saw it coming a mile away

[viv]

So, I was wondering...

 

I sorta do this thing where I can tell what's gonna happen in a stroy or movie way before it happens, down to the exact dialogue sometimes. It's funny , kinda weird I guess, but I sorta pride myself on it . That must be why I hate, HATE it when movies or stories have a bad ending. It's like I just wasted the last two hours watching it or reading just to get to some BAD ending, that I never saw coming Maybe I just hate being wrong like that ever happens...

 

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys come up with an idea in your heads as you're reading something and if you are usually right or not. And.... if you aren't right, are you let down? Does it affect the amount of enjoyment you get out of a story when that happens?

[reapersharvest]

I do that a lot when I'm watching TV. Sometimes, if what I'm predicting is a good ending, I'll be glad to be right, and doubly so if an extra twist is thrown in that I did not foresee. However, if I'm wrong and it turns out to be a weak ending, I an somewhat dissapointed.

[redlightfeeling]

ok, I thought about it and here's my take on it.

 

there's different levels to how a story could end. I'll list them

 

first, it ends exactly how you predicted it, no extra twists, all loose ends tied up, and a good posative ending. I think this is kind of a boring way to end things. It gives closure and gives satisfaction, but its not all that entertaining.

 

the second way is it ends how you want it to end, in a positive way, but there is a twist. The author works out another way of getting to the ending that you didn't think of. Its still how you wanted it to end though. Also, there is a sense that things might not stay this way, or not all of the ends are tied up. It gives a little mystery but still satisfaction

 

The third way is when the story ends how you didn't want it to happen, usually negativley. I think with this all the loose ends have to be tied up. BUT the author might leave some hope for the reader that not everything ended negatively. Something positive might come from this. Also there was an recognition and reversal. The characters or plot changed and learned from their experience. (look up Aristotle's theory of tragedy)

 

The last way is that it abruptly ends exactly how you didn't want it to end. Everything took an imediate turn for the worse. It wasn't even a possability that you were thinking. The authors leaves no hope, and no excitement. There is immediate closure. Pretty boring and it usually takes away from the rest of the story.

 

Those are the four different ways that I usually stories end. My favorite is either the second or third one. Usually the second one if its a romantic story. Thats just my opinion though. Hope I helped

[Dio]

So, I was wondering...

 

I sorta do this thing where I can tell what's gonna happen in a stroy or movie way before it happens, down to the exact dialogue sometimes. It's funny , kinda weird I guess, but I sorta pride myself on it . That must be why I hate, HATE it when movies or stories have a bad ending. It's like I just wasted the last two hours watching it or reading just to get to some BAD ending, that I never saw coming Maybe I just hate being wrong like that ever happens...

 

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys come up with an idea in your heads as you're reading something and if you are usually right or not. And.... if you aren't right, are you let down? Does it affect the amount of enjoyment you get out of a story when that happens?

 

I have this horrible horrible habit of thinking about how I would write the story and either I get weirded out when it coincides with what the author wrote, or I get dissappointed or thrilled (depending on how well its written) when my ideas differ.

 

I wish I didn't do it, I've spoiled so many stories that way... Thankfully, I've never been disappointed with any of Comsie's...

[Comicality]

Well, there are some stories that I'm willing to simply let sweep me along to whatever ending they have planned, as long as it's an enjoyable ride and somewhat believeable. So sometimes I don't even think about working out the ending before the story is actually there.

 

However, some stories have storylines that make you WANT to figure out the ending. And that's when those little twists and turns really have a powerful effect on the story. Sometimes it's a good effect, and sometimes it just ruins everything. Like, some movies (Namely "Sixth Sense", "Seven", etc) have that last minute 'Bang' that just leaves you with a lingering feeling of 'wow'! You know? It's not always a happy ending, but it definitely has an impact.

 

Then, there are movies where you pretty much know how things are going to end. "The Matrix" for example. You know it'll have a happy ending, but it's much more fun to just sit back and ride the movie out and not think too far ahead. Because it's an enjoyable ride, and even though the ending is predictably going to be a happy one, I'm satisfied when I get there.

 

Another ending might actually make the story MORE interesting than it was originally. When I first saw Jodie Foster's "Contact", I wasn't really that into it. But at the very end (Spoiler alert!)...her testimony in court kinda gave the whole movie a deeper meaning for me. It was the whole 'science versus religion' idea, and how much alike they really are, that made me look ack at the rest of the story to see how it played out from the very beginning.

 

And...of course...there are some stories where the end is SO predictable, or so bad, or so unbelievable, that it just seems lazy on the part of the person writing it. As much as I LOVE Stephen King's storylines and characters and ideas...he has a bad habit of sometimes just 'wrapping' things up at the last minute. Like...he just reached a certain page count and decided, ok, I'll just finish this off with something and leave it at that. And if the ending sucks, you'd better have one hell of a good story to prevent it from spoiling all that hard work you put into building up to it.

 

Anyway, bottom line, the ending is a huge part of any story. But unless it's a mystery or something that inspires me to guess at the ending, I don't usually try to race the story to get there.

[GofG]

"The Matrix" for example. You know it'll have a happy ending, but it's much more fun to just sit back and ride the movie out and not think too far ahead. Because it's an enjoyable ride, and even though the ending is predictably going to be a happy one, I'm satisfied when I get there.

 

Hate to break it to you, but Neo died. So did Trinity. I can't honestly say that the Vigilence crew lived either.

 

 

 

Anyway, yeah, I can predict books usually. Unless the author purpesly throws in a twist, and not just subconciously, but with the goal specifically being "Tricking a specific person, me." For instance, Harry Potter 6... I knew from the second Dumbledore left the castle that he was gonna die. I also knew that the vanishing cabinet would tie in to the death eaters . So annoying.

[JeffsFort]

Lots of good points. And all of them I agree with. I think a lot of it relies on what your particular taste is

 

I mean some people are happier if they kinda guess where it's going, and they are right, and it was like, the best ending for them.

 

I personally love movies that throw you such a hard curveball at the end that it just "Wow"s you.

 

The Sixth sense was good that way. One of my favs was Butterfly Effect. Amy movie that you can sit and follow for almost two hours and have it leave you wondering "if any of it ever really happened then?" is a definate plus in my book

 

Maybe I just get a thrill out of being surprised... I dunno

Edited February 27, 2006 by JeffsFort

[Comicality]

Indeed. I think it really varies from person to person. Depending on what they're looking to see. Some people want a happy sunshine ending, some are more intrigued by darker endings, and I know of some that would rather have a mysterious 'you have no idea what will happen from here' type of ending that just leaves you without a definite 'punchline' of sorts. ("Welcome To The Dollhouse" or "Ninth Gate" would be good examples) A friend of mine, Alex, personally HATES it when movies or books end with the whole thing being a dream, or has a twist that pretty much erases everything you've taken in so far. But I LOVE being tricked that way. Hehehe! It's an incredible feeling. Like seeing a good magic trick.

 

So I guess it really differs for everybody. But there are few endings that I've really been upset with, except the ones that really captivate you and then try to wrap everything up in five minutes without really giving you the kind of 'pow' you were expecting after the rest of the story.

 

Hehehe, oh, and Neo and Trinity didn't just 'die'. They sacrificed themselves for humanity. So it's still 'technially' a happy ending, even though the hero doesn't make it out alive.

[ACFan]

You know, thats the weird thing - I actually prefer a story surprise me a few times. I try to do that with Memories (Not sure how well, but I try!) That's what intrigues me about GFD so much; no matter what you think MIGHT happen, Com has another trick up his sleeve which nobody expects. Finding a movie that follows that line is getting harder and harder - the major studios have fallen into the cookie-cutter trap with the scripts that they are approving. Like was said on the radio earlier this week --- how many times can you rehash a horror movie where some one reads/watches/opens something and they get killed? Stephen King was a good example up above -- while the content of his stories is definately interseting and usually original, you know that in the end only a couple of people will "survive"; the only real mystery to it is which people it will be.