There is something to be said for finishing something…in a post-modern society where we have become used to stories that go on and on – sequels to infinitum, remakes, prequels, open endings, cliffhangers, and scenes after the closing credits. Having something that definitively ends – is refreshingly nice.
I have enjoyed and will remember the Series LOST IN SPACE because of this. LOST IN SPACE is the story of a futuristic family who has to help establish a new colony to save humanity…only they are ill prepared because the family is grossly dysfunctional and disconnected. And the series is a delight because the creators of Lost in Space made a very conscious decision to drive the plot and all the character’s arc to a very purposeful conclusion. And a happy one at that! Yes, dammit. I am happy to say a happy conclusion.
We need hope to change. Real hope to rise above our basest impulses and be all we can be.
In LOST IN SPACE, by the end of the series, the narcissistic poser has finally found she has real value and something to contribute to society, the distant mother and father finally see that working together really does bond a family, the invisible middle child and narrator, finds she does have a voice and important role in the family, and the smallest and weakest link – the frightened, and self-doubting Will, has become the towering figure whose bravery and courage not only saves himself but everyone on the planet.
And you might say, but real life isn’t like that. There are no storybook endings. True. But we don’t go to movies to see real life. We go to movies to be inspired. To have something to dream for, to challenge us to rise out of the mud and mire of our daily existence we often accept living in. And these myths, or stories, are important for what they teach us along the way, not so much for their storybook ending. They teach us that courage produces peace and stability, consideration of others leads to understanding and goodwill, kindness turns away wrath.
And having a positive outcome to these character’s journeys after 3 seasons drives that home clearly. Because that IS real life. The CHOICES we make are what chart the course of our lives and often determines whether it will be happy or not. I think we can all use a reminder of that. And that message would not have been clear and impactful if the series had been left open. It was concluding the story that gave it’s message weight.
But there is another value in Ending or Limiting things. You value them more.
We are so used to having so many options today – 300 channels of cable, endless streaming music…strawberries in December and Oranges in the June..that we simply don’t value things anymore.
Having a definitive END to things makes you appreciate them for what they are. When you know that that experience once it’s gone is gone forever. You cherish it more. And while it may be bittersweet, bringing a story to a definitive end leaves a long lasting impression of that film.
I remember as a kid looking forward to Easter and Mother’s Day because they were the two occasions that I could have fresh-squeezed orange juice. But in my 20’s Tropicana had found a way to pasturize fresh-squeezed orange juice and now I could have it every day. And I did for 3 months. Until I got bored with it. See that is the problem with too much of a good thing. It loses it’s specialness. It become commonplace
The same can be said of this obsession we have now of creating franchises out of everything. They lose their specialness, and over time, also their quality. How long will the Marvel universe expand, until like the real universe, it collapses?
But perhaps the greatest benefit of Ending things is what it opens the door to. Like in real life, the End of one thing means the Beginning of something else new. Think my friends, if there wasn’t this predisposition to create never-ending Marvel movies, reruns and remakes which make up the overwhelming majority of the cinema offering today….how many more New and interesting stories there would be to tell.
If we were happy to say “It is finished” with a story line after a certain point…it would open the possibility to NEW STORIES. DIFFERENT stories. And we need more of that. Because, like having all the orange juice I could drink, after a while we just get bored.
Original stories have a very hard time getting made in Hollywood today because the corporate model is maximize earnings through these franchises.
It would be good for the Studio Execs and Content Creators the world over to remember the value in Ending things. Unless we want filmmaking and storytelling to become more like a production line factory…simply cranking out products to the masses be consumed – At every definitive ending lies a definitive beginning for something else. And I think we could use a lot more of that today in modern cinema.