December 28, 2009
Paratragedy
A Really Stupid Term With An Interesting Point
Paratragedy
A Really Stupid Term With An Interesting Point
'Paratragedy' is an annoying term that lit-crit people throw around. Mostly it refers to comedy that makes fun of tragedy...oh, wait, I mean 'comic forms that employ parodic themes to mock the tragic mode of expression'. Because nobody 'makes fun of' anything in Scholar World.
Paratragedy in the pub!
In ancient Greece, Aristophanes made fun of tragedy. A lot. In the same way that Airplane! makes fun of airport disaster movies. Better yet, something like Bluto's speech in Animal House. There's somber music playing in the background, his speech is couched in tragic tones, but his examples are so wrong/crazy that it's funny. The same thing is going on when Amy Adams encourages the downtrodden Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights. And when John Winger rallies the troops in Stripes.
Thing is, there is actual inspiration lurking in these scenes. They make fun of stereotypical dramatic moments, true, but somehow manage to do them one better. If I had to pick a speech to listen to before a really tough gig, I'd go with Susan's speech from Talladega Nights -- demon cobras, primeval fear and all. Or maybe Bluto or Winger. Judging from the comments people have left on YouTube, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Truth and beauty, folks, it's not just about stupid Grecian urns anymore.
I think the reason lit-crit folks had to invent a dumbass theoretical term is because they can't admit how fine the line between comedy and tragedy really is, in art or life. If you don't believe me, I challenge you to tell me what the hell is going on in the last fifteen minutes of Shaun of the Dead. (MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW)
Now Shaun of the Dead is already pretty freaking awesome. It comes from a long line of loving parodies (Young Frankenstein, Galaxy Quest, etc.) and really kicks it up a notch with its totally rocking soundtrack and love of crash-zooms. But the real secret ingredient is an unabashed love of melodrama; rarely have I ever seen a cast with such commitment to character.
But the end...the end is one long, beautiful mood swing. David admits he's always really loved Liz! Ed sacrifices himself nobly! And Shaun has to shoot his mum -- his own, beloved mum -- in the face. It's awful! It's sad! It's no longer funny, exactly. It's really more tragic, sort of.
The ending, of course, restores us to the realm of comedy, showing us a happy Shaun and Liz, and even saving Ed in the woodshed. Still, you can't quite get over what just happened. So what do you call it when comedy swings over the line of parody and becomes, paradoxically, genuinely moving?
If you must choose a lit-friendly term, I'd go with tragicomedy. Unlike 'paratragedy', 'tragicomedy' is not made up by scholars. In fact, it dates from a real comedy, Plautus's Amphitruo, ca. 200 BCE. In a way, that play does the same thing as Shaun of the Dead: it puts its characters through hell (that's the tragedy), but ties the whole thing up with pat ending (that's the comedy).
Really, the only difference between comedy and tragedy is the ending. All the other moments leading up to it can be funny, or sad, or both. Tragicomedy, you see, guarantees that happy ending because it's built right in to the name. Non-happy endings? Just call it tragedy. (I should note, for the record, that I hate the term dramedy because I think it's meaningless).
Maybe if we just admit that life can swing unexpectedly from comic to tragic, in the blink of an eye, we could better deal with the fact that tragedy and comedy are only separated by one measly ending.
