Spoilers

As the world renown San Diego Comicon ends and the assorted "clips" released during it appear on the web, I am struck by how much we as a society seem to like "spoilers". 

"Spoilers" are loosely defined as anything that gives insight into what will be seen later. A spoiler can be an excerpt from a book, an extended clip from a movie, the first few minutes of a TV show or in the case of a certain Time traveler a glimpse of the actual future.

Arguably the most anticipated movie of the year will be released later this week. When 'The Dark Knight Rises" hits theaters on Friday, it is expected to shatter all previous opening records. Because breaking every record known to man is not enough, the producers have decided to drum up extra attention by releasing a 13 minute sneak peek short and showing the film in full to a hand picked group of journalists who were sworn to secrecy. (I was not one of them).

The behind the scenes short film is pretty impressive. It gives a real taste of what the movie is likely to be and makes a person eager to see it. The problem comes from those sworn to secrecy about the whole film. you see a large number of people who did not see the film, claim to have seen the film and have released their so-called "spoilers" to the unsuspecting web.

I read a "spoiler" over the weekend that was clearly the produced by someone who had read the comic books closely and seen a couple of trailers but had certainly not seen the movie. This did not stop the writer from claiming to have inside knowledge to the film and extensive details into the plot and events. This is not the first time I have seen this. I first came across the phenomenon before the release of "Cloverfield" A highly secretive film with a massive viral campaign. People would take the desire for a "Spoiler" and turn that into traffic for their site just by claiming to be "in the know". The thing is, it works every time.

So why are we so interested in "knowing" beforehand? Is it just natural curiosity? Is it the thrill of being the first to know something your peers want to know also? Is it just a form of greed?

I think "spoilers" start when we are very young and first sneak into our parents room to find what is hidden in that large bag from a toy store that we saw them carry in just days before our birthday. We gladly ruin our own surprise, just for a glimpse, a taste of what is to come. History, legends and pop-culture are full of examples of horrible things happening to people who try to get that glimpse of forbidden knowledge. I wonder if we will ever get the hint.

So the next time you are trying to find a spoiler, remember: the surprise is often worth the wait.