Dramatic Comedy vs Tragedy - Structure

Continuing from my previous post on comedy vs tragedy, a dramatic comedy ends on an emotional high note. Therefore, the second plot point, between acts two and three, is an emotional low note.

Examples:
- The African Queen: At the end of act two, Charlie and Rosie are hopelessly stuck in the mud and waiting to die.
- The Sixth Sense: At the end of act two, Malcolm is ready to give up on Cole, perhaps even have him committed to an institution.
- Star Wars, a New Hope: At the end of act two, Obi Wan dies.

All emotional low points. Another element is that at this low point, the protagonist, despite everything he's done to realize the objective, is as far from his goal as he can possibly be.

Examples:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 5 Finale: Despite everything Buffy has done to defeat Glorie, Dawn is taken, Giles is seriously injured and Buffy is catatonic.
- The Sixth Sense.
- The Shawshank Redemption. At the end of act two (just before the escape), despite everything he's done to be a model prisoner, Andy is more firmly under the warden's heel than when he first entered prison.
- The Silence of the Lambs. At the end of act two (the escape of Hannibal), despite everything she's done, Clarice is even farther away from saving Catherine than when she started.
- The African Queen.

This type of film leads the audience from the emotional darkness of page 90 to the light at page 120.