Do films frequently resemble real life?

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Okay, so, I watch a random mixture of movies, most of which are drama, and I often find myself thinking that the storylines, scripts etc. could easily be a day in a person's life. (And I don't even mean Eastenders-type or any other rubbish, as that's too extreme for an average person.) Do you know many like that? Do you like them, or not?

What I'm wondering then is: what is the artistic value of such films? I mean, if films are art and they closely resemble people in real life (to say the least due to the fact it's acted by real people and not cartoons e.g.) - then does it remain art? Does that in turn mean that an average person's life could be art by itself?

This is such a good topic.

You are correct. Many films resemble real life, and that annoys me. I don't like them. You are also right in that film is an art form, and that there actually should have been made more Artistic films, because that's an obvious way to use the Medium of film. You are so right in this.

And it's annoying how much, apparently, people get out of seeing these mainstream films that could easily have been a life in someones life. That is enough for them. They get a kick out of it. I don't think many Aspies can feel the same way, at least I can't. It's some social thing about "recognizing" oneself and enjoying Drama and slight changes in everyday life. I know Aspies don't like that.

Aristic value: It is somewhat estimated with connection to the Social aspects of it. Feelings = Artistic by many people's opinions. It's not like art, but they value it the same.

I would describe Art in a different form. Like artistic European films. Sadly the "social" movies seem to be an American and a Hollywood phenomenon. And there are great examples of people making those films that explores other sides than just everyday life, and also explores Artistic forms of expression and the discovery of Artistic sides of oneself through film. Lars von Trier for one. And he stands out.

It very much remains art when it tries to depict life in a realistic fashion. I think one such recent 'day-in-the-life-of' movie was 'The Kids Are All Right'', directed by Lisa Cholodenko, and starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. It owes its 'slice-of-life' feel in great part to the performances by the actors, and of course to its direction.
I think any art form can depict our everyday world we see around us, filled with 'mere mortals' doing their mundane things. There are some great paintings out there that display just that: a scene at the market square, or a family resting at home. An artist - whether film director, painter, author, songwriter, etc.- should be able to transpose their own immediate environment, the city, neighbourhood, or street they live in, and the events in the lives of the people who dwell there, into their art.

I don't think, however, that this means that an average person's life is art. There can certainly be aesthetically pleasing elements to any person's life, but to say that anyone's life = art, would in my opinion be taking to broad a definition of 'art'. Even if you could say that every person is the craftsman of their own life.

most people aren't flanked by a script supervisor, stunt double and a team of special effects, lighting, sound, make-up and wardrobe people in addition to having cool background music, overlays and Foley follow them around

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art

That focus' on visual arts, and a discussion there of (Its a very interesting read IMHO), but for the purposes of my post, Ill focus on the first sentence, or part of it:

In my mind art requires creation, which means intent to do something outside of ones ordinary life. Not to say that life can't lend itself to this purpose (In fact the VAST majority of art I see tends to be taken directly from life, and is meant to represent some aspect of life, in a new, or different, or unique way).

I would also point out that art tends to be created with the purpose of evoking a response. Any kind of response will do, in general, but usually artists tend to create with certain responses in mind. Some art is meant to shock, or generate fear. Some is meant to generate compassion or sympathy. Some very rare art is merely intended to bear witness and was never meant to be art originally, but can often times be all the more powerful for that, as it will inevitably evoke strong reactions anyway in most people that see it (Pictures of survivors of Auschwitz for instance).

This all said, not all art evokes the same responses in the same people. We all have different life experiences and those are what, IMHO, art taps into to generate whatever response you feel for it..... So for instance, pictures of Auschwitz survivors may not do anything for you. But I could suggest the two most likely reasons being that either you've never had an experience of trauma close enough to theirs to recognize the severity of what they endured, or perhaps you're denying their travails for reasons known only to you at preset.....



I would point out that you're either forgetting, ignoring, or are unaware of one of the key tenets of making movies, which is making money. Once you produce something without the purpose of sheer artistic value, it becomes subject to whole new sets of expectations, and as a result this will change its final outcome. There are exceptions to this, but they're pretty rare. Documentaries are a good place to start looking for such exemptions, as are *some* foreign film production agencies (And even then they often screw that up). Small time DIY movie makers are probably the best source of Film created for sheer artistic purpose in my experience....

Getting back on topic though, for instance. Drama movies are meant to generate income yes? Whats the best way to do that? Evoke strong emotions in its target audience.... Whats the best way to do that? Sell them a story with some kind of common ground that they can relate to, then because it happens to be fiction, twist it in a way that evokes a predictable, but emotional, reaction.... So We'll introduce Character Jesse, hes a normal teen age kid, has crushes on girls, plays on a sports team, is mostly popular, until we portray him in a car accident, the victim of an experiment with <Insert popular illicit drug here> gone horribly wrong, and the after effects its caused him.... We just created a movie premise that would probably appeal to alot of middle class females..... After that, we can write a script with some humor, and alot of cliff hanging moments to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.... Or we can take a softer tone and really highlight the "Human drama" that unfolds around Jesse and his family, but that probably wont be that popular with the younger generations....

Inevitably, the companies that represent the backbone of Hollywood have been creating movies with the purpose of generating cash for just about a century now. After 100 years, I think you'll agree they're pretty good at it.... Pay $20 to go to a theater recently by any chance? If not, thats ok, I haven't either, but they generate Billions of dollars in ticket sales every year anyway..... And lets not forget the DVD (Formerly VHS) sales, Collectors DVDs, and any other merchandising sales (Depending on target audience)....

What is art is entirely up to you, the viewer/consumer to decide.... Is a Movie written in imitation of the life around you, shilling for your cash, art? Not to me. In my mind, the movies are the ones with Resemblances to Real Life, and poor ones at that.... Life just happens, movies are created and controlled, usually in an effort to make them desirable to you, to a point where you'll pay out at least $50 to see it multiple times..... I find alot more drama just at my place of business, interacting with people, then I could ever be wanting from a Movie or Show too based on reality. And if that wasn't enough, volunteering at an inter-city hospital will guarantee you more drama then you'll know what to do with, Promise.


As I've alluded to above, I find most movies to be written in imitation of daily life. But I bring this quote up to more accurately address the last question you asked, and what you wrote in brackets before that. To be entirely honest, I find "Live Movies" (With actors) to be pale shadows of life, and rather find myself enjoying Books and Anime. Things that challenge my imagination beyond the constraints of "normal every day life". Give me aliens invading, and giant robot wars, or super enhanced soldiers. But above all give me hypothesized human emotional interactions, reactions, and DRAMA in these situations. How would I react if a Meteor landed 50 feet from my home and exploded into a viscous alien blob ready to attack, or attempting to make friends? How would my neighbors react? How about the police when they got here? etc etc. To me, theres far more artistic value in contemplating ideas outside of our current experiences, then there is in focusing on mundane trivialities (Not that these should be ignored either, but to me these fall under different categories).

Anyway, hope my answers to your questions are at least interesting, thanks for reading if you have, and if not, well, screw you too, lol,
Aldran

I would like to think so, I am always searching for the character trait that I can learn, reaction to certain scenarios. Mostly things like that. I mimic a lot of what I see.

(Note for anyone outside the UK - 'Eastenders' is kind of our 'The Wire'.)

What films do you have in mind?

I like small dramas, but to me they don't resemble 'everyday life' anymore than a big showy fantasy film. Both take place in fictional universes (even though the former may more strongly resemble ours than the latter). They're structured narratives with written dialogue between characters and plot contrivances for comedic or dramatic purposes, carefully (I would hope!) framed shots, emotionally manipulative scores, and so on. Life is messy, incomplete, routine and largely dull, and the dialogue is often atrocious.

What gives a good film its power (as with any story) is psychological truth. There are things in life it can be hard to talk about directly in a meaningful way, that are far better dramatised.

What about the human side of it? Human reactions as you said yourself is something we all have. And we all can relate to anything human, with the mechanics happening being neurological and cognitive functions we are born with. I don't agree in that it has to be aimed at life experiences. I find that a bit shallow.


Pessimistic, too realistic and narrow-minded. That is just a social phenomenon, mainly pushed forward by Hollywood. There is a large conseus on the prioritization in moviemaking, in many stands, at least in Europe and European films. I don't know what you mean with foreign, is that outside the USA? USA isn't the blueprint.

Your in-depth look on American movies are very vell done.