Warning: This article contains spoilers for the novel “Lord of the Flies.”
In society, people with terrible personalities still manage to make a name for themselves; after all, Kanye West has a career. However, there has been a prominent presence of a certain archetype of people that has flown under the radar pretty well, an archetype that manages to dampen your enjoyment in a matter of minutes — people who spoil media for others.
It’s obvious that people hate it when others spoil new media. It’s actually marvelous to see the immense outrage people have toward spoilers and how socially blasphemous the act is. Internet history holds proof of this. For instance, in 2019 a die-hard Taylor Swift fan retaliated against bullies of Swift’s song “ME!” by spoiling the end of “Avengers: Endgame” shortly after its release, which resulted in her ultimate internet demise.
So it’s clear that people get peeved when a new movie, show or book gets spoiled for them. They are robbed of fully indulging in that media’s novelty and authentically engaging with the booming culture surrounding it. But it’s worth arguing that spoiler etiquette should be upheld even with people consuming media of any age, no matter how popular or old it is. Frankly, this could apply to any old religious text as well; there is undoubtedly someone in the world who’s never heard of the Bible.
Let’s set the scene. Imagine sitting down, finally getting the chance to read the renowned classic “Lord of the Flies.” Though a short book, it’s a packed and ambiguous story, making it easy to get lost in the process of guessing the next twist. Then, someone comes along to say, “Oh, by the way, they kill the chubby kid.” In just a single sentence, the reader gets stripped of their wonder, excitement and will to continue the story. And when the reader, fighting through betrayal and horror, asks for the reasoning behind the flippant execution of this atrocity, the other person just replies, “You had it coming, it’s been out for 70 years!”
In all honesty, this is worth ending a friendship with someone. Yes, it may seem trivial to cut it off with someone over getting a piece of media spoiled. In some cases, it’s a mistake easily forgiven. Maybe someone spoiled the new episode of “Severance” for their friend in conversation, unbeknownst to them that they were planning to watch it later that evening.
But in the typical sinister situations, where someone purposefully spoils something, it just shows they have zero respect for others’ time or enjoyment, while also neglecting to understand why they would be upset.
Though the focus still remains on the person getting the media spoiled for them, interestingly enough, the person doing the spoiling is harmed as well. Instead of bonding over experiencing the same emotions towards said media, they’ve decided to instead relish in the individualistic feeling of superiority over ruining it for someone else. It’s even a worthy argument to say that the person spoiling the media has the worse experience. They’ve long forgotten the invigorating escapade of consuming a piece of media for the first time and being so engaged in its orbit that they completely detach from life, returning to it with a refreshed perspective.
Additionally, where does this leave us as a society? In a broader sense, the inability to imagine ourselves in another person’s shoes before acting or speaking is the root of society’s dysfunction. Yes, that includes global issues like world hunger or war crimes. Not only does this mindset inspire mass desensitization to such issues, but it keeps us unwilling to be empathetic towards others’ experiences and truly regard them as if they’re our own.
Besides these massive issues, on a surface level, not everyone has heard of every piece of media. Sure, “Pulp Fiction” might’ve come out in 1994, but for some teenagers or young adults who grew up sheltered, it basically came out last year because that’s when they found out about it! Not everyone is constantly tuned in to watch the next new thing, and frankly, those who are and act insufferably about it usually don’t have anything more valuable to do with their time.
So, think twice before spoiling “Forrest Gump” for someone; just be happy they have the joy of discovering everything that this classic film has to offer for the first time.
Sumaya Elgharbaoui is an Opinion Intern for the spring 2025 quarter. She can be reached at selgharb@uci.edu.