Realism as a third film practice

The concept of realism may owe much of its success to its vague definition. This article suggests that it can be useful as a term that covers a central, mainstream film practice in European and other national cinemas, located somewhere in between genre films and art films. The concept refers to a se...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Birger Langkjær
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Sammenslutningen af Medieforskere i Danmark (SMID) 2011-08-01
Series:MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://tidsskrift.dk/mediekultur/article/view/4078
Description
Summary:The concept of realism may owe much of its success to its vague definition. This article suggests that it can be useful as a term that covers a central, mainstream film practice in European and other national cinemas, located somewhere in between genre films and art films. The concept refers to a serious kind of film that does not obey classical genre rules, but nevertheless tells its stories in an accessible and often engaging form that, generally speaking, creates a more popular (yet serious) film than the art film. As a film practice, it cuts across well known but often vaguely defined sub-categories, such as social realism and psychological realism. Finally, it is argued that the dichotomy between Hollywood genre films and European art cinema ignores both national variants of basic genres and a tradition of realism as a mainstream film practice.
ISSN:0900-9671
1901-9726