FIlm and Literature: What is Reality

7 Pages 1807 Words

What do you say if someone tells you something that you don’t believe? Perhaps it is the common statement; “I’ll believe it when I see it.” This expression is possibly stating that a human’s most valuable sense is that of vision. If one cannot see something then they are more likely to question the reality and validity of that object, whether it be an occurrence earlier that day on the news or in the newspaper, or a movie or novel that they may have encountered.
In 1916, Hugo Munsterburg wrote, The Film: A Psychological Study, which contained an excerpt, “The Means of the Photoplay.” In this archaic but relevant to the subject article, Munsterburg compared the psychological effects used in movies (photoplays) and that of art such as plays and literature. Throughout his article, he stressed many different items within these artworks that all play on ones “stream of consciousness.” They all have their own different way of creating a reality to their spectators. Though his main focus to compare in this excerpt is the theater, it still applicable to literature. Within his summary of the aspects of the artworks, two items are emphasized: perceived reality and expression. The main overall reason that Hugo Munsterberg wrote this excerpt is to answer the question, “Can film do what literature and theater do?”
There are many ways in which literature and films are similar in promulgating their reality. Both have the same themes and motifs; however, they express them in very different ways. Literature presents you with a very vivid literary detail on the scene and the characters in the story, which allows your mind to project you into that situation as if you are watching it in person. This projection is done mostly through narration either by a character or possibly by an observer of the situation, however the author decides. It instills images into ones mind which in turn creates small, 3D “plastic” ...