To dive into a text is to escape from society into another world. Being witness to another’s life allows the audience to live multiple lives. A successful Aristotelian tragedy manipulates this involvement in order to force society to reflect and evolve around others mistakes and flaws. The directors of the texts King Lear, Citizen Kane, The Wrestler and Black Swan use the Tragic hero plot arc to communicate a peripeteia as all the Tragic Heros lose something due to a hamartia. By becoming involved in these texts we pity the loss of the protagonists and want to protect them from themselves which, via catharsis, prompts us to reflect and recognize our own flaws. Ultimately, a Tragedy causes the audience to improve their own lives thus making society a better place.
Shakespeare’s conventional use of Aristotelian tragic hero plot arc allows for the ultimate experience of a fall from grace for the audience of King Lear. A tragedy, in order to successfully have repercussions within the audience, must fully captivate and trap the audience within the text. Via reflection and contemplation, Shakespeare seizes the audience with “come not between the dragon and his wrath” Kings Lear’s speech full of self pride displays that Lear sees himself as the almighty powerful being but with his barbaric reaction to an undesired situation, we see the internal rage and loss of control the metaphoric beast has. “The bow is bent and drawn, make from the shaft” Shows the bow loaded with Lear’s nemesis, powered by his egotistical flaw and hamartia of hubris, is ready to fire. However, we are empathetic for Lear as we are witness to his expulsion from the kingdom and through dramatic irony, recognize the abandonment by his family. Furthermore, via torment of his emotion we witness the degrading of his sanity until he is referred to as a “shealed peascod” which shows his uselessness and how he has been emptied of all value. Lear’s demise is induced by a broken heart which through pity, inspires a catharsis that reminds us to remain humble, and protect and hold on to those we love. We are encouraged to be grateful of our physical condition and wealth because Lear’s loses act as a reminder than someone always has it worse.
In the film The Wrestler by Darren Aronofsky, we can draw parallels from King Lear as they both share a physical loss of power within their separate journeys of peripeteia. Randy Ramzinski, a wrestler, rose to fame in the 80’s but never lets go of his desire to be an entertainer. Right from the start of the film Aronofsky confronts the audience with Randy’s physical fall from grace. A timeline of newspapers shows his extensive wrestling career and through the scenes prolonged occurrence, we recognize that he has made a vast impact on the sport and has dedicated his life to wrestling. In the very next scene, 20 years after his rise to fame, a wide shot reveals the source of a sickening cough to be Randy the Ram himself. Dressed in his wrestling costume, he coughs and sputters in the corner of what looks to be a children’s playroom. The lack of music, gloomy lighting, set and the impoverished Wrestler help us connect the dots and understand his desperate struggle to continue wrestling. Aronofsky’s technique of manipulating the conventional arc of a tragedy allows for a greater understanding of the protagonists peripeteia and hamartia. The technique also dramatically increases the connection between the audience and Randy as we see more of his suffering throughout the duration of the text. Furthermore supporting Randy’s desperation, while living in a caravan, he constantly corrects people calling him “Mr Ramazinski” with “Its Randy” Bringing his Job into reality, while living a life fixated to a fading profession he loses the relationships with the people that matter by attempting to sustain his reputation. The empathy we uphold for Randy is induced by his perpetual physical downfall. Although The Wrestler and King Lear share similar peripeteias, Randy maintains his mental condition but still allows his addiction to fuel his demise. We can reflect upon this with sport. A football or rugby player may be getting frequently injured or concussed but with the guilt of letting the coaches and the team down, battle through the pain and better judgment, making our own situation drastically worse.
Citizen Kane, an American Tragedy by Orson Welles shares a similar technique of manipulation with The Wrestler. We witness Kane’s demise right at the beginning of the film and also unknowingly witness the spark of his peripeteia being “rosebud” around the same time. Once again, this technique allows the director to target the audience with a spear of captivation right from the onset. We are curious to what the word meant and Kane’s early likeability allows for an enhanced feeling of empathy as Welles uncovers the true meaning of his demise. While Kane indulges in riches and popularity, he resists our instant prejudice for a man born into wealth with “I’ve always gagged on a silver spoon” which shows his open mind as he displays his clear view on society as an equal rather than inferiors. By understanding Kane’s overgrown physical wealth, in contrast we recognize his deprivation of the true meaning of life. The removal from his family at a very young age reveals itself to be the connection between his wealth and demise. This reminds us of the importance of family and friends and the quote “we become the company we keep” Kane ultimately didn’t have any company therefore becomes nothing.
The Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky shares a peripeteia parallel to that of Citizen Kane. The manipulation of the Tragic Hero plot arc follows the protagonist Ninas rise to society’s crafted idea of perfection and Aronofsky’s use of language techniques reveals this female image to be toxic. Firstly, Aronofsky portrays Nina to be mundane yet relatable with various camera shots and a lack of music and dialogue during her normal breakfast routine. This connection with Nina allows for her rise to perfection to be obvious and uncomfortable as it allows us to see ourselves in her toxic position. Throughout the film we are confronted with Ninas experiences almost via first person. This technique is similar to that of The Wrestler in scenes such as Nina confronted with the question “which of you can embody both swans” A close a shot draws in in and focuses our attention to Nina’s profound reaction. In the moment of her eventual demise where she sacrifices her life to be able to say “it was perfect” about her dance, we reminisce on scenes such as the question and recognize that ambition drives people mad. The technique of her rise to perfection for the cost of losing friends family and sanity shows the importance of relationships and family over power just like Citizen Kane. Nina is the most relevant to modern society because it is easy to get caught up in what others think about you with the use of social media platforms rather than what those around you see.
The significant connection between the text King lear, The Wrestler , Citizen Kane and The Black Swan is that they all carry the underlying idea of the importance of relationships and positive connections with other people. Were all human, where all equal so living in a society where people are judged by their physical wealth is toxic and degrading for society. King Lear and The Wrestler share a physical loss of power due to a failure of recognizing their flaws. Citizen Kane and The Black Swan highlight how with a rise in power comes a growth in arrogance. They all use an arc of the Aristotelian tragic hero but all use their own manipulations of the traditional arc. However the connections are significant because they all aim to educate society and make it a better place.
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