Realisms in Contemporary Culture: Theories, Politics, and Medial Configurations (linguae & litterae, 21)

‘Realism’ is a pervasive term in discussions of contemporary developments in the cultural sphere. By drawing on different theories of realism, the authors explore how the term may be used as a helpful concept in order to analyse and evaluate current trends in cultural production and, in turn, how cultural production changes our understanding of what counts as ‘realism’. The contributions deal with realism in narrative fiction, drama and audiovisual media (film, television news) within the context of national traditions: examples drawn on in the case studies range from Africa, Britain, Germany, Iceland, Russia, Turkey to the United States. While the authors take their cues from media-specific ‘realisms’, focusing especially on narrative fiction, the volume also highlights continuities and intersections between notions of realism in different genres and media. With its original essays, this collection invigorates the transdisciplinary engagement with forms and socio-political functions of realism in contemporary culture. Introduction 8 Making the Case for Metonymic Realism 20 Truth Claims in the Contemporary Novel: The Authenticity Effect, Allegory, and Totality 40 Realism, Women Writers and the Contemporary British Novel 56 Ousmane Sembène’s Hybrid ‘Truth’ – Social(ist) Realism and Postcolonial Writing Back 77 More is Less: Representing the Planet 97 Ecocritical Realism: Nature, Culture, and Reality in Icelandic Environmental Literature 116 Exhibiting Lost Love: The Relational Realism of Things in Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence and Leanne Shapton’s Important Artifacts 131 Realisms in British Drama since the 1990s: Anthony Neilson’s Realism and Gregory Burke’s Black Watch 153 Reality and Realism in Contemporary German Theatre Performances 185 The Parodic Play with Realist Aesthetics and Authenticity Claims in Cheryl Dunye’s Black Queer Mockumentary The Watermelon Woman 202 Visual Event Realism 221 Appendix 234 Notes on Contributors 238 'Realism' is a pervasive term in discussions of contemporary developments in literature and film. By drawing on different theories of realism, the authors explore how the term may be used as a helpful concept in order to analyse and evaluate current trends in cultural production and, in turn, how cultural production changes our understanding of what counts as 'realism'. The volume deals with media-specific and national traditions of realism, thereby offering a transdisciplinary engagement with forms and socio-political functions of 'realism' in contemporary culture. 'Realism' is a pervasive term in discussions of contemporary developments in literature and film. This book deals with media-specific and national traditions of realism, thereby offering a transdisciplinary engagement with forms and socio-political functions of 'realism' in contemporary culture. Biographical note: Dorothee Birke, FRIAS, Freiburg; Stella Butter, University of Mannheim Biographical note: Dorothee Birke, FRIAS, Freiburg; Stella Butter, Universität Mannheim