Aristotle's Movie Southpaw

What makes a movie good? Could it be the good actors that take part in the movie? Good acting sure can elevate the point of the movie, but good acting does not make a movie good. So what are some things that make up a movie? According to Aristotle, in Aristotle’s Poetic, there are six parts that help put together a tragedy or comparable to now, a movie. Those six parts are plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. From the recent movies that I have watched; one in particular stands out the most for its plot and the way melody is incorporated throughout the movie. The movie name is “Southpaw.” In short, the story is about an undefeated boxing champion, name billy, who spiral out of control after his beloved wife was killed. The
A good plot pair together with well-placed melodies are what will get and secured the audiences’ attention. A plot together with melody placements can make or break a movie. A good plot will intrigue the audience to continue watching the movie to find out what happened. A bad plot will scatter the audiences’ mind; hence making them uninterested and not wanting to finish the movie. “The most important of these parts is the arrangement of the incidents.” (Aristotle’s Poetic.) In this translated quote, “arrangement of the incidents” refers to how plots are laid out. Many events happen in a movie and it is the arraignment of these events that will make out the plot. Having good arraignment of these events will contribute to making a good plot. Melody on the other hand will help enhanced the events that happen. It will add the plot and help the audience connect to the feeling portrayed during that scene. Take for example in the movie “Southpaw,’ the first thing that happened in the movie was the defending fight between Billy and his challenger. Every time he needed motivation during the fight, he would look over at his wife and during that time frame; the ambiance sound will be lower as he connects with his
This event serves as a build-up and also introduces the closeness between Billy and his wife. The ambiance sound was lowered in this particular part to help the movie convey to the audience the closeness between Billy and his wife. There are several more example of placement of rhythm that enhanced this situation. The sound Billy’s heart thumping; the cheering and the chanting of the crowd; the “bop”, “bomp” and “bwak” sound as each punch or kick lands helped intensify the fight scene. Now imagine taking all of that out and the only thing that is left is just visual. It would make the fight seems almost monotonous because the scene lack intensity; the intensity that was provided by the various sounds that helped enhanced that situation. The film continued to show more scenes (incidents) that help convey to the audience about the closeness, the loving and strong connection that Billy has with his wife. Fast-forward