The definition of reality was said to be ‘A complete and total representation of reality.’
I find this to be interesting, and I am not disagreeing with it, but what about fantasy and sci-fi films? Are those considered to be forms of cinema? They do not seem to represent reality at all, because these sorts of movies create exotically fictionalized worlds that do not exist, except within the mind. The FTC group on Wednesday stated that fantasy is not reality, in turn also making it not cinema. But then what is it? What are these kinds of mythical films considered? And more importantly, because this is a question that must always be asked when referring to definitions, who came up with meaning of the term cinema and were they qualified to make such distinctions between different types of films?
I do not have answers to follow up these questions, but I do have something that I want to throw out on the table in terms of cinema and reality. Fantasy films such as the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy are certainly not recreations of the world we live in today. There are no dwarves running around with axes chopping down orcs; I haven’t seen them at least. But within these films there is some reality whether it seems like it or not. There is war, and people/creatures fighting for a greater cause. Kind of like what the U.S. has always and still is trying to do when stopping enemies. There are bonds between individuals, friendships are created; and sometimes between the most unlikely individuals. War creates bonds between people her in America. I have seen two war veterans who meet for the first time, not knowing a thing about each other, but they can talk for hours about anything because there is a connection there. There is love of all sorts sweeps across the screen as well. I think that one is pretty self-explanatory.
All I’m saying is that there are characteristics of reality within fantasy films; sci-fi films too. Most of the original Star Trek episodes always had some sort of moral they tried to convey to viewers about life. The morals of the reality that people follow today were relevant in sci-fi movies and television then. Is this enough to be considered cinema, or is there more to be done? Or are these ideas I have presented irrelevant? Who knows, other than ‘The Definer of Cinema.’