An Introduction to Film

supernatural worlds and events that have little or

nothing in common with our actual experiences.

For example, Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind

(1939) treats the American South of the Civil War

as a soap opera rather than important history;

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) almost

convinces us that the dinosaur amusement park

of the title really exists, just as Andy and Lana

Wachowski’s The Matrix(1999) makes us believe in

an imaginary place below the surface of our every-

day lives where everything is as bad as it possibly

can be; and John Lasseter’s Toy Story(1995), a

feature-length animation, brings us into the world

of children’s toys through a saturation of detail

(when Woody walks on Andy’s bed, for example, we

can even see his foot indentations on the comforter).

REALISM AND ANTIREALISM 59

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Lumiére/MélièsWhether presenting a scene from

everyday life, as in Louis Lumière’s Employees Leaving the

Lumière Factory(1895) [1], or showing a fantastical scenario,

as in Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon(1902) [2], motion

pictures were recognized from the very beginning for their

ability to create a feeling of being there, of seeing something

that could actually happen. The Lumière brothers favored

what they called actualités——mini-documentaries of scenes

from everyday life; Méliès made movies directly inspired by

his interest in magicians’ illusions. Yet both the Lumières

and Méliès wanted to portray their on-screen worlds

convincingly.

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Verisimilitude and the viewing experience

Verisimilitude plays a large role in the viewers’ relationship

with Let the Right One In(2008, Tomas Alfredson) [1]. The

authenticity of the bleak suburban apartment complex and

its inhabitants brings an urgency to the horror and the

camaraderie the adolescent vampire character inflicts on her

new friends and neighbors. On the other hand, much of the

fun of watching Kick-Ass(2010, Matthew Vaughn) [2] must be

credited to the action extravaganza’s gleeful disregard for

verisimilitude. The characters and performances are larger

than life, the situations are absurd, and the violence is

outlandish.