Alternative Realities

Alternative Realities explores how the distinctions between cinematic fantasy and filmic realism are more porous than we might think by examining the emotional realism of superhero movies like Wonder Woman, the trickery of virtual reality movies like The Matrix, and the ironic gestures of mockumentaries like This is Spinal Tap.

List of contents

Introduction   

1          Realism and the Imagination

2          Fantasy and Reality

3          Subjective Realities

4          Ruptured Realities

5          Documentary: Art of the Real?

Acknowledgements  

Further Reading 

Works Cited

Index

 

About the author

CARL PLANTINGA is the Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair of Communication at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Among his many books are Rhetoric and Representation in Non-Fiction Film, Moving Viewers: American Film and the Spectator’s Experience, and Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement.
 

Summary

Explores the intersection between movies, reality, and fantasy; between subjective and objective representation. The book shows that surreal fantasies ground their images, sounds, and narratives in quotidian reality. On the other hand, even the most realistic documentaries rely on creative structures that are products of the human imagination.

Product details

• Authors: Carl Plantinga
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2020
• EAN: 9780813599823
• ISBN: 978-0-8135-9982-3
• No. of pages: 168
• Series: Quick Takes: Movies and Popula; Quick Takes: Movies and Popular Culture; Quick Takes: Movies & Popular Culture
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet; Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Media science