Ever wonder what happens to the character of Jenny in Forrest Gump? Well, if you haven't managed to watch the film at all over the last two decades, you should probably just visit Netflix's Living with Spoilers.
Netflix has launched a website that aims to help you discover whether you enjoy spilling or even hearing spoilers. It'll also serve up a few memorable spoilers in cinema history. A spoiler is is an element of any piece of fiction, including films and TV shows, that reveals key plot elements. It's a common practice mostly limited to the US, apparently. Brits, it seems, don't like to spoil programmes for others.
To discover why people spoil shows, Netflix sought the help of cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken. He studied TV viewers in both the US and UK and found 4 per cent of Brits believe it is alright to spoil programmes for others, while 76 per cent of Americans say spoilers are a fact of life. The study, which looked at more than 5,000 adults over the age of 18, also discovered 58 per cent of Brits admit they feel guilty after spoiling a plot twist, compared to 37 per cent of Americans.
McCracken discovered however that Brits are the masters of "Real-Time Subversive Spoiling", in which they can't help but hint at upcoming plotlines they've already seen. McCracken further identified five spoiler types for Americans: The Clueless Spoiler, The Coded Spoiler, The Impulsive Spoiler, The Power Spoiler, and The Shameless Spoiler. The latter type is probably the most outrageous, as it defines people who aren't at all interested in censoring themselves.
You can check out Netflix's Living with Spolers page to determine your spoiler-type. And if you're not too worried about feeling guilty, you can also browse hand-picked spoliers of film and TV show available on Netflix.