Cliffhanger (fine open)

See also: Cliffhanger

The term cliffhanger is an anglophone expression which indicates, in the terminology of works of Fiction, a type of open end aiming at creating a fort Suspense. It will be said that there is cliffhanger when an account is completed before its outcome, at a crucial of intrigue, even if it means point to leave a character in a difficult situation, even perilous. This type of end, very frequent in the Serial S, often implies that the account in question has a continuation (moreover, one sees sometimes the words “to follow”).

The word cliffhanger means “anybody suspended with a Falaise”, which is an example emblematic of this kind of situation: the character is taken with the trap, it is in danger: will it be left there? You will know it in the next episode!

In the Serial S (which they are television serials, radiophonic or of serialized stories), the main aim of the cliffhanger is of fidéliser the televiewer, the listener or the reader, to give him desire for knowing the continuation of the account; all in all, to secure that it will not miss the following episode (this would be only to know how the character will face the difficult situation where it is). It is not rare that a season of a series or a television serial is completed by a cliffhanger, in order to encourage the televiewer to look at least the beginning of the following season ( Lost, the missings , Desperate Housewives , Friends …).

In the American televised series, a cliffhanger punctuates a episode every 12 minutes. It is indeed, on the public channels, the frequency of the advertizing breaks: here, the cliffhanger is used to give to the televiewer the desire for looking at the remainder of the episode and to make it have patience during the page of publicity. To note however that even the series created by HBO, a paying chain without advertizing break, comprise three or four cliffhangers by 52 minutes episode.

This process is current in the Romance , to start with the serialized stories, but relates to also contemporary novels. For example, Da Vinci Code comprises many chapters being completed by a cliffhanger, in order to hold the reader in breath.

Certain films also employ this process, for example the Serial S, very popular in first half of the twentieth century ( Mysteries of New York ), or the contemporary cinematographic sagas ( Matrix Reloaded , second shutter of the trilogy Matrix , is completed by a cliffhanger). Certain films end in a cliffhanger without there being continuation ( Visitors 2 ), which can disappoint and frustrate the spectator.

Examples of cliffhangers

the large malicious one has a hero at his mercy and prepares to eliminate it once and for all, while making use of a diabolic method. This type of end is often used in the televised series '' Batman '', in a voluntarily caricatural way.
a man is condemned to died for a crime which it did not commit. The hour of its execution approaches with great steps. One makes it sit down on the electric chair; it has nothing any more but a few minutes to live, unless an unforeseen event involves the cancellation of the execution thus… is completed the episode.
the detective has just discovered the identity of the killer: “I know it now! After many deductions, I can say that which assassinated the colonel is…”
young adventurers has just discovered a secret trunk. They open it, push a cry of surprised…
In a sentimental serial, the friend of the hero tells him “Our love is impossible, Jean! I must reveal you the truth on my subject, in fact…”
If the cliffhangers relate to especially the dramatic televised series, they are also present in the comic series. Thus, the majority of the seasons of Friends are completed by a cliffhanger. For example, at the end of the seventh season, the televiewer learns that one of the principal female characters is pregnant; however, this woman does not know yet that it is pregnant, which brings the following questions: " How will it react when it will learn it? " , " Who is the father of the child? " , and the answer: " You will know it by looking at the eighth season! ".

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