The Beauty of Tragedy

(originally posted on my Facebook Monday, October 20. For more info, see my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=626214115&ref=profile)

There has been a lot of talk about "W." lately, especially about the fact that it was created and released during George W. Bush's presidency. Everybody wonders why Oliver Stone did it, especially because the president is still in office.

I think I might have an answer, although it's not one that's mentioned with Mr. Stone's movie: The story of Bush is truly the story of the rise, followed by tragedy of the fall of man. From what I heard, I don't think that Stone caught it correctly. Creating a tragedy that people believe in is something that is terribly hard, especially in modern moviegoing. Most people come to the movies to see happy movies.

But when a tragedy is beautifully told on screen, it captures our souls. It will haunt our dreams. And above all, it will never let go of us peacefully.

In the recent AFI "100 Years, 100 movies," the top 10 list consisted of a number of tragedies. "Citizen Kane," in the fall of Charles Foster Kane told in dramatic and revolutionary cinematography; "The Godfather," whose entire story was the story of the rise and fall of Michael Corleone; and "Casablanca," where the lovers are to never be together forever.

The list continues with a variety of tragedies and dark stories: "Chinatown," "The Graduate," "Sunset Boulevard," "Raging Bull," "Apocalypse Now," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Bonnie and Clyde"... well, you get the idea. These don't really have happy endings. And in all honesty, they're not supposed to. And that's part of the reason why they truly are affecting pictures and have stood the test of time.

I believe there are several types of tragedy. The first is the purest tragedy, when we see the highest of the high fall and lose themselves. Such are the stories of Michael Corleone and Charles Foster Kane. I would also put under this category a variety of the Shakespearean tragedy, where almost everyone dies. "Reservoir Dogs" is the purest example we have of this type of tragedy, where the characters suffer betrayal, deception, and eventually all fall (except for one) as they make the same mistake.

The second is the tragic love story. "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "Titanic," "Eternal Sunshine," "West Side Story," "Brokeback Mountain" -- heck, even "Roman Holiday," despite the fact it was supposed to be a romantic comedy, was a tragic love story. The tragedy is in the sense that the two people can never be together, whether it is death, pain or duty that separates them. Some of the greatest love stories of our time are shaped around these stories. Hell, even the movie "The Terminator" has a tragic love story in it! But they move us, because in our lives there is always that one person who we loved, even just for a short time, who will linger with us forever. And we wonder constantly. And yet somehow, we find the strength to move on. Which brings me to the third type of tragedy, which is still my favorite.

The last is the tragedy where there is a fall, but despite the fall, there is some form of redemption there. A lot of the love tragedies have these endings. There is death, there is separation and a broken feeling. But the truth is that there is a wonderful redemption for the character who we see. The best redemption I see for a tragedy is in "Titanic," where it shows that despite the loss of love, she has continued on to do some incredible things in her life. She has stayed independent and free. Although we experience tragedy, we still see the hope that lies within. Another is "Rebel Without a Cause," where despite the shootout, James Dean has finally found some stability in his life -- a friend.

We do have some real-life examples of these three tragedies. I can think of Heath Ledger, who despite his death, gave one of his last performances in a beautiful fashion and triumphed as an artist. The fall of John McCain, as a man of reason and sound judgment willing to sell his soul and fall in order to get what he wants (I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat. You KNOW this isn't the John McCain who we have come to know) is a pure example of tragedy. Any love story where people are divided by circumstances beyond their control in our lives.

But the beauty of these tragedies is that they teach us about ourselves: About the decency of man and what we become when we are fueled by greed; the heart of lovers who are separated and are pining, yet somehow surviving; and the falls we have beyond our control, and yet we soldier on and find a way to lift ourselves from that horrible place. We also feel them because they are a part of our experience, and what we have seen.

Despite the darkness, even of the movie theater we may occupy while watching these films, we can still find the light. And that, I believe, makes all the difference.