And They Lived (Circle All That Apply: After, Ever, Happily, N/A)

Anyone who has specialized in anything presented in a Hollywood film has probably complained about it at one time or another; whether the subject be science, medicine, history, or something else entirely. In my own experience, it was my fencing club, which spent several hours a week cringing over the blunders of Luke Skywalker, Inigo Montoya, and the ensemble cast of the Three Musketeers. However we may enjoy poking fun, however, the fact remains: that there is a greater demand for mass produced L.A. blockbusters than the “realism” found in such films as Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 Tokyo Story.

And most who'd compare Tokyo Story with Hollywood Cinema would agree: the film is more real - that is, it better fits the Webster's definition of

re·al·ism

Pronunciation: \ˈrē-ə-ˌli-zəm\

Function: noun

Date: 1817

1 : concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary

There are no explosions. There are no grand plots and coincidences. The characters are neither superhuman nor uniquely special. Instead, the film follows an old couple going to visit their children in a post-Hiroshima Tokyo. Their trip is not fraught by grand plot devices, but only their offsprings' busy schedules and occasionally careless attitude. The purported authenticity of the tale is drawn from the sheer normalcy of its situation. Even the media's way of presenting the events enforces "real-world" drudgery: long shots that drag into boredom, cuts that are little more than meaningless changes of scene, and simple, true-to-life sets. Tokyo Story's "truth" derives from the fact that its mundane circumstances and cast force the viewer to relate to them as people and family, since they may not engage with them as dramatic heroes.

In contrast, classical Hollywood continuity film is deeply invested in hyperbolic serendipity. There is little "realism" as Tokyo Story would define it. In Hollywood, all main characters have goals, the sets - and even clothing! - carry metaphor, everyone is a wit, and everything has a purpose. Compared to the uncertain meanderings of Yasujiro Ozu’s movie, at first glance, it might seem that the word "realism" has no part in Hollywood films. When scrutinized, however, a new facet can be seen: that at the core of all good Blockbuster films - like hope at the bottom of Pandora's box - is a grain of truth that allows audiences to connect. While cinematic protagonists may surpass authentic probability, they do so with dreams that reflect ours, problems that hit home, and with the success or grace their viewers so desperately desire for their own lives. Classic continuity films cut seamlessly, letting people know only what they need to. It is a practice that any human - when seeking to recount events to a friend - does unconsciously. When we as a species tell stories, we leave out the descriptions of sleep, food, and bathroom breaks. We tell what is salient. We tell what is interesting. Most of us exaggerate.

In the writings of Plato, he presents the idea that all objects are merely a poor imitation of one pure, metaphysical conception of those objects. Using this philosophy, the realism of Tokyo Story can be compared with the actuality of a physical chair (that is, it reflects life with its boredom and flaws), while classical Hollywood movies endeavor to be closer to what their stories would, in a perfect world, be. In this light, there is no true "realism", but only preference and perspective.