“The cinema is an art of the real.”
What this quote means
André Bazin, a film critic, asserts that cinema has a unique relationship with the real: it records reality mechanically, without human intervention, like an imprint. But this reality is also staged, recreated. Cinema shows us the world, but it also transforms it. It is this tension between real and representation that gives it power.
How to apply it daily
Watch a documentary and a fiction film on the same subject, then compare how each treats reality. Reflect on what cinema adds or removes.
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