The worst kind of open loop

This weekend I watched a movie with a TERRIBLE ending.

I’m not talking about like “oh the couple I loved didn’t end up together so boo ☹️”

No, that would have been a treat compared to this. I’ve seen a few hot takes trying to explain why it actually wasn’t that bad, but they’re gonna have to work harder if they want to prove anything to me.

I don’t even really want to mention the title because I can’t have someone misunderstanding and taking this as a recommendation. I love you too much. It has been a hot topic on Twitter recently and it is the #1 movie on a very popular streaming source if you want to investigate.

2 hours of my life that I will never get back. But it did lead me to write this to you. So was it really a waste? 👀

(See why I think watching TV is actually a content creator’s BFF, instead of the black hole time suck you think it is)

If you’re thinking, “wow you’re so dramatic what could be THAT bad?”

I AM dramatic AND the colossal flop all boils down to this one principle:

Open loops are awesome…… when you close them.

The technicalities of an open loop can vary based on where they’re being used (teaching, conversations, storytelling, etc), but the general consensus is this:

An open loop is exactly what sounds like. The circle that never reaches its end. A gap. Incomplete.

This huge thing happened! And then another massive thing happened! And I’m thinking okay that’s weird, I can’t wait to find out what the heck is going on! I know there’s significance to that I’m sure we’ll learn soon!… Only you never do.

I was doing some research on the importance of closing a loop (besides to not drive your audience insane) and I found something better.

And it was not from TikTok. But it WAS from a peer reviewed Orthodontics study. Never let them know your next move is the Salesgirl Social motto, apparently.

In orthodontics, CLOSING LOOPS (noun) apply force to teeth and cause them to move in a DESIRED DIRECTION.

You don’t need braces to know that’s a WORD. For us it means this:

Loops left open can end up anywhere.

Loops that you close, end where you mean for them to.

If you teach, if you coach, if you write anything and especially movies I am watching: close loops for your audience.

If you don’t, they will. Typically by making their own guesses and assumptions and that circle DOES close but boy it’s janky and not what you meant to happen.

Xo, The Salesgirls