Slice of life is a phrase describing the use of mundane realism depicting everyday experiences in art and entertainment.[1]
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Theater and film [edit]
The theatrical term refers to a naturalistic representation of real life, sometimes used as an adjective, as in "a play with 'slice of life' dialogue". The term originated between 1890 and 1895 as a calque from the French phrase tranche de vie, credited to the French playwright Jean Jullien (1854–1919).[2]
Jullien introduced the term not long after a staging of his play, The Serenade, as noted by Wayne S. Turney in his essay, "Notes on Naturalism in the Theatre":
- The Serenade was introduced by the Théâtre Libre in 1887. It is a prime example of rosserie, that is, plays dealing with corrupt, morally bankrupt characters who seem to be respectable, "smiling, smiling, damned villains..." Jullien gave us the famous apothegm defining naturalism in his The Living Theatre (1892): "A play is a slice of life put onstage with art." He goes on to say that "...our purpose is not to create laughter, but thought." He felt that the story of a play does not end with the curtain which is, he says, "only an arbitrary interruption of the action which leaves the spectator free to speculate about what goes on beyond..."[3]
During the 1950s, the phrase had common critical usage in reviews of live television dramas, notably teleplays by JP Miller, Paddy Chayefsky,[4] and Reginald Rose.[5] At that time, it was sometimes used synonymously with the pejorative "kitchen sink realism" adopted from British films and theatre.
Literature [edit]
The literary term refers to a storytelling technique that presents a seemingly arbitrary sample of a character's life, which often lacks a coherent plot, conflict, or ending.[6] The story may have little plot progress and little character development, and often has no exposition, conflict, or dénouement, with an open ending.
Japanese animation and comics [edit]
In anime and manga, "slice of life" is a genre that often parallels teen melodrama in addition to using slice-of-life narrative techniques.[7] Another common trait in slice-of-life comics is their emphasis on seasonality or procedures.[citation needed]
References [edit]
- ^ The New Oxford American Dictionary, First Edition, Elizabeth J. Jewell and Frank R. Abate (editors), 2192 pages, September 2001, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-511227-X.
- ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, 2006.
- ^ Turney, Wayne S. "Notes on Naturalism in the Theatre".
- ^ Gottfried, Martin. All His Jazz, Da Capo, 2003.
- ^ Dowler, Kevin. "Reginald Rose". Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- ^ Stuart Eddy Baker (2002). Bernard Shaw's remarkable religion: a faith that fits the facts. University Press of Florida. pp. 83–84.
- ^ Robin E. Brenner (2007). Understanding manga and anime. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 112–120.
See also [edit]
External links [edit]
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