Mental Story Whiplash

[deird_lj]

I think I've figured out why it's taken me six months to watch the season finale of House - and I still haven't watched it yet.


I was just talking to flake_sake about spoilers, and why I hate spoilers for some stories, and need them for others.

And I realised that, for the most part, it's because I need to know what kind of story I'm dealing with.
- Pride and Prejudice: a romance. So it'll end (somehow) with Elizabeth and Mr Darcy getting married and living happily ever after.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a heroic superhero story. So (somehow) Buffy is going to beat the bad guys and live happily ever after.
- Romeo and Juliet: a tragedy. So, at the end the two of them will (somehow) be dead, and everyone else will be horribly upset.

Discworld? The central problem will be resolved, DEATH will show up, and the hero will live to fight another day.
Doctor Who? The latest companion will stop companionising, and once again the Doctor will be left alone.
Frasier? There will be an amusing and witty montage at the end, summing up the episode, while Kelsey Grammer sings incomprehensible lyrics over the top.
Agatha Christie? The murderer will be unmasked, Poirot/Miss Marple/Tommy and Tuppence/The Latest Detective will discuss how it happened, and the book's main pairing will waltz off happily into the sunset.


You see, if I know what direction the story's heading in, I can sit back and enjoy the ride. Any more spoilery info will just... well... spoil.

If, on the other hand, I don't have the faintest idea of what kind of story I'm in, I look for all the spoilers I can get - and often go out of my way to find out huge amounts of plot beforehand, just so I can establish what mood I'm supposed to be in.
I don't want to be getting weepy about how tragic and heartbreaking it all is, and then be brought up short when I suddenly notice that, actually, I'm watching a farce.

I watch scary movies because I want to sit there squealing and hiding my eyes. Kinda like a mental rollercoaster ride.
I watch comedies because I feel like a laugh.
I watch NCIS because I'm in the mood for a murder mystery with extra shooting and funny quips.
I watch Dollhouse because I'm feeling highbrow (and because I love Eliza's hair).
I watch Dawson's Creek because I'm not actually as highbrow as I pretend to be.


My least favourite murder mystery novel of all time? Penhallow, by Georgette Heyer. Because it didn't end with a nice neat murderer-gets-arrested-and-everyone-else-sits-around-discussing-it-and-being-British plot resolution. It suddenly turned out to be really tragic and cynical... and I was left with mental whiplash.

I need to know where a story's going - or, at least, what kind of story I'm dealing with.


And that's why I haven't watched the next episode of House yet. Because I watched that penultimate episode, saw where the story was going, went "oh, okay, so we're in that kind of story", and then... I heard the spoilers. And it turned out that, actually, we weren't in that kind of story. That story was an hallucination. And this was a different story altogether.
...mental whiplash.

I'm sure it's probably a great episode. A great story. But I can't quite get myself to watch it yet, because my brain is still trying to turn around, and work out that it was looking in the wrong direction and actually the story's headed over there instead.


It's taken me six months, so far. Hopefully I'll actually manage to watch the episode before the next season finale happens...

Comments

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

This is so, so interesting to me. I feel like I should have some insight or something to share, but all I can say is: thanks for sharing, because I found this post fascinating.

[deird1]

Thanks for reading!

[obiwahn.livejournal.com]

If anything, you should watch the season five finale just so you can watch the season 6 two-hour premiere. It's amazing. The rest of the season so far is not my fave though.

[deird1]

I'm sure I will eventually...

*loves that show*

[lavastar.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. That makes sense. I think I'm not quite as much that way, but somewhat - if that makes sense? Like, I sort of like twistiness, but when I think about it, I like plot twistiness that's inside the boundaries of what I know the story is like...

Interesting, indeed.

[next_to_normal]

Interesting. I'm trying to think whether I'm like that or not, and I'm actually not sure. I do feel some comfort in the predictability of knowing what genre you're in (especially when I'm in a particular mood), but I also like it when a story surprises me sometimes, too. If I seek out spoilers, it's usually an "OMG I can't wait to find out what happens next" kind of thing, rather than to make sure I know what I'm getting into.

Can't help you with House, though, because I only just started season five. And then promptly decided I shouldn't watch anymore House when I'm sick.

[pensnest]

You've managed to pinpoint exactly why I've never wanted to re-read Penhallow- it turns out not to be what I thought it was, which is too unsettling.

Although sometimes, when a story - preferably an episode in a series - manages to do something unexpected, that actually makes for a great episode. But there are certain expectations, and if those are not going to be met, the story has to be very special.

(here via metafandom

Here via metafandom...

[calime]

Just to add that yes, I tend to do/feel that too - with a caveat that I want that kind of 'general label info' for my everyday reading (when I'm stealing a moment and cannot devote too much energy to it, or when I am in a mood for something, in need of cheering up or whatever) - during the Age Before Fanfiction (grin) I used to re-read old favourites for that, or use recs (for a lesser extent) - well, that's what I do even now, but now I also take up new, previously unread stuff if I'm reasonably sure it'll stick to the expected genre, more or less.
When I do have spare energy though, I tend to delight in reading something that has an unexpected twist, that might break the genre or other expectations and shake me - and then I go deliberately seeking out things like that, avoiding spoilers.
I do tend to like to be spoiled for very whiplash-y twists in canon of a source that has become a sort of a 'comfort' thing, or something I've been engaged in for a long time (probably because the emotional energy needed for coping with the whiplash without letting it to ruin things for me, meaning, having enough time and strength to process it properly, is rather a bigger amount than needed for a fic that does the same - I mean, one can always reason one's brain with 'that fic was just another au' *g*). With fanfic, I don't really feel that way anymore, probably because there are so many infinite branchings off a canon nexus within their 'verses that one whiplash is cushioned by that.
If it's a canon I have no longtime previous expectations for, i might even welcome the whiplash, and I would prefer no spoilers.
Well, if I try to summarize this tl;dr, it would probably mean that I prefer 'trodden paths' for everyday errands, but will happily fall through a rabbit hole and run from giant spiders on a Sunday :)

[crevanfox.livejournal.com]

See, I'm the exact opposite. As much as I love the self satisfaction I get from having an Ah ha! moment and discovering the end before it gets told, what I love best of all is a jaw dropping holy crap I so did not see that coming moment.

It's the excitement (for me) that makes TV and books and fanfic continually fascinating.

However, yours is a viewpoint I've never considered, and it's certainly an interesting one. Thanks for sharing this.

[stop-theworld.livejournal.com]

here via metafandom. Don't have much to add, but thanks for the interesting read!

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

Well, without spoiling you further, it's fair to say there were internal hints within the episode that something was not what it seemed, if only something as prosaic (and gross) as "Ewwwwwww Puke Mouth kissing."

The last episode is intense, but well worth watching.

[evelynvaughn01.livejournal.com]

Hi! jl_in_the_lane gave me a link to several of your posts on this topic, after reading one of mine, and I owe her a big hug for it. I love your explanation of why some stories need spoiling more than others--and the term "mental whiplash." This is why I favor genre fiction over "literary" fiction. My horror-story of mental (or should I say emotional?) whiplash was Woody Allen's Purple Rose of Cairo.

I still haven't forgiven him.

Thank you for addressing this!

[deird1]

I'm glad you found it interesting!