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Realism (part 1)(encore)

By Jenn Zuko · · · 16 min read

Deep Dives

Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:

  • Stanislavski's system 14 min read

    The article discusses 'Method' acting and its problematic applications - Stanislavski's system is the foundational technique from which Method acting derived, providing essential historical context for understanding what the author calls 'Toxic Realism'

  • Lee Strasberg 13 min read

    As the primary developer of American Method acting who trained actors to use emotional memory and personal experiences, Strasberg is directly responsible for the techniques the author critiques - understanding his influence illuminates why actors push themselves to dangerous extremes

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I have found myself enduring the happy problem of a fresh vocab word providing way more interesting exploration and research than I expected. Therefore, I have to take some more time on it. (No spoilers!) And so, please to enjoy this re-post of my rant about toxic realism in theatre. I’ll be keeping this one largely unchanged, unless I have something really important and current to add, or I find a typo. I’ll also be keeping it in its original 2-part format, too, so. Enjoy Realism today, and Method (part 2) next week! And Happy Holidays!

The following rant is based on a (solo) panel presentation given at Page 23’s online LitCon in 2020. Adapted for today’s… /gestures widely/. I talked a bunch and I had cool purple-bordered powerpoint slides, so what I’ve done is to use each slide title as article subtitles here, and will likely use some if not all of the images I had on those slides, though I may find more/different ones that have become relevant in the three years since I did this presentation. Oh, and! As I’ve been filling this skeleton out and adding all the relevant info, I’ve noticed it’s gotten a mite bit long. So I’m a gonna do this rant in two parts. The first is here, called REALISM. Next week, stay tuned for Part Two, which I’ll call METHOD. Strap in, jokers! On y va…!

OPENING NOTE: I use the word ‘actor’ for anyone who acts. I don’t gender the word into ‘actor’ and ‘actress,’ as the latter is what’s considered the diminutive form of the noun, and, well. As an actor myself, I don’t cotton to being a diminutive version of the ‘real’ thing. So. Don’t get confused by any genders being referred to: here, ‘actor’ means he, she, and they.

Toxic Realism: How ‘Method’ acting is a dangerous jok(er)

Part 1: Realism

One of these portrayals can be considered good acting. All three portrayals, however, allowed the role to damage either the actor themselves or others, or both. And there is no artistic (or, indeed, any other) excuse for this.

Allow me to begin my rant against what I call Toxic Realism with the story of this headline:

CBS sued over “guerrilla style” robbery scene

Okay, so what happened was: NCIS: New Orleans hired a bunch of actors to do a jewel heist

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