There should be a name for an unclear ending. 

By unclear, I’m not talking about when the plot concludes ambiguously (even though that’s probably also true for the stories I’m referencing here). 

Rather, I’m referring to the phenomenon of movies and live productions that finish with a prolonged blackout during which the audience can’t decide whether or not it’s actually over, the result of an overall approach that’s committed to destabilizing and unmooring conventional beats and rhythms.

A current example: The Kick Inside at HERE.

The reverse is obviously way more common: when audiences gather their belongings in the final moments, or clap as soon as darkness descends, because everything has been wrapped up in tidy bows, including a last note and/or image that screams LA FIN. 

A current example: Fish at WP Theater. 

Speaking of which, the latter type of art has a habit of wrapping-up with a character asking some variant of, “What now?” or “What’s next?” or “Where do we go from here?”

Are humans IRL likely to verbalize such a sentiment in the aftermath of the sort of seismic events that narratives chronicle? 

Sure. 

But a realistic cliche can still sound like a diminished-returns device, evidence of an intent to prioritize reducible resolutions in the name of legibility.