Melodrama and Realism

Subject:Snatch

I'm not entirely sure what this post is supposed to address. However, as far as I understand, we are to use some example of melodrama and reveal within it some form of realism. Realism was and is a literary and theatrical movement to prose. It is class conscious and is characterized by the ability to present some type of material that the observer can relate to his or her own experiences. Even if the situation is realistic, we want to see the extreme, or condensed, reality. In this sense, realism separates itself from pure reality. After all, who wants to watch a movie in which nothing interesting happens? It’s something we look at instead of through. We are content, and even seek, to be “deceived.” Melodrama – drama with music – aids the process by presenting something that we know to be unrealistic. Snatch, directed by Guy Richie, is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love soundtracks and the way the music can enhance the experience and the Snatch soundtrack is definitely my favorite one. A good example of melodrama and realism is when Mickey, played by Brad Pitt, knocks out Gorgeous George. The fight itself is very quick ending with just one punch from Mickey. Unlike the Rocky series, there is no hour long exchanging of damaging roundhouses and uppercuts. It’s more realistic in that when the character sustains a direct hit, he’s knocked unconscious, as he should be. Now would the first punch be a direct hit capable of this type of damage? Most likely not, but this is, after all, realism, not realistic. The camera switches to an overhead view, slowly spinning and moving farther away as the sounds of the scene slowly fade and “Golden Brown” by The Stranglers slowly rises in volume. The light tone of the song adds a bit of comic relief to the situation, that could ultimately prove quite dangerous for the main character Turkish.