jmpham:  I do believe that Oedipus has captivated the audience throughout centuries.  It's hard to find modern day comparisons to tragedies such as Oedipus the King, because it's not as common and popular as it was back then.  We do find many story lines in modern movies where we find the main character as the tragic hero who creates his own downfall.  We can also compare stories like Hamlet that is widely used in classes that talks about the psychological destruction of the "hero."