Realism as a third film practice

Authors

  • Birger Langkjær Department of Media, Cognition and Communication at University of Copenhagen

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/mediekultur.v27i51.4078

Keywords:

Realism, Genre, European Cinema

Abstract

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.

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Published

2011-08-23

How to Cite

Langkjær, B. (2011). Realism as a third film practice. MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, 27(51), 15 p. https://doi.org/10.7146/mediekultur.v27i51.4078