After tackling a few more ‘weighty’ issues, I wanted to take a minute and (briefly) discuss something that I’ve had a variety of opinions on over the years – the inclusion of additional “tag” scenes to a movie during or after the credits. While it might seem trivial, and to a degree perhaps it is, one can’t deny the prevalence with which the practice has spread through the movie industry. What are the benefits of this technique? The detriments? Does it matter? Let’s discuss…
Early Usage
One fact worth remembering is the overall usage of credits within the medium of film itself. For the longest time, credits were both considerably shorter (usually only listing department heads) and took place at the beginning of the film. This short length and prominent placement ensured that audiences always saw the names of those responsible for the creation of the film they were about to watch. It also, by a certain way of thinking, means that most early movies consisted entirely of post-credit scenes. This is a bit of a facetious argument, of course, but it does serve the point: the film itself acted as the “reward” for the audiences sitting through the credits.
While some credit (see what I did there?) 1979’s The Muppet Movie with beginning the trend of inserting additional scenes within or after the credits of a film, the first time I ever noticed the practice was in 1988’s The Great Outdoors. With both of these there are two important things to note:
1). They were largely isolated incidents and unrelated to a greater trend in the industry and
2). Both of these films were comedies.
At the time, the notion of anything following the credits was generally regarded as odd and, as such, the subversive nature of comedies lent themselves well to this usage. Also, note that both of the implementations are done not as a true continuations of the film’s storyline, but as throwaway jokes that work well isolated from the rest of the material. Also, each film used the early parts of the credit sequence to showcase a musical/dance number featuring the primary cast, thus priming the audience to believe that the credits may contain more than usual. Despite these examples, the practice never really took off with non-comedic mainstream films. Until…
The MCU
Because of course every article has to go back to Disney. All joking aside, the truth is that the modern incarnation of the post-credits scene was born at the end of 2008’s Iron Man. Marvel’s hinting about the future possibility of a full-blown Avengers film in their very first MCU outing sparked a lot of excitement and discussion. While this was no doubt thanks to the subject matter, it didn’t hurt that said world building came at the hands of Samuel L. Jackson. The fact that such a well-known and beloved actor was indicating his future involvement – and implying Marvel had a long-term plan for something much bigger than a simple movie trilogy – allowed audiences to speculate as to what wonders might await them.
To the best of my knowledge, much like tag scenes of the past, the existence of this “secret scene” was kept just that – secret. Audiences didn’t know to stick around for more plot (never mind sequel setup) and thus many didn’t. People only really found out about this scene from others who had, for one reason or another, remained in the theater until the very end. While it wasn’t an instantaneous cultural phenomenon, after the same thing (an important or teasing scene occurring after the end of the credits) happened in every subsequent Marvel movie, other studios began to take notice.
The Good
Over the course of the next few years, the industry realized that audiences were now being habitualized to remain through the entire credit sequence in the expectation of a “treat” at the end. It also didn’t take long to recognize that said reward might be an easy way to begin setting up hype for a sequel (whether one was actually slated or not). It would allow them to tease the possibility of the future of the franchise without having to actually commit to making it. The thinking went, and still goes, that a mid or post credits scene isn’t properly “part of the movie” and thus audiences wouldn’t necessarily feel cheated if the promises of such a scene never materialized – at least, not in the same way they would if such a hint was included in the runtime proper. While I take strong disagreement with the notion that such sequences are somehow separate from the body of the film, I can at least understand their thinking.
Another large benefit of including a post-credits scene in a film was the same one exploited by the early progenitors – it encouraged the audience, who might not otherwise, to sit through the credits of the film, thus ensuring that those who worked on it were more likely to be recognized (a bit of an irony considering the entirely opposite trend taking place when such films are shown on TV – the credits, squeezed down to a fraction of the screen, scrolling by at the speed of light). These tag scenes acted as the carrot on the end of a stick, willing the viewer to stay in their seat just a bit longer. To their credit, this strategy seems to have worked – more often than not, I see a great many people remain planted in their seats awaiting some form of recompense at the end of the credits (and disappointed when they don’t receive it).
The other plus, from a studio perspective, is that tag scenes allow the audience to feel like they are getting something a little extra for their money – a cherry on top of their Sunday, as it were. The studio writes, budgets, plans, and includes a part of the film and is subsequently praised for going above and beyond – as if they went back, pro bono, and shot another scene out of the goodness of their hearts. This isn’t intended to disparage the ultimate result of enjoying such scenes, but just to point out it is the equivalent of baking a loaf of bread, cutting off the tips before serving, and then bringing them out at the end of the meal as a “topper.” You didn’t really do something extra so much as you altered the timing and placement of a pre-existing piece of the process. Still, for something that adds little to the costs and brings additional joy to the viewer, one can hardly complain.
The Bad
But that doesn’t mean that all tag scenes are created equal or that their existence at all is necessarily positive. For one, just because an audience sits through a film’s credits in anticipation of such a scene does not mean that they actually continue to pay attention the screen during that time. I can’t tell you how often (very) I see others in the theater using this time to talk to each other, check their phones, or do anything other than watch the credits. As a mechanism for getting people to appreciate the hard work of all of the cast and crew necessary to make a film, such scenes likely don’t help as much as one might believe. The old phrase of “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” seems particularly accurate here.
I’m also not sure that I’m a fan of the notion of separating, so fully, a part of the artistic work from the rest of it. Even under the best of circumstances, this separation creates a great loss of narrative momentum – forcing the audience to wait some time to see the rest of the story (or for those at home, let’s be honest, pick up their remotes and fast-forward to the final scene). It feels like the creative equivalent of going to see the Mona Lisa and finding a sticker in the corner saying, “Please turn to back for the rest of the painting.” While the credits are indeed part of a film, they are a very different animal than a plot-driven sequence and pretending otherwise is ridiculous. It also results in any such sequence being lost in both TV viewings of the film as well as any viewings where the viewer is unaware of its existence. While this might be acceptable, depending on the artist, if this is a throwaway gag or joke, using this space for important plot information (as Marvel does) seems – at best – inconvenient and – at worst – downright annoying. Once I am in the mood and mindset of a film, I don’t want to wait and have to attempt to hastily re-enter that state for a sequence that may only last a few seconds. Such usage feels like a half-measure between using the scene in the film and being unwilling to relegate it to the Deleted Scenes on the DVD.
Lastly, while this is a criticism that could certainly be levied at any film who attempts to use its closing minutes to set up a sequel that may never happen, it seems one particularly relevant in today’s modern era: Stop using tag scenes to set up a follow-up that isn’t guaranteed to occur. Nothing ruins a story more than, instead of wrapping up with a satisfying narrative conclusion, attempting to bait the audience for the next go-round. Sure, if the next film is a given, go ahead and tease. But if it’s not, don’t leave your audience with a perpetual case of unsatisfied expectations. While it’s wonderful to look towards the future, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of the present. If you’re not confident enough in existence of a follow-up to include it in the body of the film, perhaps you shouldn’t bother including it at all – or better yet, save it for the opening of the next film.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, much like I stated in my opening paragraph, I have very mixed feelings on the notion of tag scenes. While I too was excited by the ‘larger world’ teased by Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man, I dislike the fact that to this day it still feels both so integral to the plot of the MCU and so separated from the greater whole. I hate watching a film that teases more to come after the credits and is then unable to live up to its own promises, and yet I love getting a glimpse as to where a beloved (potential) franchise might go. I like that this practice encourages patrons to say seated and remain in the theater to acknowledge all of the hard work that went into making the film, but I hate that it usually just results in them ignoring the screen for five minutes until the scene actually starts. I like the finality of a movie being over when it’s over but love the feeling of getting just a bit extra at the end.
Unlike other topics I have covered, I have no definitive conclusions to be reached about this practice. Ultimately, while I do think the pervasiveness of its usage has gone too far, the actual success of any given implementation is dependent on its own individual merits. Like a great many things in life, the answer to the question of tag scenes lies in the fact that it is subjective rather than objective. Each artist must look at their work and decide if that particular tactic is a good fit for the project or not. I tend to feel that the comedic use far outweighs the plot-driven/teasing use in terms of personal enjoyment, but I know that that is only my own opinion. The truth is, no matter how you feel about them, tag/post-credits/mid-credits scenes are a trend that is here to stay. While they may eventually fall out of favor, their impact on an entire generation of films and film-goers cannot be denied and will likely become a defining hallmark of the current era of film. Let’s hope it ages better than 1980’s fashion choices.
Chris
TAG: What? You thought I was going to do a piece on tag scenes and not include one of my own? In my own opinion, the very fact that such scenes are overused in today’s marketplace has led to a diminished success of their stated goals. What once felt like a thrilling game of “will they, won’t they” feels more like a slog of waiting to see if my patience will be rewarded – particularly if you’ve had to go to the restroom for the past 20 minutes. I mean, this trend has become so pervasive that entire apps have been created with the express goal of informing people which films have post-credit scenes and which do not. Can you imagine apps dedicated to other filmmaking techniques? The Dutch Angle app. The Deus Ex Machina app. The Dolly Zoom app.