In the darkness of the movie theater, the protagonist of the movie I was watching accomplished what he had set out to do, and now, the credits are rolling up on the screen. I think every movie I have watched the credits start from the bottom of the screen and move upward to the top. I have never seen or recall them moving from top to bottom. Wonder why that is?
Until the movie ended everyone focused on watching the movie but the instant it ended, and credits started to roll, individuals in the audience reacted in different ways. Some got up immediately wanting to leave the theater as soon as possible, as if saying that now the show is over, I am out of here to the next thing on my list that is waiting to be tended, or conquered, or enjoyed.
Then there are a few others who just stay in their seats. It is not that they are watching the credits intently. More likely, they are just lost in some thoughts, perhaps thinking about something in the movie that did not make sense. How come, they wonder, bad guys in the movie who were so stupid, survived all odds of not getting killed to become grown up adults?
Or perhaps now that the show that occupied their attention has ended, they are just staring vacantly into the empty space not knowing what to do or where to go next.
Sitting in the theater and watching how different people acted differently when curtains came down reminded me that when things come to an end in our life, the feelings that accompany them also come in different flavors.
In the life that we live outside of the theater, endings can result in a sigh of relief, or in a sense of fear brought out by the thoughts of emptiness, or a sense of pride for job well done often accompanied with a feeling of sadness but if the job got botched up then wishing to jump back in time and get another chance to set things right, or a sense of freedom.
Then there might be more feelings that endings can be a catalyst for that either I cannot think right now or have not experienced personally.
Among the endings the ones I find interesting are the ones that bring a sense of fear or the ones that bring a sense of sadness.
For me, an ending that generated the sense of fear, which actually was not an ending per se, was the thought of the end of work life culminating in retirement.
After a long and productive career, the thought of retirement and the prospects of time affluence after that but not knowing what to do with it, resulted in a sense of fear and anxiety. Just the thought and the prospect of the end of my career generated questions like what I am going to do afterwards, what would be my portfolio of activities that would feel engaging, how would I identify myself.
Those questions were terrifying.
That fear that accompanied the thought was an example of finistophobia; an emotion of fear generated by anticipation of an ending that could result in an emptiness afterwards. Finistophobia has the capacity to alter our choices, behavior, actions, and can also influence our well-being.
The other class of endings I find interesting are the ones that bring a feeling of sadness. These are often related to being responsible for a task and successfully bringing it to the finish line. Another feature of such endings is that the day prior to getting to the finish line is preceded by a long preparatory period of understanding various logistical details that are part of the task.
Such endings are tinged with a feeling of sadness to see something that occupied our heart and soul for a long time come to an end.
With such endings there also comes the question: what next? Where do I go next?
Such endings are something like what Clint Eastwood may feel at the end of some of his movies — a job has been done well and the town infested with bad elements has been cleaned up. It is now time for our warrior to ride into the sunset carrying a twinge of sadness in his heart.
The event managers may feel a similar sentiment when after the last of guests have departed, and months of prep work resulted in a flawless execution of every detail, take in the view of an empty room left behind with floors littered with rubbish and wonder what next?
Or perhaps a similar sentiment is also felt by the project manager of the space mission making a successful landing on the surface of Mars and wondering that now that my job is done, what next?
Such endings that are enveloped in a sense of pride and a twinge of sadness should be called Clint Eastwood Endings.
Feelings associated with some other kinds of endings are obvious — endings with a sense of relief when a hurricane has passed over or when a howling episode of Santa Ana wind has ended; endings with a sense of freedom when a brutal regime is overthrown, or a toxic supervisor gets a promotion and is out of your sight.
The movie hall is almost empty now, the lights have slowly come back, and the cleaning crew has started to pick up the trash left behind. Enough reflections about the flavors of endings. It is time for me to also leave.
Ciao.
A fun note: Below is the response from ChatGPT as to why movie credits roll from bottom to top:
Movie credits typically roll from bottom to top for historical and practical reasons. This tradition dates back to the early days of filmmaking, and while there’s no one definitive reason, several factors have contributed to this format:
1. Tradition: When films were first made, they were often displayed on a projection screen. The film reel was mounted on a projector, which would feed the film from the bottom reel to the top reel as it played. This meant that the images, including credits, were naturally oriented to scroll from bottom to top.
2. Readability: Text that scrolls from bottom to top is easier to read for many people, as it mimics the natural eye movement from the bottom of a page or screen upward. It allows viewers to more easily follow the credits as they appear.
3. Posterity: Rolling credits from bottom to top allows for a smooth and continuous display of information, making it easier to capture on film or video. It ensures that no part of the credits is missed as they move up the screen.
4. Convention: Once a convention is established in an industry, it often becomes a standard practice. As the film industry grew and developed, the bottom-to-top scrolling of credits became a convention that filmmakers and audiences alike came to expect.
While rolling credits from bottom to top is the most common practice, there are exceptions. Some films and television shows choose to roll credits in unconventional ways for artistic or stylistic reasons, such as scrolling sideways or even using unique animations.
Ultimately, the direction in which movie credits roll is a matter of convention, readability, and tradition, but it can also be a creative choice by filmmakers to set their work apart.
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