LITR 4370 TRAGEDY Final Exam Samples 2017 (final exam assignment) Model Answers to Part 3. Complete Research Report

Part 3. Complete Research Report

Kimberly Bronson

Exploring Films with Tragic Elements

As someone who thoroughly enjoys movies that create strong emotional responses, I took an interest in exploring popular films as tragedies. There are two specific movies that I feel have effective tragic elements, although they both identify as tragic romances. Southpaw, directed by Antoine Fuqua and Fury, by David Ayer are two modern and well-made movies that have helped to expand my knowledge of tragedies.

Southpaw is a fictional story about a boxer named Billy who is peaking in his career and is faced with a choice to make in a single moment that affects the rest of his life. In summary, Billy’s long-time wife tries to get him to take it easy and head towards retirement, but Billy is not ready to let go. He finds himself in a verbal altercation with another boxer who is trying to instigate him. In this moment, Billy makes the choice that sparks the tragedy that follows. Instead of peacefully walking away from the altercation with his wife, he lets his anger get the best of him and as a result, a gun goes off. Shockingly, his wife was where the bullet landed, and she dramatically dies a moment later. The sudden loss of his wife and best friend causes Billy to go on a downward, self-destructing spiral which causes him to lose literally everything to his name, including his daughter. The movies has several boxing scenes that are “brutal, bloody confrontations shot with a breathless intensity” (“Movie Review”) that provides the audience with an exciting and effective spectacle which is a trait of a modernized tragedy.

Looking at the things Billy should have done reveals his tragic flaw. As explained in Aristotle’s Poetics, which is posted on the course site, a person’s character is shown in “what kind of things a man chooses or avoids.” Had Billy chosen to avoid this conflict, he would not have lost his wife so suddenly. However, he felt he had to defend his character, so he engaged the boxer. In Billy’s mind, both options were bad ones, much like Agamemnon’s choice to sacrifice his daughter. His “fighting spirit” both in and out of the ring contributes to his downfall (White). While this is a trait that can be a very positive one, it also can be detrimental. Knowing when to walk away from a situation that is no longer healthy or productive is a difficult skill that Billy clearly lacks in.

Southpaw begins with a classic romantic beginning, which is a problem of separation. Billy’s wife is ripped away from him and soon after his daughter is as well. He obviously cannot get his wife back, as much as it pains him, but his daughter is another story. At first he seems as though this is not his highest priority, as he does not manage to do what is necessary to regain custody. He quickly turns around, however, and the film ends with the typical romantic conclusion of transcendence, where Billy gets his daughter back and they live happily ever after. The story ends much like it begins, except for Billy’s wife dying. The action in the movies consists of the physical journey Billy goes through to fulfill his desires. The unique aspect of Southpaw is how Billy seems to be his own antagonist. Much like a tragic narrative, Billy is blurred between “bad” and “good,” whereas a romantic protagonist would be clearly all good. He is both the protagonist and the antagonist, and he has good intentions but makes bad choices.

Fury is a movie that uses strictly dialogue to chronicle the experiences of a unit at war in Nazi Germany during World War II. It is described as “a poignant and tragic interlude” (McCarthy). A young soldier joins a tank crew in the middle of the action. He is unexperienced and a bit squeamish when it comes to war. He slowly warms up during the film but witnesses multiple casualties along the way. His entire crew dies by the end of the movie, and he barely makes it out alive. Sergeant Collier, played by Brad Pitt, is a strong leader and treats his crew well and makes great sacrifices to rescue other crews. He serves as the tragic hero of this narrative, as he is not able to be labeled as either good or bad. His likable but crude character grows on the audience, and as the crew members begin to die one by one, it is both shocking and heart-wrenching.

The conclusion of the film leaves Norman, the new private, as the lone survivor of the crew. While it may seem as though he may be “getting away from it all,” the reality of enlistment is that he will be attached to another crew and will likely find himself in very similar situations. However, those who are not familiar with how the military works may not see this and it is also possible that the film has led us to the ending of the war which would mean that things will in fact get better, giving the audience a romantic ending.

As the movie concludes there is a slight hint that, despite the stench of death, there is a subtle feeling that the enemy is not a unified symbol of evil. As the Germans advance on the (nearly) lifeless tank, a young German soldier opens the top of Fury to see if there were any live soldiers. This moment is perhaps the most notable of the entire movie. Two young soldiers on opposing sides face each other and could easily kill each other if they were any other type of person. However, these two soldiers seem to understand each other as misplaced pawns fighting someone else’s war. As said in an interview with the director, “it’s not their war” and the two men are “cut from the same cloth” (Outlaw). The ending could be classified as romantic in nature considering Norman gets that transcendent feeling of getting away from his morose surroundings thanks to that German soldier. If the war is in fact meant to be over at this point, then the director is implying that both of those soldiers will be removed from this gruesome situation and will both go back to their comforts.

The characters in this movie undoubtedly experience their fair share of tragic events, but they both has characteristics that make them romantic characters. Sergeant Collier is certainly “motivated by desire for fulfillment or a vision of transcendent grace” (course site: Intro to Genres) as a romantic character would be. His intentions are noble in that he hopes to defeat the enemy with his crew intact and unharmed. Norman finds himself separated from what he is comfortable with before he was drafted.

Defining a film as either romantic or tragic can be quite tricky, and this is because no production is made to fit a mold such as these. The learning begins when we analyze the components of productions and compare them to different genres, realizing that a single film can contain multiple different elements of various genres. While the events in Southpaw are certainly tragic, the film still fits closer to a romantic narrative. Fury, in my opinion, is more difficult to categorize. It contains many elements of a classic tragic narrative, but also has major romantic components. It is much less confusing and restricting to conclude that while we can argue a film’s main narrative, it may contain every type.

Works Cited

"Aristotle's Poetics." Coursesite.uhcl.edu - /, coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/xcritsource/classical/AristotlePoetics.htm.

McCarthy, Todd. "'Fury': Film Review | Hollywood Reporter." The Hollywood Reporter, www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/fury-film-review-739746.

          "Movie Review: “Southpaw”." Literary Analysis, literaryanalysis.net/2015/07/27/movie-review-southpaw/.

Outlaw, Kofi. "‘Fury’ Ending Explained by Director David Ayer." Screen Rant, screenrant.com/fury-movie-ending-spoilers-david-ayer-interview/.

Travers, Peter. "'Southpaw' Movie Review." Rolling Stone, <www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/southpaw-20150723>.

          White, Craig. "LITR 4370 Tragedy at University of Houston-Clear Lake." Coursesite.uhcl.edu - /, coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4533/default.htm.