I have always found something so satisfying about a happily-ever-after, no-questions-asked, full-circle ending. These sorts of triumphant and optimistic conclusions made a younger me excited to overcome the odds. Whether it was a rags-to-riches arc, an underdog hero defeating an all-powerful villain or a story where the awkward new girl gets to dance with the popular boy at school, I welcomed all sorts of shiningly clear happy endings.
However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized life doesn’t always give you the closure you expect. Movies and TV shows often leave you wondering about their open endings. People who enter your life make exits that leave you with more questions than you have answers to. Even the visual of a neatly tied bow has various interpretations now. Needless to say, arts — and society as a whole — have a lot more loose and messy endings than I initially thought.
For the Laced-Up B-side, five of our Daily Arts writers were tasked with exploring various resolutions in art, from neatly wrapped up endings to sloppy knots.
Senior Arts Editor Michelle Wu can be reached at michewu@umich.edu.
