Realism and popular cinema

by Julia Hallam, Margaret Marshment, Mark Jancovich (Editor), Eric Schaefer (Editor)

Overview

This groundbreaking study engages with the theoretical aspects of realism - a long neglected area in film studies.. 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.. A series of case studies examines the hybrid styles of realism used in recent filmmaking practice and the politics of these forms in relation to topics such as urban youth and domestic violence (Boyz N the Hood, La Haine, Once Were Warriors, Ladybird, Ladybird, Nil By Mouth), government conspiracies and war (Cry Freedom, JFK, Schindler's List), and serial killers (Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer, Man Bites Dog, Natural Born Killers).. Will give rise to new directions in the theorisation of both popular film and realism in the cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719052514
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	05/25/2000
Series:	Inside Popular Film
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Julia Hallam is Director of English and Communication Studies at Liverpool University. Margaret Marshment is Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Liverpool John Moores University

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1
1. Realism and film: discursive formations
2. Realist moments: representation and reality
3. Realism and genre: realising fantasy
4. The epic of everyday: notes towards a continuum
5. Discerning viewers: cognitive theory and identification
Part Two
6. Revisioning history: realism and politics
7. Space, place and identity: re-viewing social realism
8. Violent appropriations: realising death

Editorial Reviews

Investigates realism for its variety of aesthetic strategies and what is at stake culturally and politically in the processes of aesthetic differentiation. The authors also consider certain moments in the history of film when forms of realism emerged in opposition both to the dominant Hollywood model and to more local, conservative traditions. After establishing the wider parameters of definitions and debates about realism, the second section of the book consists of a series of case studies which demonstrate the range of realist strategies in common use in recent years. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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