This groundbreaking study engages with the theoretical aspects of realism--a long neglected area in film studies. It contributes to an understanding of how popular films use realist forms to address contentious social and political issues such as social exclusion, war, and violence. Focusing on key moments in film history the authors examine the uses of realism in national cinemas as a context for their in-depth analysis of contemporary popular films.
The book presents cinematic case studies in political realism versus political idealism, demonstrating methods of viewing popular cinema as political theory. The book appreciates political myth-making in popular genres as especially practical and accessible theorizing about politics.
The 2002 theme of 'Northern Lights' is dedicated to the representation of reality in film, TV and new media -- a question of new importance in modern film and media, where a new wave of realism has dominated cinema and reality -- TV became a mass phenomena on both TV and the internet. Eleven articles by Danish, British, and American film and media researchers focus on two sub-themes: 'Film and Realism' deals theoretically with film realism and analyses classic films and modern Danish Dogma films; 'Documentary Forms, Reality TV and New Media' treats new forms of non-fiction film, TV and on the internet in a both theoretical and historical perspective.
Realism and the Cinema
by 1980
Author: British Film Institute
Publisher: London : Routledge & K. Paul : British Film Institute
This reader brings together the principal arguments in the long-standing and often tortuous debate about realism in the cinema, linking them with a critical commentary which elucidates their dramatic and political character.
