For movie goers, you would be more familiar with the typical genres of films that come out with more regularity. Firstly you have your superhero movies like The Avengers, Iron Man, Superman, Batman. Then your Kid’s or Family films from Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks. Then there’s also Romance, Drama, Historical Fiction, Comedy, War, Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, and in recent times, your Fantasy franchises based on young adult novels like Hunger Games, Twilight and the upcoming Mortal Instruments.
As far as I can tell at least one big budget movie is made under each of these genres, but there is one other type of film that doesn’t seem to get a clear label. This is the genre of Magic Realism.
For people who read lots of books, magic realism should be a familiar concept. For others the very name of the genre might illustrate some kind of New Age religion or subgenre of Fantasy, but in fact it was a very popular form of film that originated as a flavour of comedy drama in the 80s and 90s.
The premise of a Magic Realism film is that the story is set in a realistic modern world which looks completely normal, but one magical element also exists naturally within the film. It is almost like one of your superstitions becoming part of your reality, which only the main characters notice, but to everyone else nothing strange is happening. It is science fantasy without the science, romantic comedy with a more edgy scenario, supernatural thriller without the horror or suspense.
The premise of a Magic Realism film is that the story is set in a realistic modern world which looks completely normal, but one magical element also exists naturally within the film. It is almost like one of your superstitions becoming part of your reality, which only the main characters notice, but to everyone else nothing strange is happening. It is science fantasy without the science, romantic comedy with a more edgy scenario, supernatural thriller without the horror or suspense.
Perhaps a couple of examples would help. One of the most definitive examples of Magic Realism in Hollywood is Tom Hank’s Big, where a boy makes a wish in a creepy coin booth to be bigger so he can enjoy adulthood, only to wake up the next day to find that his wish has come true and he is now in his early 20s! The mechanics of how that transformation occurred is not really explored in the story, but rather the consequences of his wish coming true.
Another movie that might be more familiar to a modern audience is Mel Gibson’s What Women Want, where after being electrocuted in his bathtub he suddenly gains the ability to hear women’s minds. Of course he would exploit the hell out of it but after a while he realises being able to hear their thoughts can be troublesome too, and also changes him when he learns to sees women as human (sort of). Other films that incorporate Magic Realism include Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar, Jennifer Garner in Suddenly 30 (or 13 going on 30), Eddie Murphy’s A Thousand Words, and quite a few more (oh and Meg Ryan’s Just Like Heaven).
The premise and structure of magic realism films tend to be very similar. Magical phenomenon occurs to main character, main character learns and understands his new gift/curse, main character exploits his gift, then main character learns something about himself through the gift and fixes his life, and magic phenomenon leaves him when he no longer needs it.
Another movie that might be more familiar to a modern audience is Mel Gibson’s What Women Want, where after being electrocuted in his bathtub he suddenly gains the ability to hear women’s minds. Of course he would exploit the hell out of it but after a while he realises being able to hear their thoughts can be troublesome too, and also changes him when he learns to sees women as human (sort of). Other films that incorporate Magic Realism include Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar, Jennifer Garner in Suddenly 30 (or 13 going on 30), Eddie Murphy’s A Thousand Words, and quite a few more (oh and Meg Ryan’s Just Like Heaven).
The premise and structure of magic realism films tend to be very similar. Magical phenomenon occurs to main character, main character learns and understands his new gift/curse, main character exploits his gift, then main character learns something about himself through the gift and fixes his life, and magic phenomenon leaves him when he no longer needs it.
The key to recognising a Magic Realism film is the transience of the magic. The gift or curse doesn’t stay with our character(s) beyond the film. The magical element is simply a vehicle that aids character development, creates interesting conflict (often to comedic or dramatic effect) and encourages introspection. It is never meant to be questioned or studied as a permanent feature of the character. This differentiates Magic Realism from other subgenres like Superhero, Science Fantasy and Supernatural.
I’m guessing when I listed these movies, very few people would have actually seen them, let alone heard of them, and it’s not surprising since they only get limited domestic screening in the US nowadays. But once upon a time, magic realism films were international box office successes, largely enjoyed by the critics, but the more recent ones tends to slip under our radar, or not even get a screening opportunity in our cinema. And perhaps because we demand it less they also produce less, causing a negative feedback loop. But why did it go away in the first place?
Firstly, Magic Realism films tend to be mixed with Romantic Comedy Drama, which in itself is a gradually dying genre due to TV serials doing so much better in that respect. They aren’t epic like Lord of the Rings or Batman to draw in large audiences, they don’t win Oscars, and the premise often sounds like amateur fiction that anyone can randomly come up with in their blog. When it comes to big screen comedies, directors and studios are now favouring another subgenre: Frat.
Frat comedy are where we have characters who are man-children, typically have some sort of bromance fraternity that goes on a roadtrip littering many “unintentionally” offensive, crude or physical jokes that disgust as well as intrigue along the way.
I dread watching these but I can see why they are gaining ground. We live in a world saturated with political correctness, oversensitive and defensive to even the mention of racisim, sexism, homophobia and classism issues. Film has traditionally been an escape from reality, and so the popularity of films like The Hangover is a reflection on the kind of world we wish we could mess around in for a break from the sterile reality we have imposed on ourselves.
Frat comedy are where we have characters who are man-children, typically have some sort of bromance fraternity that goes on a roadtrip littering many “unintentionally” offensive, crude or physical jokes that disgust as well as intrigue along the way.
I dread watching these but I can see why they are gaining ground. We live in a world saturated with political correctness, oversensitive and defensive to even the mention of racisim, sexism, homophobia and classism issues. Film has traditionally been an escape from reality, and so the popularity of films like The Hangover is a reflection on the kind of world we wish we could mess around in for a break from the sterile reality we have imposed on ourselves.
Also, Magic Realism became popular in the past for a very similar reason as Frat comedies are popular today. The 90s was arguably the most ‘boring’ decade, given that we had war in the 1910s, the roaring 20s, depression in the 30s, more wars in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, economic boom in the 80s, terrorism in 2000s, then civil unrest this decade.
For most of the 90s, things were going relatively well; multiculturalism spread like wildfire, more countries were developing well, and utopia seemed to be within our grasps. However the family unit itself was starting to break down due to evolving societal values. Industry was growing, entrepreneurship and innovation accelerated, but the personal life suffered due to the lifestyles and career commitments.
This is why magic realism films emerged and were popular at the time, as almost a self-reminder by busy career-driven professionals to restore some fabrics that holds their family together. They needed to be told by a third party, Hollywood of all people, that family is important; that a miracle may be needed to stop it from falling to pieces.
For most of the 90s, things were going relatively well; multiculturalism spread like wildfire, more countries were developing well, and utopia seemed to be within our grasps. However the family unit itself was starting to break down due to evolving societal values. Industry was growing, entrepreneurship and innovation accelerated, but the personal life suffered due to the lifestyles and career commitments.
This is why magic realism films emerged and were popular at the time, as almost a self-reminder by busy career-driven professionals to restore some fabrics that holds their family together. They needed to be told by a third party, Hollywood of all people, that family is important; that a miracle may be needed to stop it from falling to pieces.
So after saying all this, am I saying I want more Magic Realism films?
No.
No.
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