Narrative art: realism vs "unrealism"

[Vanillaphant]

Yes, I know: pretentious thread title lol. Never mind.

If one were to generalize, how do you prefer your films, TV dramas, books, plays etc to be? Realistic and true to life? Or something a bit more escapist, perhaps requiring a greater suspension of disbelief?

I used to think I was more for realism – mainly, I think, cos I was never big on Fantasy or Sci-fi. Or cheesy musicals! lol Now I’m not so sure. I’m beginning to realize I quite like things that are stylized rather than naturalistic. “Gritty” dramas ain’t my bag, I know that!

Anyone?

 

[Tenebrae]

Lol, what a bummer! When I clicked on this, I was expecting an in-depth essay about the delicate intricacies and minutiae in the art of weaving together a solid narrative, or something like this

To answer your question, it depends solely on my expectations. I like realistic dramas but I also like complete surreal dream-like flick (or nightmares), or sci-fi and fantasy. As long as the story is good, or the characters are interesting, or I simply find it entertaining, I'll just go for it. I really couldn't decide between either; two of my favorite films are Casino and The Life of Brian. On one hand a very matter-of-facty crime story partially rooted in a very grim reality, and on the other an absurd, somewhat surreal comedy.

 

[Sodahead]

I'm kinda of with Tenebre on this. Plus, there's some good narrative art that really blurs the lines between realism and surrealism. I watch a ton of Coen Brother Films and they can seamlessly switch between the two concepts within the same film multiple times. I read a lot of Kurt Vonnegut novels where some pretty zany things happen in a real world like context. Perhaps Stranger Things on Netflix would be a more recent and relevant example of a show that does that really well.

What I don't like are characters and stories that lack dimension. Like Walker Texas Ranger (and to a much lesser extent a lot of the old Western flicks) Yeah, I'll pass on the morally uncompromised hero any day for an anti hero that's full of surprises, like say Walter White or Frank Underwood.

 

[Vanillaphant]

Thanks for the replies so far. Fair points.

What I don't like are characters and stories that lack dimension. Like Walker Texas Ranger

Had never heard of this show. Looked it up on Wikipedia. Yeah... He looks like a full-blown squirrel fiddler.

May have to check out this Stranger Things, though!

 

[Simon Mills]

I prefer realistic detail. Realism isn't necessary, but Avatar-level incongruity turns me off.

Example: take, as a given, that there are no flying humans. No human can fly, naturally. With that being said, a 5' hollow-boned individual with a slender build and a pair of bat-like wings with a 30'-ish-foot span has much more realistic detail than Superman, or a dove-winged cherub. It's not more realistic, but the detail measures up with how we might imagine such an individual to look.

"Verisimilitude" is the word, I think. I try to avoid that many syllables at once.

 

[Tenebrae]

Had never heard of this show. Looked it up on Wikipedia. Yeah... He looks like a full-blown squirrel fiddler.

Oh GOD, it's an awful show! The brave men of the Texas Rangers deserved better than that crap

"Verisimilitude" is the word, I think. I try to avoid that many syllables at once.

What a mouthful! At least I learned a new word