Can a “thriller” heal? Only if there is love.

In the New Yorker there was a piece about: do thrillers overuse trauma too often, too easily? The thesis is that it was not only exploitative but only reinforced the importance of trauma, reinforcing its importance.

True. Yet, it does not have to be this way at all. Can all the disruption around us also disrupt a genre? Can such a popular genre, with all the familiar melodies and themes, horrifying and comforting all at once, actually speak as much to love as trauma?

Yes. The ancient face of Greek drama, going back 2,500 years or so required it: drama has to have both Ethos and Pathos. The duality of sadness and compassion is a true balance; in many ways, as over-the-top as the Greeks were in their dramas, they figured it out:

Ethos + Pathos = Human.

Fallible, misbegotten, injured, yet brave, striving, standing up against the impossible, and always seeking love and redemption, the ultimate form of compassion.

So how does one actually make that work today?

#aesoneill