"You don't get to tell me what to do ever again"

A movie that accurately depicts the true form of tragedy is Alan Ball's "American Beauty" (1999). What makes it a great example of classic tragedy is the successful combination of fear and pity. In the film we see the five characteristics of tragedy presented in different elements of the plot. The first characteristic is that the film imitates an action. This imitation in important because it gives viewers the opportunity to relate to the film. The familiarity presented in this piece is the simple suburban life of a seemingly simple family. Next is the arousal of pity and fear, this concept is displayed through Kevin Spacey's character Lester. We pity Lester because of his far to common situation of family trouble. We fear him because of his instability and stressed lifestyle; this fear of him lends to the pity of him also. The commonness of the situation, the same commonness that provides the film with it's pity, gives the film an interesting viewpoint on human nature. "American Beauty" is one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. But through the sadness is a beautiful and romanticized picture. The final characteristic is a beautiful ending. Although I don't want to give it away I can assure you it will surprise and sadden anyone. Conclusively this film is a perfect combination of the three elements that Aristotle marks as defining factors for good tragedy.