CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I can lose myself in a movie, but it's not a guarantee. The onus is on the director to make the story and characters compelling enough to draw me in. What is compelling for some can, of course, be boring to others as well.

For example, I was completely lost in the story of Miyazaki’s Nausicaä, so I didn’t care about the improbabilities the story presents. On the other hand, I found Total Recall banal and annoying, so I totally ripped that movie. The things TR asked me to accept were no more unlikely than the things Nausicaä asked me to believe. The difference for me was in the story telling.

Good storytelling should always lead to suspension of belief on part of the viewer.

I can be lost pretty easily, but at the same time I can nitpick anything... It depends on what sort of mood I'm in... Nitpicking the laws of physics in a Sci-fan movie is pretty lame... Doing that in a realistic movie is actually valid...

I only nitpick when something breaks its own rules... Or when an adaptation breaks the rules of what it's adapted from, sometimes, but I'm more lenient there... A little, anyhow...

Good storytelling should always lead to suspension of belief on part of the viewer.

But it doesn't, though. I was discussing sci-fi with one of my... acquaintances, and she couldn't get over the "talking robots and spaceships" (ignoring that there are voice replecation(sp?) systems, bipedal robots, and of course space ships that actually exist) and couldn't see the story past those things... "Robots don't get hungry" she said... I'm like "Yeah, but it's people the stories are about" Whether it be literally or symbolically, all good stories are about people... A story about animals won't work with an audience without some degree of anthropomorphism, for instance. I mean, Jacob's ladder wasn't about demons and crazy psychotic episodes, it was about a man feeling guilty over the death of his son. Very real basis to it, that used a crazy setting to tell it in. The story is underneath the motif, and underneath the motif, every good story is about something real, even if it uses talking robots and dragons and a small ring and halucinations to get you there. The draw lies in seeing the small portrayed in the extravagent, and in that regard there is no real need to nitpick.

termyt wrote:I can lose myself in a movie, but it's not a guarantee. The onus is on the director to make the story and characters compelling enough to draw me in.

What he said. *points up at termyt*

As long as they don't do something to blatantly remind me that I'm watching a movie, I can totally suspend disbelief. I love fantasy movies -- especially if they're done well. *grumbles irritably about how much Lucas messed up Episode 3*

While I wouldn't describe myself as immersing myself in entertainment, I can definitely give plenty of suspension of disbelief. For me, it isn't any more difficult to accept random elves or dragons than it is to accept that the people on the screen are actually real people with real lives, and I certainly don't believe that either situation is anything approaching real.

In fact, in the sense of being "realistic" I think some fantasy films are more so than some films set in real life. If the former includes fantastical elements but has realistic characters that seem authentic, it works better for me than a film that could well have happened next door but has ridiculous characters.

A manga-related example: I find Blade of the Immortal to be more realistic than Vagabond. Yes, BotI has magical worms and the main character almost can't die, but this is handled in so much more of a realistic manner than Vagabond's constant bloodlust-incarnations and ultra-stylized combat that it seems more "true to life."

mitsuki lover wrote:Good storytelling should always lead to suspension of belief on part of the viewer.

Wow... I was about to say the exact same thing.

As Mitsuki Lover already stated... I think if a good story is told in the right way, then it should make you WANT to suspend your reality to make what happens in the story seem plausible... or take you into the story so you feel like you are experiencing the adventure first hand.

When I read Ray Bradbury's works I easily get caught up in the story. When a story gets me involved emotionally for one reason or another, I will be more likely to laugh or cry in response to what someone says or does. I cried at the end of The Crucible (movie) as I also cried while reading some other books.

It takes a certain type of person to be able to let themselves be taken into a story though... I don't think each and every person is as likely to be swept away by a story as another person. Each person is different as is their reading/watching experience.