“SPOILER EFFECT” IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SPECIFICITY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN SCREEN CULTURE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the "spoiler effect" in the context of the specifics of the development of screen culture in the first decades of the 21st century. Methodology. An analytical method, a method of terminological analysis, was applied, which contributed to clarifying the concept of "spoiler"; a systematic and typological method, thanks to which the spoiler is considered as a phenomenon of modern screen culture with its inherent originality; the method of comparative analysis, the method of generalization, etc. Scientific novelty. The spoiler as a phenomenon of modern screen culture is studied; the effect of a spoiler on a potential consumer of a large-screen format (movie, TV movie, TV series) is conceptualized through the prism of the issue of decreasing/increasing interest in the highlighted narrative (the so-called "spoiler effect"); various formats of spoilers presented in the screen culture of the first decades of the 21st century are considered, in particular, the spoiler as a small screen form; little-known materials related to the development of modern screen culture were introduced into scientific circulation. Conclusions. The study revealed that the "spoiler effect" is a characteristic phenomenon for the modern digital society, which is due to its inherent attitude to information and its perception. Actually, the very appearance of the spoiler is evidence of the approbation of innovative forms of interaction with the viewer, which was formed in modern mass screen culture. Based on previous studies, the key features of spoilers in screen culture can be determined: appearance before the official release of the screen work; the presence of several formats of spoilers (spoilers in the title of a film or television work; spoilers in text communication between users of social networks; spoilers as a small screen form); the ambiguity of determining which information about the screen work is a spoiler (depends on the audience's perception); ambiguity of perception by the potential recipient (may cause a number of positive and negative reactions of the viewer). The influence of the spoiler as a small screen form and potential recipient depends on its type, the corresponding genre, the nature and placement of the spoiler, as well as the individual personality traits of the recipients (including the need for knowledge, etc.).