Analyzing the Reality Effect in Dogma Films
Abstract
Dealing with the so-called reality effect in selected Dogma films (Breaking the Waves – a kind of predecessor of the Dogma films, The Idiots and The Celebration), Wuss stresses that interest in the impression of authenticity appeared in connection with a concept of realism. According to Wuss, Siegfried Kracauer’s prosperities of realistic film expression can also be found in neo-realism and films influenced by cinéma-vérité. Wuss emphasizes, however, that despite similarities with earlier documentary styles, the Dogma films are made in an entirely different way – they tend to foreground their fictionality and artificiality. The impression of authenticity is fractured or modified in the films. Making references to the theory of James Gibson who links the principles of the perception of actions to the discovery of invariance in reality and applies them to the interpretation of film reception, Wuss analyses selected scenes, pointing to the way in which the reality effect occurs. Wuss lists conditions that must be met if the reality effect is to be produced. Wuss also remarks that the degree to which the viewer can accept the unbelievable conduct of film heroes or unbelievable situations depends on the extent to which the viewer is able to follow the narration and genre of these films. Wuss shows interest in a specific form of camera work in the films and orienting reactions it generates. Orienting reactions lead to increased psychological activation in film reception, thereby intensify the impression of authenticity.
- The text is a translation of the article Ein kognitiver Ansatz zur Analyse des Realitäts-Effekts von Dogma-95-Filmen by Peter Wuss. Originally published in: Montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation 2000, no. 2, pp. 101-126. © 2000 by Montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation.
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Keywords:
Dogma, reality effect, realismReferences
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Authors
Peter Wusskwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
The Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg Germany
Profesor Wyższej Szkoły Filmu i Telewizji im. Konrada Wolfa w Poczdamie-Babelsbergu. Autor wielu publikacji dotyczących teorii, historii i psychologii filmu, współpracownik wielu międzynarodowych czasopism. Opublikował między innymi książki: Das offene Filmkunstwerk (1985), Die Tiefenstruktur des Filmkunstwerks (1986, 1990), Kunstwert des Films und Massencharakter des Mediums. Konspekte zur Geschichte der Theorie des Spielfilms (1990), Filmanalyse und Psychologie. Strukturen des Films im Wahrnehmungsprozess (1993, 1999).
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