DarqFlare Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 (edited) All I want to know is why. Why are there bad endings in movies or books... Please, let me know. This totally sucks. I hate bad endings. I am a hopeless romantic, and the majority of bad endings in anything that has a story generally involves two people in love not getting to be with each other or something like that. City of Angels? Bad ending. Matrix Revolutions? Horrid, horrid ending. Now I come to the pinnacle of bad endings. There is a book trilogy called His Dark Materials. You may not find that, so I'll name the books in the trilogy: The Golden Compass The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass And the ending totally sucked. Not to give it away or anything, but basically, these two people fall in love with each other, but the only way the world can survive is for them to live apart. I know it sounds strange, but if you read the books you'll discover why. Now that I've ruined the ending... I'm sad. This sucks. Bleh. Edited January 16, 2004 by TCH-Robert Quote
Head Guru Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Agree, where have all the good authors gone to? Quote
DarqFlare Posted January 16, 2004 Author Posted January 16, 2004 Well, it was a good read, but the ending left me feeling empty. Gehhh... [runs off to bed to sleep this icky feeling off] Quote
Boojum Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Agree, where have all the good authors gone to? Well, it was a good read, but the ending left me feeling empty. I'm not trying to be unduly contrary here, but isn't there room for a few unhappy endings in literature? Apparently, Robert, you felt the author's work was good apart from the ending, so I don't think what we have here is a lack of ability or talent. I think it's just differing philosophies as to what constitutes a "good" ending. Also, this may not apply to this specific situation, but some of the best works of literature, historically, have ended unhappily. Can you imagine Shakespeare's tragedies, or any of the horror of Edgar Allan Poe or H.P. Lovecraft, with a happy ending? Would a Crime and Punishment have been bettered by a light and carefree conclusion? Obviously, happy endings are popular; after all, they leave readers feeling uplifted, inspired, and, above all, well, happy. Hollywood is well aware of this; hence all the joyful endings to most popular screenplays. But I also think there is room in the vast edifice of English/American literature for sorrow, for horror, tragedy and death, for the entire complex of what might be called unhappy endings; for, ultimately, what is literature but a mirror of life itself? And since when do all life's endeavors end joyously? Quote
Lianna Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 Boojum, just exactly why do I read a book? To escape, to dream, to find that happy ending that is NOT neccessarily indicative of life! If a book or movie provides an appeal to that "living vicariously through others" or "love is insurmountable" philosophy, then hope is regenerated. My opinion, not challenging your points, just trying to explain my preference of literature and entertainment. Quote
DarqFlare Posted January 16, 2004 Author Posted January 16, 2004 After sleeping on it... I still wish it would have ended in another way. Yes, the books were a really good read. To be completely honest, I consider the writer really, really good. I mean, he wrote well enough for me to be mentally pulling for the protagonists to make it through the story and end up together, then his ending devastated me. So the writing was good, as was the storytelling. See, I'm a hopeless romantic, and such love-does-not-prevail endings are the worst possible endings for a person like me to read. I understand that things do not always end happily, and yes, there "is room" in al of literature for bad endings. The ending wasn't really bad. Basically, the two main characters suffer through endless trials and tribulations throughout the trilogy and finally fall in love with each other once their sufferings are over. They get to spend, pretty much, one day in love, and one night in love (Those of you of age know what I mean). The next day they discover that the world cannot continue if they stay together. Either one of them would die in a few years, or the world would slowly choke off and die itself (It's a fantasy trilogy). And that ending just pains me. He wrote this entire trilogy with the notion of good overcoming evil (In a sense). It was littered with religious meanings, and in the end, the "good" side wins. But that's not the meaning I get from these two being forced to live without each other for the rest of their lives. That's not a triumph. That's a tragedy in victory... Just imagine being able to spend about 24 hours with the one you love, then having to live out the rest of your life knowing that the two of you love each other as much as humanly possible, that each of you is still living, and yet you cannot have contact with each other until you die (In the books, there is a world of the dead, and they said that whoever died first would wait there until the other died). This hits me hard simply because it makes me think of how I would feel if that happened to my fiancee and I. I don't even want to imagine it! Geh. Quote
TCH-Rob Posted January 16, 2004 Posted January 16, 2004 He must be a good author to have gotten you to read all 3 books. I am lucky to read 3 pages of anything. I agree with Lianna, the happy ending is preferable in my escapism. If I want tragedy I have my local news thank you. Quote
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