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Just One More
Dos presentadores de un pódcast sobre televisión discuten si el final en suspense es un truco o un arte.
Una conversación de un pódcast. Fíjate en cómo los dos agudizan, matizan y al final desplazan su postura, y en expresiones como granted, that said y the thing is.
So, today’s question comes from a listener who watched a whole season in one weekend and now feels, in her words, slightly ashamed. Rafael, is the cliffhanger a form of art or a form of control?
Control, obviously. The ending of almost every part is designed so that you cannot stop. That is not telling a story, that is a slot machine with a story attached.
That is a bit hard. Stories have always ended chapters at the most important moment. The serial novels printed in newspapers did exactly the same thing two hundred years ago.
Granted. But a reader in those days had to wait a week for the next part. The waiting was part of the experience. Now the next part starts by itself after five seconds, and the decision to stop is quietly taken away from you.
So your problem is not the cliffhanger but the button.
In part, yes. The thing is, a good cliffhanger asks a question you really care about. A cheap one just cuts the scene in half. And the cheap ones have multiplied since the waiting disappeared.
I would argue the opposite, actually. Because people can watch everything at once, some shows have stopped using cliffhangers at all. The best shows I have seen recently end each part with a quiet moment that makes you want to think, not to click.
And did you stop after that quiet moment?
No. I watched four more.
There you go.
That said, I did not feel controlled. I felt like I was reading a book I could not put down, which is supposed to be a compliment.
Fine. Let us give our listener a verdict, then. If you finish a season and remember what it was about, it was art. If you finish it and only remember that it was late, it was the button.
I can live with that.
Today’s question comes from a listener. She watched a whole season in one weekend, and now she feels a little ashamed. Rafael, is the cliffhanger art or a way to control us?
Control, of course. Almost every part ends so that you cannot stop. That is not telling a story. That is a game machine.
That is a bit hard. Stories have always stopped at the most important moment. Novels in newspapers did the same thing two hundred years ago.
True. But then readers had to wait a week for the next part. Now the next part starts by itself after five seconds. You do not really decide to continue.
So your problem is not the cliffhanger. It is the button.
Partly. A good cliffhanger asks a question you care about. A cheap one just cuts the scene in half. And there are more cheap ones now.
I think the opposite. Some shows do not use cliffhangers at all any more. The best shows I have seen end each part with a quiet moment that makes you think.
And did you stop after that quiet moment?
No. I watched four more.
You see?
But I did not feel controlled. It was like a good book that you cannot stop reading.
All right. Here is our answer, then. If you finish a season and remember what it was about, it was art. If you only remember that it was late, it was the button.
I agree.
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Más frases sobre esto en «El idioma en uso»: Inglés en series y películas
- Palabras
- 315
- Frases
- 31
- Palabras por frase
- 10,2
- en el vocabulario
- 100 %
- nivel medido
- B1
- Tiempo de lectura
- 3 min
Gramática en este texto
Estas formas aparecen en el texto en un uso real. Con «Mostrar gramática», encima del texto, se marcan en color.
is designed so that · is quietly taken away
Pasiva con matiz de intención: is designed so that, is quietly taken away from you. Formar la pasiva →
stopped using
stopped using significa «dejó de usar»; stopped to use significaría «se paró para usar». Verbos con -ing o to →
Granted · That said
Matizar en una conversación: Granted., That said, …; primero se concede y luego se objeta. Oposición y concesión →
Las palabras de C1 en adelante en este texto
No las palabras difíciles en general, sino las de tu nivel: las 1 de las 172 palabras de este texto están en C1 o por encima. Todo lo demás ya lo conoces cuando llegas hasta aquí.
verdict
el veredicto
C1
Las listas de palabras de este texto
Las palabras de este texto están en 32 listas de este sitio; el número de detrás indica cuántas vienen de cada lista. Quien ha leído el texto acaba de necesitar justo estas palabras, y puede repasar exactamente esas.
Preguntas de comprensión
5 preguntas sobre el texto. Con cada respuesta aparece la frase en la que está: una pregunta cuya respuesta no se encuentra en el texto no evalúa nada.
1. ¿Por qué le da un poco de vergüenza a la oyente?
Ivy presenta la pregunta al principio.
Fíjate en «in one weekend».
watched a whole season in one weekend
2. ¿Qué ejemplo histórico menciona Ivy?
Lee la segunda intervención de Ivy.
Fíjate en la palabra «newspapers».
The serial novels printed in newspapers
3. Para Rafael, ¿cuál es la diferencia más importante con el pasado?
Lee la intervención de Rafael con «Granted».
Fíjate en «by itself».
Now the next part starts by itself after five seconds
4. ¿Cómo muestra Rafael que el contraejemplo de Ivy no acaba de funcionar?
Lee la pregunta corta después de la intervención más larga de Ivy.
Fíjate en el verbo «stop».
And did you stop after that quiet moment?
5. ¿A qué conclusión llegan los dos al final?
Lee la última intervención de Rafael.
Fíjate en «remember».
If you finish a season and remember what it was about, it was art