another day.

As a result, most people have already seen the movies I want to see long before I have. And, inevitably, they are hesitant to talk about the movie in front of me.

This is because of the “anti-spoiler” culture that has become prevalent on social media. Everyone is so afraid of knowing anything about a movie before they see it, as if it will ruin the movie for them. Someone can be the most vile, twisted, xenophobic person on the internet, but tell him something about the new “Star Wars” movie that he hasn’t seen and he will be morally outraged.

It’s only gotten worse over the years. Where before you could discuss some plot points freely, though, it has now gotten to where I know people who have not just unfriended but actually blocked people for even joking about posting spoilers.

And that’s a shame.

There was a time not too long ago when “spoilers” didn’t apply to the entire movie. I can remember when I was in high school and the “Star Wars” prequels were coming out. Specifically, I remember someone describing the huge battle in “Attack of the Clones” between hundreds of Jedi and thousands of droids.

Did I get mad? Did I get offended? Did I put my hands over my ears and scream “NO SPOILERS YOU GUYS OMG!!!” No.

My exact words were “Oh man! That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to see it.” And I wasn’t alone. That used to be the norm for the culture.

Because if you’re really interested in something, knowing about it just makes you want to see the rest of it even more. Were the Harry Potter movies ruined just because you read the books and knew what was going to happen? How about “Lord of the Rings,” or *shudder* “Twilight?” You can — and people do — make arguments for the movies being ruined for one thing or another, but not because you knew what was going to happen.

I don’t accept the notion that the ability to enjoy a movie hinges upon absolute ignorance going in. If there’s a big twist that changes the perception of the entire movie like Bruce Willis being dead the whole movie, then sure. Don’t tell me about that.

But you know what? I did know about it the first time I watched the “Sixth Sense,” and it was still an amazing movie. I knew that (spoiler) Han Solo died in “The Force Awakens,” had actually seen stills from the scene, and it still gutted me emotionally seeing it happen. Even if you know the ending or the special twist, you can and should be able to thoroughly enjoy seeing how the story progresses to that point and beyond.

Because it’s not the destination that’s important, it’s the journey you take to get there. The ending is important, to be sure. But nobody goes to the movies to find out Bruce Willis is dead. They go to see the 90 minutes in front of that reveal that give it meaning. And if the story isn’t good, then no one’s going to care about the new “Avengers,” no matter how many people Thanos kills. Half of them are already scheduled for sequels anyway.

Feel free to talk about movies in front of others. Don’t feel like you have to hold back or quiet down just because they haven’t seen it. Folks, if you haven’t seen it yet, lighten up. If it’s a movie you hadn’t considered, you may change your mind based on what you hear. And if it’s something you already want to see, hearing how much others enjoy it and why they enjoy it will just re-enforce that.

As for me, I don’t care if you tell me what happens. I just want to see it happen.

Jack Parks is a part-time actor and the writer/creator of The Albany Herald column Talk Nerdy to Me. He also is one of the biggest nerds in several galaxies .. this one and others far, far away.