Creon, in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, declares to Oedipus that his "power ends; none of [his] power follows [him] through life." (Fagles, 652:1677-8) This edict communicates the transience of mortal abilities, and the hubris of those mortals. In the 2008 film Hamlet 2, Dana Marschz perceives himself as an excellent writer producing the work that will "save Drama" (Hamlet 2, 00:27:58-28:00), which the community loathes for its mediocrity rather than celebrates for its merits. Comparison of the two works demonstrates an erosion of the tragic genre in modern works. Through Aristotle's three elements of plot in the Poetics; anagnorisis, hamartia, and the scene of suffering; the similarities and differences of the works becomes clear. Analysis of these two works leads to a better understanding of modern values and reasons for this cultural decline.
Hamlet 2 as a film tells of Dana Marschz, a failed actor turned High School drama teacher, who works for gas money solely for his love of the craft (Hamlet 2, 1:02:35-40). Due to lack of worthwhile production, the school opts to cancel the drama program. Dana writes a new play, Hamlet 2, to 'save Drama', which a critic identifies as "taking the tragedy out of the tragedy." (Hamlet 2, 00:40:15-20) Hamlet 2 causes much controversy prompting a cease-and-desist order from the school board and rioting protestors outside the performing hall. Despite the film's end on a positive note, that Dana's play has made it to Broadway, he is a sterile, divorced man, fired from his teaching position, with the play's popularity due only to its controversy and with aid of the ACLU. Oedipus the King follows a suspiciously similar plot in the areas of recognition, reversal, and scenes of suffering.
Aristotl...
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...ure of the play within the film, displays most every Aristotelian concept of a tragedy and unfolds in parallel to Oedipus the King but with modern values replacing those of Sophocles. This shift of values communicates the transience of culture, and the related impact on aesthetics. A civilizations' culture is reflective of its moral calibre and a shift in values as above described may not be a good thing.
Works Cited
Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. S. H. Butcher. Project Gutenberg. Nov 1, 1999. Web. 3 Dec. 2011. ‹http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1974/1974-h/1974-h.htm›
Fagles, Robert, trans. “Oedipus the King." Ed. Sarah N. Lawall. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 612-52. Print.
Hamlet 2. Dir. Andrew Fleming. Perf. Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. Focus Features, 2008. DVD.