In both opinions of Aristotle's view of carthesis, whether the religious process of purification or as a therapeutic effect I can find no personal relation to his concept. Although some movie or theatre productions may have evoked feelings of pity or fear it has in no way carried into my own life.
If I see an action movie where people are fighting each other this does not purify my craving for violence and satisfy this urge. Neither do these actions have a therapeutic affect and leave me feeling satisfied. If I have the desire to beat someone up watching a movie where people beat each other up is not going to weaken or reduce this desire it might actually accentuate it.
Aristotle's view on achieving the most pity or fear from the audience through the character's tragic flaw rather from just going from prosperity to depravity is evident. Although I do not agree that carthesis necessarily affects me the characters that draw me in are ones I can relate to. Take "Scream 1", the main character has the tragic flaw of always trusting the wrong person. First trusting that her mother's killer is in jail, and then trusting her boyfriend who in the end is one of the killers. Through the entire movie the audience is on an emotional roller coaster with the character trusting the same people, and this allows me to evoke pity on her because at one point I trusted the people she trusted. In the end, watching all those people being killed is not purification or therapeutic for me. .
