Realism Vs. Fiction

Realism Vs. Fiction

Realism seems to be one of the biggest crazes for CBMs right now... but is realism what we need in Comic Book films?

Editorial Opinion
By Woodinator - Oct 25, 2010 11:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

Realism vs. Fiction

There is so much talk about making movies more realistic these days. With Nolan’s Batman films there seems to be this uprising of the idea that every film needs to be more realistic. I may stand alone here; but I disagree. Though the Nolanverse is a wonderful experience and has been more enjoyable than any Batman film prior, I would have to voice that “real” isn’t always better.

For instance the remake of “A Nightmare On Elm Street”. The hype leading up to this film’s release was about how much more realistic the make up for Freddy would be…


…let’s be honest, what do you envision when you hear “Freddy Krueger”? I will be the first to admit that Jackie Earle Haley’s Freddy does look like a more “realistic” burn victim… but is realism really what I’m looking for in a film about a dead pedophiliac child murderer who stalks and kills teenagers in their nightmares?! Some things will never be realistic no matter what the makeup or storyline has to offer!

People have forgotten the fun of fiction. I remember sitting in the theatre watching “Superman Returns”. When the classic “bullet in the eye” scene happened some guy three rows up from me jumped up and yelled: “No F^*%&$ Way! That’s just stupid!” and as his friends embarrassingly pulled him into his seat he declared: “that could never happen”.



We comic book fans have chased the unreal our whole lives. We have constantly read about men who can “jump tall buildings in a single bound” and about the “great power” that is followed by “great responsibility” since we were kids and now all of a sudden we are craving “reality”?! Not this fan. Films much like comic books are ways to escape from the dark hum drum world that we all live in. It’s a way to dream that reality can be shaped into something better... NOT that something better could be dumbed down into reality.

Some movies and Characters lend themselves to a more realistic environment. However, I for one am looking for an escape into the world of SUPERheroes.



Well Until next time,
Woodinator
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AverageCitizen99
AverageCitizen99 - 10/25/2010, 12:05 PM
Great article. :)
Things have been going too far into realism. I think the realistic look for Freddy was meant to be the only realistic element in the reboot. Like you said, there are characters that lend themselves perfectly towards realism (Batman, Iron Man) but then there are certain characters that just don't work. I guess we're living in an age where technology and logic are taking over everything. I don't mean to make this political but it seems everything has to be logical or realistic in every point of life, even fiction. It defeats the purpose of imagination in storytelling if you have to try and explain a logic to it that isn't needed. It works if it's a science-fiction type of story, where the author can use it to a degree where it can still come off as wonderful and knowledgable but logic is needed where it is in the real world, and too much in fantasy and make believe contradicts the whole purpose of it.
Paulley
Paulley - 10/25/2010, 12:05 PM
Im a realist, so sorry.. thats why i never really got into DC very much. Marvel have always had a better grasp on reality even with its more outlandish characters.

The interpretation of the Iron Man suit in the original movie is factually plausible.. so much so that they had to make things in the second film more outlandish to seem more bleeding edge. Even the Incredible Hulk, as far back as the 70's, the transformation and reasons behind them have been shown at the genetic level..

You compare that to DC, where Batman strayed to far away from reality and became a pile of crap.. and Superman where the powers of Superman were never explained on the genetic level and plot point were washed of all realism and even sense.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 10/25/2010, 12:06 PM
Great article. CBM's are reaching their peak right now. The studio's are just trying to find the right tone for each film. I agree not all CBM's have to be based in a realistic tone. Superman for instance does not need that type of tone. Nolans realistic Batman wound up being a better fit for the movie verse, but it limited the type of characters he could use. So sometimes it's better to not get so realistic, and sometimes we need more fiction.
AverageCitizen99
AverageCitizen99 - 10/25/2010, 12:11 PM
@Paulley
You brought up a good point. DC was one of the first comic labels so they did border more on the fantastical where Marvel, when it first started with superheroes, tried to blend them into the real world with real locations, science, and everything else environmentally.

@StrangerX
Agreed.
Woodinator
Woodinator - 10/25/2010, 12:16 PM
Paulley: The Hulk has always been realistic on a genetic level?! Really? Come on... you don't really believe that do you? If that's true than anything can be realistic. All you have to do is explain everything away in charts and formulas to make it realistic.

I'm going to write a story about giant peeps that eat New York. They have been bathed in gamma radiation that caused this:

to happen to their genetic make up.

I guess that's realism too.

Hulk is more realistic than Batman... Jeez!
TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 10/25/2010, 1:45 PM
As is obvious by this Article and the Comments the word Realism means a lot of different things. Woodinator if you had defined the word your Article would be a little more focused.

The form of Realism that is generally lacking in Comics is that of consequences. In the old days the Hulk could suddenly pop up and topple whole buildings and nobody died. Today they at least try to add some real world consequences. In the movies I think this sort of Realism is vital.

The best mix is when you add the fantasy elements you need to make the Story work and let the rest be real. This does mean dealing with the spectrum of reactions from the people of the world when Heros become known of course. Life will not just remain the same for too long. I thought Iron Man II handled these sorts of changes pretty well in the opening credits.
Paulley
Paulley - 10/25/2010, 3:43 PM
@Woodinator - you have to take it all as pseudoscience.. but in regard to Hulk i was more going for the transformation which is shown as hyper-accelerated cell reproduction which accounts for the change in body/muscle mass, bone/skin density and healing factor... even Bill Bixby's The Incredible Hulk took the original story and once again brought it more inline with with realistic themes.

Compare this with DC answer to such things "its magic".
jazzman
jazzman - 10/25/2010, 5:22 PM
Hulk still not realitic a man change into a big green guy lol

also its not like Marvel also never used magic Dr Strange and Thor anyone
golden123
golden123 - 10/25/2010, 6:11 PM
@Gaston: That second line is depressing. Have you ever tried to see the fun in life?
On another note, great article Woodinator. It was short but I guess that makes it more to the point.
Paulley
Paulley - 10/26/2010, 3:30 AM
@jazzman Marvel's "magic" has always been other dimensional science.

Anyway i just cant enjoy movies when they lose all touch with realism.. if i liked that id watch fantasy movies.. if you dont want your heroes grounded then watch Narnia or Never Ending Story or something.. when i watch film about superheros i want a film about extraordinary people in a grounded setting
Orphix
Orphix - 10/26/2010, 4:17 AM
Great article.

Two things strike me here.

Firstly - I am not entirely sure that 'realism' in CBMs is the main problem but tone. I feel that some films can go too dark when that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be good - or for that matter, reaslistic.

Secondly - I remember Kevin Feige saying that in order to bring an audience along with you for the 'ride' the film gives you you can't completely get rid of realism - especially if you are setting your story in a contemporary 'universe' (or what Paulley smartly calls the 'grounded setting'). I think this is important - you do need a certain level of realism and that you only get a number of imaginary 'leaps' an audience is going to go with. Thor will be an interesting example - otherwise you end up with the reaction that the guy gave in the above editorial when he saw Superman Returns.
SeaSerpentine
SeaSerpentine - 10/26/2010, 7:40 AM
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" -Albert Einstein.
Woodinator
Woodinator - 10/26/2010, 8:29 AM
Orphix: Yeah, I'm not saying throw out reality. I'm just saying if we make our characters too realistic (as the trend is heading) then we make no contrast with the regular world... if I want that kind of hero I'll watch 24 (Jack is awesome, but not a Superhero).
While I agree that there needs to be a realistic setting (otherwise our CBM's will all look like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit")I just think we don't have to explain away the fictional elements of the characters that we all love.

TheEnd: I LOVE that quote!
Paulley
Paulley - 10/26/2010, 9:38 AM
half the technology at Jack Baurer's disposal was ficticious lol..

Another point has to be made that these movies are not just made for the people who love/know the characters so well that they dont need fictional elements explained. Some people with no attachment to the character will get put off by having to take vast leaps of faith with no explanation.

Another good example over fiction/realism was in Watchmen.. no one cared to much about the creation of a glowing blue Dr Manhatten becuase of the science experimentation gone wrong.. but the superpowered fighting from the costumed (non-super)heroes (or "tourists" as Marvel would call them) annoyed people including myself.
Woodinator
Woodinator - 10/26/2010, 10:37 AM
Paulley: Ok... Jack Bauer's methods are fictitious but the science behind the Incredible Hulk is believable!?

Dude, we are just going to have to agree to disagree on the basis that there is no consistency in your argument. No hard feelings!
Spock
Spock - 10/26/2010, 11:17 AM
Nice Editoral, I think the point of the REalism factor other than makeing $$$$$. Is to try to bring something in our REality or dimension if u will. Take in point Star Trek is more closely related to our Time Line & has relavent history, compared to Star Wars. Thou I love both. Others above make a good point. We should never forget all this stuff is still fiction, even if FOX f.... ups our stuff sometimes!!!!
Paulley
Paulley - 10/26/2010, 11:52 AM
@Woodinator: I like debate, and every tv show is a little fictitious its the nature of the beast.. lol.. again though i didnt say that Hulk creation or going green or gamma radiation is believable.. what im saying is the latest movie and even the 70's tv show took an extraordinary character tried there hardest to give aspects of the character some sort of grounding.

For example: The scene where Edward Norton attempts the cure on a blood sample the cure fails and the cells hulk out (a quick snippet that gives some sort of reasoning behind why the Bruce changes shape and colour) no giant science explanation not made up equations but just enough explanation to help the character stay grounded.

Iron Man's suit is fictitious but the elements behind it have some reasoning.

@Gaston: we are talking about movies and there explanations to people who dont read the comics. Tell me at any point in the Superman movies where some sort of explanation regard how solar radiation did the things it did for Superman. And regard to the other i was thinking i regards to two characters from DC that have a similarity to Hulk (Solomon Grundy and Billy Batson/Captain Marvel small people that become big strong people)
LinkHall
LinkHall - 11/14/2010, 8:24 PM
I like realism and fiction. I liked the realism of the Nolan's batman films, but I also like the extreme fiction of other cbm's. personally I like a healthy balance between the two. An example is on the cartoon Teen Titans (just bear with me) Cyborg in one episode shows that he has a limit and his robotic side cannot push beyond that. However, later in the ep he does push past it and does some things that his robotics aren't normally capable of doing. This is a weak example but Im just trying to say that I like a balance between the. Too far into fiction and we get boring Superman (I can't stand supes) Too far into realism we get...well...something else.
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