Tragedy for Dummies
I was talking to someone about tragedy the other day -- tragedy in the classical and/or Shakespearean sense, not as in its modern-useage sense. We came to the conclusions that:
a) artistically, esp. in film and in literature, tragedy is far more moving and impacting than comedy or drama is, and
b) it's not so popular with modern audience (esp. film-goers) because we'd rather not think/feel too deeply; we just want to feel good -- hence, the "feel-good" movie.
We also defined tragedy as the story of someone doing something dumb and the devestating consequences it has. I guess, from a classical point of view, you'd add "when the stars line up just so" or, since we're doing Tragedy for Dummies, when fate lines up all its ducks in a row.
We went on to talk about modern dystopic stories in which the protagonist lives to win the day with the leading lady on his arm knowing that tomorrow will see the dawning of a new utopia. Contrast this to classic dystopias like 1984 and Brave New World where things don't end so well for the protagonists. Although the former is more depressing, doesn't it force you to take the dystopic issues more seriously giving the "tragic" outcome as opposed to the former which makes you think... well, not much and shallowly?
There you have it: tragedy for dummies.
a) artistically, esp. in film and in literature, tragedy is far more moving and impacting than comedy or drama is, and
b) it's not so popular with modern audience (esp. film-goers) because we'd rather not think/feel too deeply; we just want to feel good -- hence, the "feel-good" movie.
We also defined tragedy as the story of someone doing something dumb and the devestating consequences it has. I guess, from a classical point of view, you'd add "when the stars line up just so" or, since we're doing Tragedy for Dummies, when fate lines up all its ducks in a row.
We went on to talk about modern dystopic stories in which the protagonist lives to win the day with the leading lady on his arm knowing that tomorrow will see the dawning of a new utopia. Contrast this to classic dystopias like 1984 and Brave New World where things don't end so well for the protagonists. Although the former is more depressing, doesn't it force you to take the dystopic issues more seriously giving the "tragic" outcome as opposed to the former which makes you think... well, not much and shallowly?
There you have it: tragedy for dummies.
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