Going in completely in the dark!

[Haruki-kun]

I'm not sure why it is, but when I recommend someone a book, movie, or anything, and they ask me what it's about, I have a problem. I never know what to answer. If it's something I know well I can probably summarize the entire plot for them, but that would be spoiling and I don't like to do that. And then, something amazing doesn't sound amazing when I explain it to people.

"What's it about?"
"It's about a ring that has power and it's... uh... well, it's evil. The good guys need to destroy it, but they need to.... uh... they need to destroy it in the bad guy's lair."

:smallannoyed:

On the other hand, I can't undertsand how to do it well because I don't like being told anything about the story. If I hear something's amazing and it calls my attention, for whatever reason, I want to go in completely "in the dark", without knowing anything. The movies and anime I've seen and books I've read without knowing anything about them beforehand, I always feel I enjoyed more.

So tell me, Playground... am I the only one? Do you like going into the movie theater completely in the dark? Do you like being given a book and told nothing about it?

[DomaDoma]

I like a basic genre premise. Like, Mulholland Drive was summed up as "a pair of lesbian actresses end up in a David Lynch plot." Normally, I do give a short plot premise for Death Note when people ask, but "cat-and-mouse with a God complex thrown in, twisty as hell" works just as well. But yeah, the instant it sounds like the person is saying something that could be remotely construed as a reveal, I shush them.

[Haruki-kun]

I'm OK with a basic premise as basic as it can get. Or just a genre and similar works. Or the author's other works.

But I think of it this way: I have a friend who saw The Melancholy ofHaruhi Suzumiya knowing NOTHING about it. Can't help but think that must have been an awesome experience. :smalltongue:

"Oh, it's just a regular high school anim- WHOA!"

[DomaDoma]

Oh my god, yeah, that would be incredible.

I saw a play called The Accomplice knowing nothing but the title. That was a giddy little head-trip. I might indeed want to do that again.

[Raistlin1040]

To be honest I don't care about knowing the plot or the ending or whatever, because I generally prefer the journey to the destination.

That said, I have just started watching this Melancholy of Haruhi thing with absolutely no prior knowledge.

[Elder Tsofu]

I try to go into stuff without prior knowledge, since I enjoy it more that way. Its like being told that there is this great plot-twist in a story, well who do you think will be sitting and waiting for it now?

To be surprised, to explore and uncover in literature - if I wouldn't have that I'd have no incentive to read anything new and could just go through my extensive read-catalogue again (which would take a fair while).

[DomaDoma]

When there's a game-changer more than a quarter of the way in, I pretend it doesn't exist when I tell people about the story.

I can't seem to decide which half of Valley of Fear should come first. That matters, like, a lot, when I want to tell people about it. So instead, I just say "it's the best of the three stories in the Canon that involve Moriarty and nobody has read it what is the matter with everyone".

[Serpentine]

My Boy sorta has this problem, in that whenever I ask him what a movie's about, he starts listing producers and directors and cinematographers and gaffers and stuff. I do not know who these people are, this does not tell me what the movie is like.

I like to know what sort of a movie I'm watching before I watch it. Kinda... fantasy/sci-fi/drama/etc, fun/funny/scary/tense/tear-jerker/etc.

[Tengu_temp]

But I think of it this way: I have a friend who saw The Melancholy ofHaruhi Suzumiya knowing NOTHING about it. Can't help but think that must have been an awesome experience. :smalltongue:

He's not the only one. I saw Haruhi knowing only that the first episode is not a good representation of the whole series. Hell, I saw Evangelion knowing only that there will be a lot of symbolism, giant robots, something about angels, and that the main character is an emo kid.

[Velaryon]

If it's something I'm totally unfamiliar with, I like to have at least a bare-bones explanation to judge things by. Generally the stuff written on the back cover of a book, or on the back of a DVD case, is enough (I often don't even read the whole thing), but I don't want to know much more than that.

If on the other hand, it's something I know I will want to read or see, then I want to know absolutely NOTHING going in. For example, I have studiously avoided all previews of A Dance With Dragons, because I didn't want to see anything before I had the book in hand. Likewise with movie trailers, if it's a movie I know I will want to see, then I don't want to watch the trailer.

[Anarion]

I like going into stuff not knowing anything about it, but there does have to be something that gets a person to involve themselves in a work in the first place.

Here's my suggestion ordered from lowest to highest spoilers.
1. Just tell a friend "that [book/movie/show/game] is great" and see if they trust your recommendation.
2. Give them the basic genre
3. Give them a piece of art or a trailer of the work that has no spoilers (if it's representative, many series are known for blatant lies on the cover art).
4. Tell them the basic setting in more detail such as specific technology levels, human or non-human characters, perhaps the careers of most of the main characters.
5. Opening plot arc or one really cool scene from the middle of the work.
6. Longer explanation of the plot, leaving just enough of an ending cliffhanger that they need to go watch the series.

If #6 doesn't work, try begging or bribery, but it may be a lost cause.

Also a good one-liner for people is "It's like X, but with Y." For example, I tell people that Lucky Star is "Like Seinfeld, but with Japanese high school girls." It's not exactly perfect, but it usually gets someone interested.

[Darklord Bright]

I like to know the premise and read the blurb and such to make sure it sounds like something I want to suck a little spare time into.

However, I don't think any "Big twist/Reveal/Death Scene" being spoiled for me has ever actually "Spoiled" anything for me. In books, I love reading how it comes to that above what it comes to, and that sort of feeling carries over to other media as well. I don't think something that's good can really be spoiled by prior knowledge - I like being able to enjoy something just as much in the second viewing/reading and beyond as it is, and that's never taken anything away for me. Going in the dark can still be fun, though.

You know what's really fun (to me) though? Knowing [X character] is going to die, but not knowing when or how. Suddenly every fight scene and tense situation has me on edge, wondering if it's going to happen. It's great! :smalltongue:

[Raistlin1040]

O.O Oh mah gawd guys, Haruhi is so awesome.
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=1057094048635&id=f031f112dcd9759ad2d83bd92f0cbf97&url=http%3a%2f%2fipadwallpaper.eu%2fwallpapers%2f2 %2fso-awesome.jpg

[Haruki-kun]

O.O Oh mah gawd guys, Haruhi is so awesome.
*snip*

Your reaction. It pleases me. :smallbiggrin: