Magical Realism And Theoretic Elements In The Film 'Big Fish'

Through viewing Big Fish, by Tim Burton and reading both of Marquez’s stories (Handsomest Drowned Man In The World and A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings), it becomes apparent that while both novels vary greatly in plot and storyline, they are also both centered around the concept of magical realism. For example, Big Fish is a story about a young mAn who visits his dying father, but throughout the story, is introduced to various ‘magical’ entities, which introduce an almost fantasy-like theme to the story. In Marquez’s stories, one is about a handsome drowned man and the other is about a dirty, raggedy angel. We are similarly shown this sense of an ordinary reality, with a certain twinge of magic/fantasy. So while this film and these novels are completely different in the terms of context and storyline, they share these elements of fantasy, that seamlessly blend together to create a realistic, yet magical atmosphere that provides the reader with a unique and capturing experience.

Magic Realism appears when a character in the story carry forward to be alive ahead of the normal length of life. Also where magical or unreal aspect of a natural part in a different realistic environment and character fracture the rules of our real world. Characters that are portrayed as magical or surreal has a statement that is behind it. An example is Gregor in the Metamorphoses and not only did he turn into a bug but he sent a larger message about human experience. The two stories, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings and the Metamorphosis, both have a symbolic mean to humanity and realism.

Metamorphosis is seen as ordinary which portrays an element of magical realism. In Anaya’s novel Bless me Ultima not long before Ultima arrives to cure Lucas, the Trementina sisters or coyotes attack the house and, Ultima infers they will get cuts and bruises from her owl (95). This is magical realism because in the small town of El puerto the sisters have the ability to supernaturally turn into coyotes and it is treated as an everyday event. Ultima already knows the sisters will be bruised the next day because she has experienced this event before, and it is not new or miraculous to her or anyone else in this town. At the circus in Tim Burton’s film Big Fish

Tim Burton’s Big Fish has elements of fables, fairy-tales, and tall-tales. At first, these elements dimish the relationship between Will and his father, Edward. However, towards the end of the film and of Edwards’ life Will discovers the truth behind the myths and starts to understand why his father is the way that he is.

In the book “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya there are many occurrences of magical realism. The story is focused around one boy named Antonio. throughout the book Antonio sees and learns different things that will change him forever. He learns that there is evil everywhere in the world. Antonio also meets new people who will mold him into who he is at the end of the book. By the end of the book Antonio loses his innocence and understands how the world really is. Antonio grows up because he experiences life changing events.

Obviously the most concise definition of magical realism is that it is the combination of magical and real elements. The magical elements that

Magical realism is a genre that portrays both reality and fantasy. As defined by Faris (2004) in Ordinary enchantments, magical realism is a genre of writing that includes an irreducible element of magic and details that suggest phenomenon (Faris, 2004, p. 7). He describes the irreducible element as: “…something we cannot explain according to the laws of the universe as they have been formulated in Western empirically based discourse…” (Faris, 2004, p. 7). In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, The handsomest drowned man in the world, the facets of magical realism are rife. He uses magical realism to enchant the reader. The story is of a small cliff-side and coastal community

The “Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka, can be classified as magical realism when compared to “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” by Gabriel García Márquez, using aspects of magical realism including realistic elements, magical elements, dark humor, and distortion of time.

A teenaged boy dives into a lake to save three drowning children. Deep in the African brush, two volunteers save a lone lion cub. A police officer rescues a distraught and suicidal woman dangling from a ledge. Even though heroes differ in their departure, initiation, and return, they are still heroes nevertheless. Edward Bloom, a brave and compassionate man in the twentieth century, and Odysseus, a clever warrior living around 200 BC, share many important characteristics, yet have many differences in the departure, initiation, and return of their journey. Despite these dissimilarities, both are heroes in their own individual worlds.

Imagine, every morning you wake up to the sound of the rooster singing. Not to the normal crow a rooster makes, but to a beautiful sonata that wakes your soul up from a deep slumber. It may not sound too realistic in our real word, but to a writer, this can bring special emphases to the story’s meaning. This literary practice is called magical realism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines magical realism, or magic realism as they put it; 1) painting in a meticulously realistic style of imaginary or fantastic scenes or images; and 2) a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. It is the second definition that author Laura Esquivel, incorporates magical realism into her book, Like Water for Chocolate. Many of the themes and emotions in the book are emphasized with the use of Magical realism.

In the movie Big Fish directed by Tim Burton, one of the characters turns into a werewolf on a full moon, but the main character, Edward Bloom, sees nothing odd about this situation; in fact, he even plays with the wolf as to calm it down. The director allows the metamorphosis to take place and the characters are not at all shocked by this incredible change, demonstrating this genre of magical realism. In Anaya’s book he introduces witches and explains how witches are often seen to be able to change into animals. When Ultima’s owl attacks the coyotes Ultima says to Tony, “ Those Trementina girls will be cut and bruised tomorrow,” inferring that the sisters’ have shape shifted into coyotes. Tony is not astonished when Ultima describes the shape shifting brujas because for him it is part of life, but when one is reading the text, they will be amazed and awestruck because these are not things that occur in an average story. Both of these transformations are not seen as out of place because the authors have chosen for these metamorphosis’ to take place and for them to be normal, greatly representing magical

The 2003 film, Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton tells two stories. In the first story, told in the present tense, Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) is attempting to reconnect with his dying father, Edward Bloom (Albert Finney). At the same time, Edward is recounting his journey in life in a series of flashbacks. The story explores vast themes such as the reality versus fantasy, power of love and of imagination.

His parents also focus attention on his sister, as that brings their family together as they want the best for Gregor’s sister. Similarly, Bruce Holland Rogers uses magical aspects in“What is Magical Realism, Really?” The author mentions how the magical world “includes miracles and angels, beast-men and women of unearthly beauty, gods walking among us and ceremonies that can end a drought,” (Rodgers). The magical elements shown in this piece of writing are all events that do not and can not, happen in a real-life scenario. Therefore, comparing this to Kafka’s story, The Metamorphosis can be classified as Magical Realism as the story also has several events that can not happen in real life.

Fictional scenes in Life of Pi and “Bird” are strange but the use of magical realism gives the scenes a realistic feeling. Even though scenes in both Life of Pi and “Bird” seem impossible to happen, the characters seem to accept them as ordinary. Magical Realism appears in Life of Pi when Pi “…expected the bubble of illusion to burst at any second. It did not. My foot sank into the clear water and met the rubbery resistance of something flexible but solid…The combined shock of solid land and cool water gave me the strength to pull myself forward onto the island. I babbled incoherent thanks to God and collapsed…The smell of vegetation was extraordinarily strong. As for the greenness, it was so fresh and soothing that strength and comfort seemed

1. The novel Bless Me Ultima fits the description of “magical realism” because in the novel there was various scenarios where there was a blend of realism and fantasy. Magical realism portrays an image that is beyond greater than reality and it is a part of this book because supernatural scenes and magic are involved. “These fireballs were brujas on their way to their meeting places. There, it was said, they conducted the Black Mass in honor of the devil, and the devil appeared and danced with them”. (87) This scene seems to fit magical realism because after the witches did the Black Mass, Antonio’s uncle Lucas got cursed by the witches and the only person that could cure him was a curandera or Ultima. It was not just an illusion but was a blend of reality and the supernatural.