Slice of life

Slice of life is a phrase describing the use of mundane realism depicting everyday experiences in art and entertainment.[1]

Contents

Theater

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 in 1890–95 as a translation 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 critical label "kitchen sink realism," adopted from British films and theatre.

Literature

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 manga

In anime and manga, "slice of life" is a genre that parallels teen melodrama in addition to using slice-of-life narrative techniques.[7] Another common trait in slice of life is emphasis on seasonality or procedures.

Examples

Anime and manga

Literature

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, 2006.
  3. ^ Turney, Wayne S. "Notes on Naturalism in the Theatre".
  4. ^ Gottfried, Martin. All His Jazz, Da Capo, 2003.
  5. ^ Dowler, Kevin. "Reginald Rose". Museum of Broadcast Communications.
  6. ^ Stuart Eddy Baker (2002). Bernard Shaw's remarkable religion: a faith that fits the facts. University Press of Florida. pp. 83–84. http://books.google.com/books?id=PaEvtL-dX3kC&pg=PA83. 
  7. ^ Robin E. Brenner (2007). Understanding manga and anime. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 112–120. http://books.google.com/books?id=uY8700WJy_gC&pg=PA112. 
  8. ^ Dirk Deppey (2007-01-24). "ADV's Abandoned Manga". The Comics Journal. http://www.tcj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=513&Itemid=70. Retrieved 2008-01-06. "Like this manga's closest spiritual contemporary, Hitoshi Ashinano's Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, it doesn't have story arcs so much as an endless string of idyllic moments. Rather than a plot, Aria contains a series of encounters with customers, townspeople and the city and surrounding countryside." 
  9. ^ "Tora-Con 2010 Announces Final Guests". Anime News Network. 15 March 2010. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5v3cMe22G. Retrieved 15 December 2010. 
  10. ^ Dirk Deppey (2006-10-13). "A Comics Reader's Guide to Manga Scanlations". The Comics Journal. http://www.tcj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=430&Itemid=70&limit=1&limitstart=2. Retrieved 2007-12-16. "The few actual incidents that occur in this series -- Alpha getting hit by lightning and recuperating in a hospital, or running out of coffee beans and riding her scooter to Yokohama to get more -- punctuate a calm, endless sea of chapters wherein she does little more than sit by the window, drink coffee, wander the fields with her camera, visit the beach with friends or pay leisurely visits to the town's few remaining human citizens." 
  11. ^ Christopher White. "James Joyce, Dubliners Unabridged". Green Man Review. http://www.greenmanreview.com/book/book_joyce_dublinersunabridged.html. Retrieved 2007-12-16. "The structure and content of the Dubliner stories, with their 'slice of life' approach and often lack of overt dramatic conflict and resolution, are today thoroughly familiar forms and devices, but were part of the explorations engaged in by Joyce and his contemporaries that transformed our literary tradition." 

See also

External links