More spoilers

[jack]

Continuing on from a comment in my last post, what doesn't constitute a spoiler? What examples do you think are so universally known that no-one at all would not know/mind being told? (In the UK, let's say -- obviously these won't have spread everywhere.)

This is *not* lj-cut, that's sort of the point :)

* Pasion of the Christ: Jesus rises from the Dead. Christians have spent 2000 years telling people, I really hope everyone in this culture has heard about this by now. Of course, some people haven't, but I think this tidbit is generally the first not the last thing said -- no-one says "Hey, you're ruining the ending for the Heathens!"

* Dracula: Dracula is a vampire Dracula is so synonymous with vampire I bet reading this it didn't occur to you that he could not be. Does anyone not known this? And also not know all the other hints?

This is an interesting one, actually, because when it was first written, I think this was *not* obvious, and a different and possibly better horror novel for it.

* Romeo and Juliet: They die at the end Quite apart from the bywordity of them, I heard an amusing exchange about this.

A: blah blah blah die at the end blah
B: Hey! Technically that's a spoiler.
A: Yeah, but everyone knows--
B: I know it's 400 years later, but some people haven't seen the play.
A: And also, IT SAYS SO IN THE PROLOGUE, YOU ILLITERATE MONKEY!

:)

Are those the best? Can you think of anything else more universally agreead not to be a spoiler?

PS. And now, some that don't count:

* Titanic sinks, Napoleon loses Waterloo -- I think these are sufficiently well known and intended to be known there's no point not saying them. However, I have heard people exclaim "Oh no, you spoiled it for me."

* How starwars ends, What the "Matrix" is -- You'd think everyone would know, but some people just don't care about the films, haven't seen them, and don't know.

Comments

[ilanin.livejournal.com]

Again, Citation, please. I flat-out don't believe you, because Napoleon abdicated four days later, in large part due to the mood in Paris.

[rochvelleth.livejournal.com]

The only reliable source of information I have to hand is Elizabeth Longford's well-known biography, 'Wellington: The Years of the Sword' (London 1969, but I have the 1971 reprint). Her main concern is Wellington himself, of course, but she says a little about the aftermath of the battle, during which time the English, Prussians and French all claimed victory in their own way. Apparently, the main argument from supporters of Napoleon was not that the battle had not be lost tactically, but that Napoleon was a finer general who was having a bad day and had really won out overall. Apparently, the battlefield today does not present the battle as a particular victory for one or another side or country. Longford herself says (p588), "Rather than admit that Wellington routed Napoleon, the matter is sometimes passed over with the remark that neither was at his best."

I'm a little alarmed to find that this is the only book making reference to the battle (with the exception of Sharpe's Waterloo and a random dictionary of British history) on my bookshelf - I know I had others (I did presentations and so on about the battle when I was at school - my teacher even handed most of a lesson over to me once because I had more information about the military side of the Napoleonic Wars than he did) which are probably in a box somewhere. I had a brief look at Wikipedia, which says very little about the aftermath of the battle, and haven't bothered checking anywhere else online - generally I consider internet sources unreliable.

Wrt Napoleon's abdication, he was deposed by French politicians, I believe, four days after Waterloo, as you say - he had been aiming to return to Paris in a more-victorious-than-not way, I gather, but news had already reached the city of an actual defeat. However, he still had some support, and while France continued to be in a state of war until the cease-fire (early July - possibly the 4th, though I could have that confused with the American Revolution!), he made to escape to America, I think in the hope of finding renewed support somewhere, but ended up surrendering himself to the British at Rochefort on 15th July.