Critical Debates and Buster Keaton Short Films: The Realist and the Expressive
At least one of the questions in the exam is likely to focus specifically on the Specialist Area for silent cinema - the realist and the expressive. Many of the points you will make in this essay will be drawn directly from other areas we have studied, such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, aesthetics and social/cultural contexts BUT you must remember to shape these points so that the focus is on how the use of techniques reinforce notions of expressionism. To refresh your memory about the key ideas surrounding the realist and the expressive, click on the link below.
Remember, questions on the realist and the expressive will require you to discuss, in detail, certain scenes from at least two of the short films studied - so make sure you have at least two scenes from two different short films that you can recall in detail. In reality (time permitting) it would be a good idea to also mention another scene from a third short film.
Opening and closing scenes are always useful to know in detail but try to memorise at least one other key scene - and make sure that you are able to make brief passing references to a number of other moments in the short films. To re-familiarise yourself with the Buster Keaton short films, click on the links below.
During the Silent Era there were two distinct styles of filmmaking – a realist, documentary style of cinema or a visually expressive cinema of attractions, which was full of unrealistic spectacle. The work of Buster Keaton clearly belongs to the second, more expressive, style of filmmaking and you should be able to give plenty of examples from the short films to support this idea. Keaton tends to avoid realism for comic purposes, instead employing unrealistic tricks, gags and chases to enhance the comedy. It is worth making the point, however, that there are numerous elements of realism (recognisable locations, the use of deep focus cinematography, long shots or extreme long shots and long takes, reflection on modernity/modern life) found throughout his short films and whilst it is certainly more appropriate to describe his films as expressive, to gain the highest marks you should at least briefly offer an alternative viewpoint.
Opening and closing scenes are always useful to know in detail but try to memorise at least one other key scene - and make sure that you are able to make brief passing references to a number of other moments in the short films. To re-familiarise yourself with the Buster Keaton short films, click on the links below.
During the Silent Era there were two distinct styles of filmmaking – a realist, documentary style of cinema or a visually expressive cinema of attractions, which was full of unrealistic spectacle. The work of Buster Keaton clearly belongs to the second, more expressive, style of filmmaking and you should be able to give plenty of examples from the short films to support this idea. Keaton tends to avoid realism for comic purposes, instead employing unrealistic tricks, gags and chases to enhance the comedy. It is worth making the point, however, that there are numerous elements of realism (recognisable locations, the use of deep focus cinematography, long shots or extreme long shots and long takes, reflection on modernity/modern life) found throughout his short films and whilst it is certainly more appropriate to describe his films as expressive, to gain the highest marks you should at least briefly offer an alternative viewpoint.
In the 1940s, the French film critic Andre Bazin set in motion a major debate when he argued that two film movements, German Expressionism and Soviet Montage filmmaking, went against what he saw as the 'realist' nature of cinema. This opposition between the realist and the expressive has informed thinking about film from the beginnings of cinema when the documentary realism of the Lumiere Brothers was set in opposition to the fantasy films of Georges Melies.
The Lumiere Brothers and Georges Melies were key pioneers of early cinema, but developed clearly contrasting and distinctive styles of filmmaking. The Lumiere Brothers used the camera as an instrument to record the world as it was - as in the film Workers Leaving the Factory (1895). Their films are the beginnings of a realist, documentary cinema, in contrast with the magician Georges Melies, who used the camera as a tool to create magic and a fantasy world - as in the film The Man with the Rubber Head (1901). Melies demonstrated the possibilities of the camera to create tricks and defy the laws of the real world.
His most famous short film, A Trip to the Moon (1902), is one of the first examples of science fiction cinema and is a fine example of how cinema could be used to create fantasy worlds. His use of special effects, colour tinting and constructed sets contrasts with the documentary style realism of the Lumiere Brothers' work.
Keaton, like Melies, was interested in the magical possibilities of cinema - but with one significant difference - using the 'tricks' of cinema for comic purposes. A good example of this is the surreal, over-sized newspaper gag in The 'High Sign', which defies the norms of reality and appears to open like a magic trick.
In Cinema of Attractions (1986) Tom Gunning argues that early silent film, from 1895 to around 1907, was a visual spectacle rather than a narrative cinema (one that tells a story). It is in this period (before Keaton's films were made) that trick films, 'chase' films and films centred around slapstick comedy were popular with audiences. These genres were well-suited to the new medium of cinema and the modes of exhibition, as early short films were often viewed at travelling shows and fairgrounds. Early films were usually very short - anything from 30 seconds to a few minutes long - but as film developed from around 1905 onwards, films became longer and therefore it was possible to more fully develop characters and storylines.
Buster Keaton's short films combine the cinema of attractions' tricks, gags and chases with a narrative cinema - and it is these elements that may lead you to define his work as expressive rather than realist. Keaton, himself, referred to his visual jokes as 'cartoon gags', ones that were surreal, had no basis in reality and functioned almost as magic tricks; this clearly marks his films out as expressive.
Whilst it is definitely possible to argue (and you should) that the use of outdoor locations, natural lighting, deep focus cinematography, long shots/extreme long shots and long takes are in the realist mode, the surreal gags (many examples of which can be found discussed throughout this blog, such as the man carrying a piano over his shoulder in One Week and Keaton opening the over-sized newspaper in The 'High Sign') and the elaborate sets (such as the shooting gallery and August's house in The 'High Sign', alongside the interior of the houses in One Week and The Scarecrow) that dominate his short films clearly encourage us to see these movies as more expressionistic and surrealist.
Typical questions related to the Specialist Study Area - the realist and the expressive - can be found below. It is important that you attempt them, combining the notes above (and those found many of the other posts on the blog) with your own analysis of key scenes. When practicing essays it will help with your revision if you re-watch moments from the films and pick appropriate scenes to analyse.
One important point to remember is that whilst it is likely that you will describe Keaton's short films as expressive, you should, at the very least, point out the ways that they can be considered realist.
1. Explore how your film option might be considered as either a realist or an expressionist kind of cinema. Make detailed reference to particular sequences in your answer.
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