Donnie Darko Like Tragedies From Theatre example essay topic

-Theatre as Philosophy- The evolution of theatre is a long and complex story. What once began as a ritual to the ancient gods has since developed into an elaborate examination of mankind. Theatre originated in Ancient Greece as a celebration to the god Dionysius, where amateur actors would dance and sing in order to imitate him. Consequently, as the Greek Empire developed, so did theatre. By the end of the Greek Empire, scripts were being written, theatres were being built, and professional actors were being used.

The tradition of theatre continued to flourish with the rise of the Roman Empire. This age saw great playwrights such as Seneca, Terence, and Plautus become great cultural icons, performing their plays in extravagant arenas known as coliseums. Nevertheless, the Roman Empire fell giving way to the Medieval Period, where governments were weak allowing feudalism to become prevalent. This absence of power led to a period of time where theatre was also absent. As time progressed theatre rose again and became popular throughout the world. Each territory had its own way of showing these plays, which either dealt with mystery of morality.

Eventually the Medieval Period gave way to the Renaissance, whereupon nations developed into their own powers, inciting different styles of theatre. All the aforementioned time periods and some others have formed theatre into what it is today. Whether a play, movie, or even televisions show, they all can be attributed to the ever-evolving entertainment we know as theatre. However, no matter the time or the form of theatre, all have one thing in common. This is that they present a philosophy of life.

In other words, they present a life lesson that intends to question the current way of life. The true challenge is entertaining an audience while teaching them at the same time. Nonetheless, this mesh of thought and pleasure is a must. Any good theatre is thought-provoking and didactic, while still remaining interesting.

Most of these great works, old or new, are presented as either comedies or tragedies, where great storyline's outline the theatrical production's life philosophy. Comedies usually portray a philosophical meaning through the use of satire, while tragic writers utilize a series of unfortunate events to deliver a message. Whether one or the other, it is undoubtedly necessary to add philosophical meaning into a work in order to incite thought within the audience. Some playwrights believe their moral lesson is best presented with a comedic coating. They utilize satire, or comic criticism or society's ideals. Greek playwright Aristophanes was a pioneer in this form of writing.

Aristophanes was a realist and a conservative and thus wanted very little change in society. Therefore, as the educational system of Athens became increasingly esoteric due to minds such as the Sophists, Aristophanes disagreed strongly with this. In his play "The Clouds", Aristophanes attacks his contemporary educational system through comedy. He sees the views of the Sophists as detrimental towards Athenian values, causing Aristophanes to satirize them, and hopefully inciting reform within society.

"The Clouds" presents the teachings of the Sophists as wicked via two ways. First, he attempts to show to the audience that the Sophists views are downright ridiculous. Early on in the play, a student of this "new" teaching explains their latest experiments, where they measured how many flea-feet a flea could jump and whether gnats hummed with their mouths or their asses. As ridiculous as this sounds, Aristophanes goes even further when the student tries to vindicate the experiment. Here he declares that while bent over the students can study geology with their eyes and astronomy with their asses. Aristophanes is attacking the Sophists by making them out to be idiots who are only concerned with teachings of no particular value.

This sets the tone for his other and more powerful argument later on in the play. Strepsiades, an old countryman, enrolls his son Pheidippides into the Sophist school. After being taught by the Sophists, Pheidippides returns home corrupt. He is shown beating his own father, illustrating to the audience that the Sophists have corrupted him to turn on his own father. This exemplifies the whole Sophist school system as a corrupt body and calls for a reform in society. Here, Aristophanes presents his life philosophies by satirizing those he wishes to reform.

His beliefs on wisdom and knowledge become apparent while reading "The Clouds". He tells society to sympathize with the "right" and avoid the "wrong". By writing about it, Aristophanes hopes society will prosper from his lesson. Other comic playwrights have shaped and molded this form of criticism to discuss issues contemporary to them. Nowadays, the form has even made it into movies, where directors can utilize better visual effects to enhance their arguments. Similar to "The Clouds" the great comedies that reach the big screen often have a moral or life philosophy.

Such is true of a movie like "Apocalypse Now", which was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. "Apocalypse Now" is a dark and sinister film that shows the absurdities of war, and attempts to reform society's ideals on war. While many would hesitate to categorize "Apocalypse Now" as a comedy, it fits the mold set forth by Aristophanes. Similarly to the way "The Clouds" accomplishes its goal, "Apocalypse Now" satirizes war by making it appear completely ridiculous.

In it Captain Benjamin Willard, played by Martin Sheen, receives a secret mission to assassinate traitor Colonel Walter Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. Willard's journey through Vietnam to find Kurtz chronicles numerous odd occurrences, including meeting Robert Duvall, who plays Lieutenant Kill gore, a crazed leader more worried about surfing than his life. The film is highly anti-war, satirizing the almost every aspect of war so much that one feels guilty laughing at these occurrences. Francis Ford Coppola portrays his philosophy through these absurdities, showing that war and fighting does more harm than good.

Analogous to Aristophanes, Coppola introduces a life lesson in his work, hoping for possible reform. Tragedies originated before comedies. They offer audiences deeper and more serious storyline's while usually containing a moral or lesson that teaches society. Often times upon the completion of the play the audience would be presented with a moral question to be thought about. The actions of the actors and their respective characters would incite questions of judgment on life. These inquiries were often unanswerable, but rather hoped to show the audience man's flaws.

According to Aristotle, "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles is a perfect example of a tragedy in that the story is logical, the plot evokes thought, and the character, Oedipus, was once an extraordinary man before losing all he had. Moreover, "Oedipus Rex" also contains an underlying philosophy on life. It tells the story of a young and powerful king who comes to find that he has unwillingly killed his father and married his mother. This sinful marriage is also causing a major plague across all of Thebes. Upon learning this haunting truth Oedipus gouges his own eyes out and banishes himself from Thebes.

The story of this great man's loss raises a philosophical question: how much is man really responsible for? Oedipus has no idea of his wrongdoings, showcasing to the audience the effect of a higher power. This shows Sophocles' beliefs of fate and in the gods. By showing Oedipus, this great and mighty man as someone who cannot control his own actions, Sophocles is displaying the power that the gods have. Sophocles is therefore inspiring his audience into contemplating and developing their religious backgrounds in his tragedy "Oedipus Rex". Filmmakers of the twentieth and twenty-first generations have continued the tradition set forth by the tragic playwrights.

All that has been developed for dramas today is a result of the original tragedies and the successive evolution of theatre. Obviously, many stories over the years have gone on tangents from the original tragedies, but they still have evolved from the mold. For instance, many dramatic movies and plays today no longer end tragically similar to the original genre or the protagonist of the story may be troubled instead of great and powerful. However, they still posses the ability to cause the audience to think and philosophize about life. An example of a contemporary tragedy would be the film "Donnie Darko."Donnie Darko", directed by Richard Kelly tells the story of a young man, Donnie, who is being troubled by schizophrenia. Donnie was always a bright student but could never seem to avoid trouble.

As the plot unfolds, Donnie begins to question the importance of God and why he feels so alone. Upon meeting a girl whom he falls in love with, Donnie reaches an epiphany, and realizes that he is no longer alone nor afraid, and is willing to die to save those he loves. Similar to an original tragedy such as "Oedipus Rex", the story's conclusion leaves the audience with something to think about. "Donnie Darko" causes the audience to look at their own lives and question the existence of God. The climax shows to the audience that the director believes in God and that we all do not die alone. This type of thought-provoking is what makes theatre and cinema great.

"Donnie Darko", like tragedies from theatre, combine pleasure with thoughts on life to formulate meaningful entertainment. The evolution of theatre is proof that theatre can entertain while also remain thought-provoking and philosophical. Whether a play or a movie, theatre thrives on how the audience feels and thinks. Therefore, as long as there is and audience, theatre will always remain provocative.