In any situation there may exist more than one perspective. Comic framing and tragic framing are terms that seek to classify seemingly oppositional perspectives of a singular situation/ event/ person etc. In comic framing the perspective taken is typically a more optimistic view while tragic framing is a more damning perspective.
There is one situation example that immediately comes to mind, this is the case of State vs. Zimmerman, the George Zimmerman trial. Many of us undoubtedly are fairly knowledgeable about this particular court case so in the interest of time I will not go heavily into the actual case itself, but rather take a look at the ways comic or tragic framing may have showed Zimmerman.
Tragic framing certainly depicts a disturbed man who followed an unarmed kid at night and then ultimately ended up murdering him in cold blood. Comic framing however would take Zimmerman and say here is a guy who saw suspicious behavior from a hooded teenager at night and thought he should see what was going on, when he was suddenly attacked and Zimmerman had no choice but to shoot his attacker. These were certainly the two foundational arguments made at the trial in far more words of course.
There is no doubt in my mind that Zimmerman should have been found guilty of second degree murder in the shooting and killing of unarmed Trayvon Martin, but comic framing won this particular case. Zimmerman was found not guilty against what definitely seemed to be the publics opinion causing uproar. In the end comic framing outdid tragic framing
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