Tragedy is fulfilling because it allows you an emotional release. It calls for emotional investments in the characters and then allows you to weep for their loss. It allows for a socially acceptable cry? Perhaps, sure. For those of us locked in the same day to day schedule, this is healthy, so we’ve been told by doctors and news articles time and time again.
As my cat plays with a set of earphones next to me, I am beginning to wonder if the cheap $20 headphones will have to endure a tragedy of their own.
Truth be told, I consider tragedy now, as Public Enemies is on the television. I consider tragedy after watching reruns of Fullmteal Alchemist and knowing what horrible trials the characters will have to endure. I’ve mentioned two different types of tragedy here—that found fiction and that of history.
Now, I’ll be honest, I’m only halfway watching Public Enemies, and I’ve only seen it once before at the midnight showing last year. I will admit that really the only reason I saw it was because Johnny Depp was in it. (He is most definitely one of my favorite actors, and I intend to see all his films.) And sheesh, I don’t remember any of it except the end. ….it was a really hard movie to sit through at 2:30 in the morning. Political and serious and what not. But really, the end its what’s important to my argument. In regards to historical fiction (Public Enemies, Valkyrie are two I’ve seen recently, perhaps Inglorious Basterds could fall under this headline) the endings can’t be changed. We know going into things like this that John Dillinger will die. Hitler will live, despite so many heroic efforts against him. People will die, despite the characters whose story we are presented with, whose goals we want to be achieved. In Nazi movies its obvious why we want these people to succeed, but what about in the case of gangster films?
Is it because life was just so horrible in the depression that we yearn for the excitement, even if it’s of the criminal sort? John Dillinger was been said to be a real Robin Hood figure. Even still, in Public Enemies these men are criminals who have no problem wielding a gun against the police trying to bring them in for their wrong doings. The director paints the cops in a bad light, obviously so because it is Dillinger’s story and we are supposed to root for him. I’m curious and left wondering, why is it that people do this? Why do we tell stories of criminals as if they’re heroes? I could take a stab at the answer, but seeing as I’ve never produced such a work I don’t know the true answer—seeing things from a new perspective is always interesting and thought provoking (I LOVE 'what ifs'). Robin Hood is a classic and much loved story, too. I personally remember watching the Disney version on VHS more times than I could count in my childhood days.
Anyways, now that we’re rooting for the criminal, the Nazi-hunters, whoever, why do we endure these stories we know are bound to end up in failure? Its very satisfying to think that their efforts will succeed in the end. In the case of the Nazi-hunter, its very affirming to know that efforts were made against such a horrible and very real evil in the history of the world. In the case of John Dillinger, perhaps its because we want to think that we can get away with anything if we put our mind to it. That we can all have the rich and fast lane life if we so choose. Yet once we get to the end we are slapped in the face, told “No, no, no” a dozen times. You cannot do whatever the hell you want. Whether it be criminal acts or attempting to fell a historic beast, no you cannot. Gah, history is so mean!
Well, if we know its bound to fail in history, why do we then turn to tragedy pieces in fiction? If people couldn’t get away with such heroic attempts in real life, why even bother with the books and movies? Here, generally, there is a better chance of things making a turn for the better at the end. If something does incorporate elements of tragedy (ala Fullmetal Alchemist as stated before), it generally aims to have a happy ending. Such is the way of so many films that aim to make the big bucks. Audiences generally like a happy ending. I say I like tragedy, but I really mean the sort of tragedy that can be over come in the end. Deaths avenged, wrongs righted and the like. That sort of fiction is so truly gratifying to me. The heroes of the story are backed into corners, bound and hurt in ways that most of us couldn’t even believe or really perceive. And even after all of that suffering—losing friends, family, faith and their sense of reality, these people still fight. When the stakes tower over them and the cards are stacked against them, they keep moving forward because they believe they can right the wrong.
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Makes me think that there must be real heroes out in the world still, for where would the artists be drawing their inspiration from? Now if only the X-men were real, I'd just be tickled to death.
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