The Sci Fi Catholic Yak Module
From McLuhan's preface:
"...tragedy portrays loss, separation death...Is, then, tragedy a dramatic form with any relevance to our present and future condition?"
Unless I am gravely mistaken, the world is full of loss, separation, and death, and will be so right to the end of the world. So tragedy is always going to be relevant.
And what exactly does he mean by tragedy being "a means of affording a pleasant nostalgia?"
If all death, loss, and separation ended tomorrow, I wouldn't be sighing for the good old days when everyone you loved could die or be lost forever.
Histor
Exactly, Histor. I won't guess McLuha's personal theology from these few short paragraphs, but his comments sound to me both Universalist and naive. Of course, he's speaking of ultimate loss and separation, but those too are real possibilities.
As for the nostalgia bit, good point--but I think he simply means, let's face it, people enjoy tragedies. As I said, I find them cathartic, and there's also something perversely satisfying about a story where all the major players are dead at the end. That's a narrative that definitely has no loose threads! (Am I the only one who nods in satisfaction at the end of Hamlet?)
But tragedy couldn't be satisfying in these ways if it didn't speak to our condition. So you're right--once the possibility of real tragedy has passed, narrative tragedy will probably have to pass, and I doubt anyone, even I, will miss it.
The most beautiful comedy I know is the Parable of the Lost Coin, and it has the real possibility of turning into a tragedy. Maybe you non-dragons can't understand how truly frightening and horrific it is to learn one of your coins is missing, but I think this is the most emotionally powerful story in scripture.
Snuffles, from now on I will call you Father Lucero.
Are you accusing me of impersonating a clergyman?
No. I'm accusing you of impersonating a character from "Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather.
Ah yes, Death Comes for the Archbishop. I'm sure Snuffles hasn't read it, as it isn't from Japan or a children's novel.
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