In listing the elements of drama, Aristotle explains that a good plot must contain a beginning, middle and end, and all occurrences in the play must be essential to a central narrative. But what is so important about this structure that it has stayed intact for 1000s of years?
Real life does not have a plot: people die in car accidents for no special reason, good people don't always succeed in their goals, and flawed people don't always fail at their goals in a dramatically convincing way. Much of life is purposeless, dull and grating. So why is such a thoroughly contrived structure appear so captivating? I think it's because the majority of time, people use drama for pure escapism. Even though we often live through painful situations in viewing drama, the suffering is always given special meaning. Perhaps the idea of plot reflects a deeper need for the sustaining the belief that life makes sense, that we're more than biochemical robot.
No comments:
Post a Comment