2. Realismor‘Realisms’?
The critical
consensus about ‘realism’ is
that it makes sense to the
audience the whole way through,
with consistent logic, rather
than including events that make
no sense, therefore
deeming it
‘unrealistic’.
Realism was given
context due to factors
that existed whilst the
country was
experiencing a period
of social and structural
change. This includes
workers moving to the
city to support the
growing infrastructure
and new political ideas
to provide answers for
the working class.
Realism was developed
in the 19th century
by discussions
based on
literature that
named realism as
Carroll suggested that the word
‘realism’ should only be used
with a prefix, such as ‘social-’ or
‘neo-’. The prefix would
determine which movement the
text is a part of, and when and
who was believing it to be ‘real’.
For example, in ‘Last
Resort’, Pawlikowski is
addressing the real
issue of a lack of rights
given to asylum
seekers, or immigrants
in general to try and
seek change in the
social world.
3. RealismandtheCinema
Photography brought the new
possibility of
capturing images
that portray
‘life as it is
lived’, as photos
looked very
similar to what
people saw through their own eyes.
At the end of
the nineteenth century,
the arts had adopted
methods of creating
‘realist’ texts, using
different approaches and
devices to edit the style
and form.
4. RealismandtheCinemaSiegfried Kraucer believed that
film was able to present
reality and that they
should all adhere to
‘realism’ without using
clever devices to
deceive audiences.
Emile Zola believed in
‘naturalism’, which
suggests that
even fiction
should be
created
with the a
similar aesthetic
of ‘realism’.
These two theories believe that the texts
should not distract from the ‘real’ look
Gerhardie believed the goal of
naturalism to be creating an
illusion of reality by adding the
characteristics from the ‘real’
subjects and adding them to the
fictional subjects.
However, André
Bazin’s
argument
disagrees
with the
others, in that
he believes that
‘realism’ is only
possible through
using devices
designed to trick the audience into
thinking it is ‘real’.
All of these approaches
aim to create ‘realism’
through using the
associated codes and
conventions to represent
the ‘truth’.
Branston and Stafford mentioned
that for it to be a ‘realist’ text
rather than just ‘realistic’, the
filmmaker’s intentions must have
been to present the experience of
the actual event portrayed and/or
to send out a message about the
social world through the use of
realist conventions.
5. DefiningSocialRealism
Early 1800s late 1800s 1910s 1920s-30s 1940s-50s 1960s-70s 1980s 1990s-early 2000s modern day
Social realism is difficult to define because it depends on the era
in which it was used. As time goes on, society changes, and so
does the definition of ‘social realism’. Samantha Lay suggests that a key
aspect of social realist texts is the
way in which they use characters
and settings to explore the reality
of contemporary life. This defining
characteristic is described by
Hallam and Marshment as a term
used to describe films in which the
setting shows impact on character
development, emphasising the
connection between location and
identity.
Lowenstein describes social
realism as being ‘bound up with
moments of social
crisis’.
Hill suggests that although
social realism texts from the
past aren’t necessarily what we’d
see as real now, newer ones are
referencing past ones to try and
get closer to ‘realism’ now.
6. Raymond Williams’ Four Criteria
for Defining Realist Texts:
Realist texts do not surround superstition
and mysticism but more reason and logic.
The setting, characters and social issues
are those that we could believe are found
in the present day
The range of
characters and topics
is broadened to those
that are less seen
and/or represented in
other genres
They are influenced
by the political
intent of the artist
7. ‘Last Resort’ adheres to all four of Williams’ criteria, and so,
according to him, it can be defined as a realist text.
o It doesn’t include features that are ‘realistic’ to only those who are
superstitious, or believe in mysticism.
o The characters and settings can be deemed as those belonging to present day,
as we see news of immigrants and refugees in the media regularly.
o However, we don’t usually see asylum seekers represented in film or TV, and so
we can agree that the characters are those that are less represented in
mainstream films.
o This film is likely to have been influenced by the politics of the filmmaker, as
Pawel Pawlikowski has had experience of the events mentioned in the film, as
he moved to the UK from Warsaw when he was 14, due to his parents claiming
for political asylum.
