Topic 1 The Gold Rush Realism and Anti Realism in Film

 Julia Rodrigue 

COM 126 

Topic 1 

When looking at film as not only a viewer but as an active participant. It becomes apparent the context of a film's language is crucial in understanding a film’s message. Cinematic language is the way in which a film communicates to the audience. This language can be shown through lighting, sound and different camera shots. It is easy to take for granted this language of film we are so used to unconsciously understanding. When watching the films provided for this week with the context of cinematic language. It becomes apparent that the film's cinematic language rapidly changed from documenting, to creatively expressing a message through film. 

Films began with the simple idea of documenting how movement worked. Examples of this can be seen in the early works of film such as the Lumiere Brother films. These films may seem simple by today’s standards however they were an important step in creating the idea of realism. To paraphrase the main concept from the textbook, realism allows the film to feel authentic and grounded in reality to audiences. The lumiere brothers started by documenting real life subjects. For example the famous train pulling into the station film, shows the mundane act of passengers waiting for them boarding a train. Realism has changed over the years to not be so literal as documenting people. Even today films still use this concept of realism to engage their audience. This allows audiences to become fully immersed in a film, even if the content of the film is not necessarily realistic. 

However this does not mean that the entire film must be completely realistic. This is where Anti realism comes into play, a film can be set in a sci-fi world for example. However it can have themes that are relatable allowing audiences to have the world feel realistic. Méliès was a pioneer in films that are considered anti realism, he created fantastical worlds that also used a lot of special effects. A great example of this is his famous work A Trip To The Moon, which showcases how to portray a fantastical world convincingly. Through the approaches of Méliès and the Lumiere brothers cinematic language began to take shape. 

  A few decades later in the Charlie Chaplin film The Gold Rush, we can see the way in which realism and anti realism began to blend together. For example we have exterior shots of real homeless people trekking across a mountain. This ground the film in our reality where an audience can relate to the image being presented. However the film also uses a lot of anti-realism, as a way to express humor. For example towards the end of the film, we’re shown the Tramp and Big Jim comically trying to get out of a dangerous situation. The house is shown to be sliding, then teetering off the edge of a cliff. The outside shots show the house comically balanced by their weight. This is a very outrageous unrealistic situation, however because we are invested in this comedic reality. We are able to suspend our realistic expectations to worry and also laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The audience collectively can breath a sign of relief when both men get out safe as the house slides off the cliff. 

 After analyzing the ways in which cinematic language has evolved throughout early film, it becomes clear how these early breakthroughs have influenced film even to today. These early ideas of realism and anti realism allowed for the beginning of cinematic language to take shape. This groundwork and beginning concepts allowed for more complex ideas to begin to form.