Magic Realism: Difference between revisions

One of the easiest ways to distinguish magical realism from other genres is the use given to the omniscient/omnipresent narrator device which can be used one way or another. Should the story be told from a first person perspective, then the work in question tends to side more with other genres. Another feature is that the magic which affects reality comes either from a plurality of sources, such as god, black magic, spirits, all at the same time; or from no source at all, being like the weather instead. It might be worthwhile to point that usually there is a strong correlation between magical realism and [[Surrealism]].

Also a helpful guideline (again, just a guideline, not a rule): with fantasy, often a character finds out the [[Broken Masquerade]]. However, everybody is the protagonist in their own story; what about the random [[Muggle]] who saw something really strange, but never gets an explanation? Well, that Muggle just got the point of view in [[Magical Realism]]. There may very well be vampires and wizards doing what they do, but the [[Masquerade]] is upheld. What's a [[Muggle]] to do after seeing a guy [[Immune to Bullets]]? Well, go about his life and do his thing of course. After all, magic doesn't exist, right? This is the essence of this genre.

Among some people, magical realism is sometimes misused as a term to explain why a work they liked is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_fiction "literary fiction"], and thus [[Sci Fi Ghetto|allegedly somehow superior]] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_fiction "genre fiction"] like [[Fantasy]] and [[Science Fiction]]. On the other hand, the inclusion of well-written [[Magic Realism]] into the canons of [[Lit Fic]] is historically well supported, as [[Useful Notes/Latin America|Latin America]]'s major 20th-century authors mostly wrote in this genre. Indeed, the literary world outside of Latin America so closely associates the region with Magic Realism that the McOndo movement (for which see below) exists chiefly to prove that ''no'', not ''everything'' literary that comes from Latin America involves magic and angels.

Magical Realism can also be interpreted as a very progressive form of [[Speculative Fiction]], showing that elements of Science Fiction and Fantasy can be used legitimately in literary fiction. In other words, a great way towards getting out of the [[Sci Fi Ghetto]]. Also, it should be noted that [[Speculative Fiction]] is not the only genre fiction. Romance, mystery, horror, and the like are also genre fiction that literary snobs enjoy looking down on as well.

From another perspective, it's a given that any non-fantasy [[The Musical|musical]] is by definition magical realism, since spontaneously breaking into song with invisible accomaniment gets taken as a perfectly normal thing, although there are a few exceptions where the incongruity is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]], the most notable recent example being ''[[Enchanted]]''. (See [[Musical World Hypotheses]] for other interpretations.)

Not to be confused with [[Doing in The Wizard]] where fantastical elements in an otherwise realistic setting are [[Handwavium|explained away]]. Compare [[How Unscientific]] but can have flavors of [[Domino Revelation]] if the supernatural starts to be revealed slowly.

== Advertising ==

* ''[[LA Story]]'', written by Steve Martin, applies many of the tropes of Magical Realism. What else can you call a story where a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_message_sign variable-message sign] on the highway offers a character advice on his love life?

* ''[[Liar Liar]]'': [[Be Careful What You Wish For]] forces [[Jim Carrey]] to tell the truth. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

** [[Word of God|Guillermo del Toro]] says that all the magical stuff actually happened.

* ''[[Stranger Than Fiction]]''. The movie is more or less like this, Harold is struggling with life, and the only magical thing is that he seems to be the main character of a book. The book in question also seems to have [[Magic Realism]] elements to it, as his watch becomes sentient for a second.

** Much of Salman Rushdie's ''[[Midnights Children (Literature)|Midnight's Children]]'' is considered Magic Realism, as the children in the title have various powers and abilities ranging from beauty capable of blinding people to an ability to physically hurt people with words.

* ''[[The Curious Case of Benjamin Button]]'' is a normal life story and period piece, except the title character was born as an old man and ages backward.

* ''[[The Time Travelers Wife]]''. [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin]], folks.

* You could make a point for ''[[House of Leaves|House]] of Leaves'' as Magic Realism, but however you cut it, it sure has a way of straddling reality and unreality.

* ''Snow In August'' by Pete Hamill pulls out the [[Magical Realism]] card in the last few chapters. In order to punish the gang of anti-semitic thugs that beat a Jewish store clerk into a coma, threatened Michael and his friends, beat him up later on, attempted to sexually assault his mother, beat up Rabbi Hirsch, and repeatedly vandalized the temple with swastikas, Michael {{spoiler|performs the Golem summoning ritual in the legend the Rabbi told him and actually succeeds. As part of the miracle, all of the gang's victims are also healed, and the Rabbi's wife who was killed by the Nazis is brought back to life.}}

* In contrast to his better-known works, [[JRR Tolkien (Creator)|JRR Tolkien]] uses this trope in the fragment ''[[The History of Middle Earth (Literature)|The Notion Club Papers]]''.

* [[Ray Bradbury]] relies on this fairly often when not writing straightforward science fiction. The most obvious example is "Uncle Einar", possibly an homage to the Marquez story mentioned above.

* Toni Morrison's classic ''[[Beloved]]'' has the resurrection of Sethe's unnamed daughter (whose tombstone simply read [[Title Drop|"Beloved"]]). How this happened, or why Beloved is as old as she would have been, is never discussed.

** The ghost in the opening sequence (implied to be the same character as Beloved) would also qualify.

* Later seasons of ''[[Seinfeld]]'' toyed with magical realism, such as a nightclub that turns into a meat-packing plant by day, or Elaine meeting a group of people who are physically similar but emotionally the exact opposites of Jerry, George and Kramer. Also, a woman who seemingly changed from beautiful to hideous on the spot, and Kramer owned a dummy that apparently came to life at the end of the episode.

** Also the [[Eldritch Abomination|stink]] in Jerry's car.

* ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' actually barely fits here, but it's worth mentioning. Most of the show is fairly mundane, but when it isn't, it's uproariously supernatural. Actually, most of the works David Lynch is known for are like this: mundane human drama interspersed with the '''pants-crappingly bizarre.'''

** Lynch's films have it both ways. Some of them really do fit the definition of [[Magic Realism]] and fit comfortably within the genre, while others are ''clearly'' supernatural but are lumped in with [[Magical Realism]] because it's an easy way out of the [[Sci Fi Ghetto]]. It doesn't help that the only Lynch film they really can't weasel their way out of acknowledging as anything but what it is, ''[[Dune]]'', really ''was'' bad.

* ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'', depending on your perspective. It's possible, of course, that Geoffrey's just crazy - but it's also not made obvious that Oliver's ghost ''isn't'' hanging around.

* ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]'' is a bit like ''[[Twin Peaks]]'' [[Recycled in Space|FOR KIDS!]]. The world isn't really ''magical,'' but it is ''extremely'' bizarre and the inexplicable often happens.

** And Angela's psychic may have been more than just deluded.

* ''[[Felicity]]'' broke into this by the end. The main character can't decide between Ben and Noah? Simple; her Wiccan friend will cast a spell that sends her back in time a few years so she has enough time to figure everything out. Yes, kids, J.J. Abrams created it.

* ''[[Quantum Leap]]'': The time travel stuff and the seldom-seen future setting of [[Mission Control]] were the only non-mundane features of the universe, as the bulk of an episode was the mission to [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong]] in the lives of normal people. "That guy runs someone over on Friday if he keeps up the illegal street-racing; help him learn his lesson before then" was the usual mission rather than "prevent [[World War Three]]." But we once met the devil, and once had Sam leap into a vampire. He also met a ghost and an angel.

* If Halloween specials count, every sitcom in ABC's TGIF line ran into the supernatural but its characters never saw fit to mention it during the rest of the year or adjust their worldview knowing that [[Boy Meets World|Cory]] traveled through time or that [[Step By Step|TJ]] got dating advice from a ghost.

== Newspaper Comics ==

* ''[[No More Heroes]]'' seems to take place in a fairly dull Californian city. Except for the fact that the protagonist purchases a functioning lightsaber on eBay and proceeds to off progressively more bizarre assassins. At one point {{spoiler|his mentor dies, but afterward the mentor's ghost continues his job working at the gym.}} No one seems to find any of this at all odd.

** Of course, this is from the same mind that brought us ''[[Killer 7]]'', a political thriller starring a man who can transform into seven different people, see and speak to the dead, and fight exploding monsters that possess human bodies. And then there's ''[[No More Heroes 2]]'', which has Travis Touchdown using dimension warps and fighting ghosts, among other things.

** And then, there's Apollo and Trucy, who both have superhuman perception, which basically makes them living Lie-Detectors.

*** It's acually explained in the game that it's not a supernatrual power but {{spoiler|rather a biological gene passed down through the Magnifi family line}}. This is based on an acual biological gene that gives people more then average twitch and nervous detection, it exists, just look it up.