Alternative Realities explores how the distinctions between cinematic fantasy and filmic realism are more porous than we might think by examining the emotional realism of superhero movies like Wonder Woman, the trickery of virtual reality movies like The Matrix, and the ironic gestures of mockumentaries like This is Spinal Tap.

CARL PLANTINGA is the Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair of Communication at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Among his many books are Rhetoric and Representation in Non-Fiction Film, Moving Viewers: American Film and the Spectator’s Experience, and Screen Stories: Emotion and the Ethics of Engagement.
 

Introduction   
1          Realism and the Imagination
2          Fantasy and Reality
3          Subjective Realities
4          Ruptured Realities
5          Documentary: Art of the Real?
Acknowledgements  
Further Reading 
Works Cited
Index