Magical Realism In 6 Minutes: Literary Fantasy or Fantastic Literature? 📚

Magical realism is an interesting word combination that is used often, but usually with little understanding. So, what is magical realism? Isn’t this term a contradiction? Is magical realism just a variation of the fantasy genre? Let’s investigate!
In this video we'll explore:
📍What is required of magical realism as a literary genre?
📍Who are the most important writers?
📍Where did it receive the bigggest influence?
📍What are the most exciting books to read?
#MagicalRealism #Literature #CuriousMuse
SIGN UP TODAY
🎨 Online Mini Course - How to Understand Modern Art:
courses.curiousmuse.org/moder...
JOIN OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
📩 Get your regular dose of culture directly in your inbox
curiousmuse.org/newsletter
DOWNLOAD OUR FREE CHECKLIST
📚 6 Ways to Improve Your Life Through Reading
courses.curiousmuse.org/6-rea...
CREDITS:
Story: Yelena Chzhen
Copyrighting: Matthew Jones
Voice: Caleb Mertz
Production: IK Video Prod
FOLLOW:
► Instagram: / curiousmuse_org
► Facebook: / curiousmuse.org
► TikTok: / curiousmuse.org​​​
LISTEN:
► Spotify: spoti.fi/3agcuii​​
► Apple Podcasts: apple.co/37dadme​​
► Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3aglvrC​​
► Anchor: anchor.fm/curious-muse​​
SUPPORT:
/ curious_muse​​
Curious Muse brings the best of arts and culture stories from around the world. Our stories will make you feel curious, learn new things and have a good time too. We cover a wide range of topics - visual and performing arts, literature and history, architecture and design, fashion and more - explained in a cool, digital way.
Join our community, subscribe and let us know what you think!

[@salt7772]

This was wonderfully explained, I thank you sincerely. You just singlehandedly clutched an IB student's EE from spiraling into complete and utter disaster

[@CuriousMuse]

Haha, things like this is what keeps us going! ☺️

[@elijahclaude3413]

Would love to know how that essay turned out for you!! I did mines on synesthesia and art a few years ago. (it's been almost 10 years since I graduated! I feel so old lol)

[@missmaniac5145]

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" truly is one of the best books I've read so far in 50 years of reading experience. Reminds me to read it again sometime in the near future...

[@CuriousMuse]

Such a great book indeed! ❤️

[@dbernardo7226]

You forgot the most important and influential book of Latin American Magical Realism, the corner stone: Pedro Paramo by Mexican Juan Rulfo. Latin American writers influenced Salman Rushdie, et al. BTW, Garcia Marquez is a Nobel Prize laureate.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you - our goal wasn’t to educate the audience about the most important and influential book but to explain what Magical Realism is. Perhaps this book deserves a video explainer on its own 😍

[@CarlosDiaz-hf3qv]

Believe it or not, Magical Surrealism helped me move past issues that were preventing me from achieving a true, meaningful life. When I picked up the book "One Hundred Years of Solitude", I was expecting to read a very long childrens' tale. As I read the book, the characters in the story, their obsessions, the Insomnia plague, the levitating priest...etc, I discovered things within myself that were hindering me from becoming a fulfilled person. I realized that, as the characters in this story would repeat the same patterns of obsession and isolation--time after time after time--so was I. In every character of the Buendia Family, I saw a piece of me. If there is one thing that the Magical Realism within the "One Hundred Years of Solitude" taught me is that sometimes, it is easier to continue ruminating in a world of our own, than face reality and the challenge of change. "SPOILER WARNING!!!". It is sad to think that the story ends with the last surviving member of the family, in that one last moment of clarity, that he realized all of the mistakes that the past members of the family had done, and that now, in that hurricane destroying the entire Macondo Universe, that he was nothing more than a fictitious character in an ending novel. Reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was just one of the first steps to recovering from depression. It was a long and challenging road. I am an ER Nurse now. I am a happy father, with a wonderful wife and a newborn daughter that brings joy to my life. The point of all of this??? Read "One Hundred Years of Solitude". Bear with it. Take it deep and slow. It will hurt you. It will startle you. It will make you hate it and hate yourself. But, in the end, you will come out a better (or worst) person. It is up to you.

[@andresmora5192]

Pedro Páramo by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo is one of the masterpieces of Latin American literature, it is considered the novel that inaugurated the literary subgenre of "Magical Realism in Latin America". Juan Rulfo's work finally gave me the path I was looking for to continue with my books,” Colombian Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez confessed in an interview.

[@CuriousMuse]

Great suggestions 👍🏻 we’ve just added them to our reading list!

[@fc1984fc]

Absolutely. Francine Prose gives some details of 'Pedro Páramo' in her 'Reading Like A Writer', and I frankly feel enthusiastic about it.

[@robsonpierre1671]

I read a magical realism text for the first time in a magazine. It told the story of three dragons who were adopted by a couple. they raised them as if they were human. The way the author narrated the passage of their age, in childhood, adolescence and even adulthood is comical and fantastic at the same time. Dragons fight, mess, do drugs, get married, divorce and die.

[@alfredsams9059]

I wish you would do a presentation on what really is literature. It cant be defined and limited like sociology or pol science.besides, the new literary theory has made obsolete the earlier theories explained by professors who talked about mimetic, expressionistic(self expression) theories. Now after saussure and derida how would you describe literature? Theory has confused everyone .yet reader response theory can explain why writers are read wrongly and fatwaed. How can you tell a high school student:what is literature? After the dust storm of theory..

[@VixxOT6Starlight]

Thank you for not overcomplicating things and for linking to context effectively whilst not losing the audience! You have a way with words!

[@CuriousMuse]

😍🙏🏻

[@hifrommike2120]

Magical realism is a form of realism, but realism enhanced. Derrida spoke of "participation without belonging" w/ genres that briefly partake of other genres, & that happens in magic realism. Taken as a whole, "Cien anos de soledad" realistically depicts Colombia's convulsive history; Garcia Marquez claimed that the eruptions of unreality in the book actually happened.

[@mumchas3435]

Magical realism is not from Colombia because the term is European in concoction. However, when European writers viewed the way Latin American writers wrote they saw it as realism with a splash of "magical". They viewed these stories through a lens of exotification, without realising that it's ALL real and that it's a description of the absurdities found in Latin American societies. If we think about what exotification is, it's about seeing what's mundane or normalized in one society and treating it as special or unique because one is not used to it. It's very much about ignorance and how what we don't understand can often appear magical. As a result, how these authors chose to tell the story is what mattered. This is why magical realism, in my opinion, does not exist. It's a term created in ignorance and perhaps the literary term itself is the most magical part about the whole genre.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you for sharing your opinion and making your point so clear 💪🏻

[@lisandra6584]

I could not have described it better...

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

Magical realism certainly exists, but specific examples you are thinking of can be argued not to fall under it. I also understand that victim highhorsing replaces any sense in any conversation contrasting or viewing 2 or more cultures.

[@UrbanMemories]

Magical realism was touched on and written for hundreds if not thousands of years ago. Prime example is the arabian nights In a which an ordinary world in arabia and persia and india gets elements of fantasy and magical events and has jins and ghouls and different creatures and adventures

[@VenusAxe]

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I'm glad I already had a solid enough concept of Magical Realism; yet this made me aware that culturally it made such a political impact. My debut book "Just a Little Broken" I like to think is in the same vein as the genre. It allows a significant amount of freedom in storytelling, especially within a reality-based land. I appreciate all the information and nuances packed into these videos.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you for thsi lovely feedback! We have actually not read "Just a Little Broken" book, is it good?

[@jhonestebanramirezquintana8918]

I read One Hundred Years Of Solitude. It was fantastic. I love the magical events present on the book.Ghosts, I lady floating up in the air, a rain of yellow flowers 🤯 Amazing

[@whats_in_a_name876]

I feel like reading Rushdie's "Midnight's children" again now. Thankyou for the profound explanation. Cheers 💛

[@mohammadtausifrafi8277]

Excellent explanation. I completely agree with your explanation of magic realism and also the idea that it is a post colonial resistance against Eurocentrism, but I think its scope is even bigger. One aspect of magic realism is politically ideological, that is the postcolonial stuff. Another aspect is challenging the constricted mentality created by strict adherence to materialistic/scientific determinism. This aspect is more philosophical, and not just ethical like the ideological aspect but also epistemological or maybe even metaphysical i.e. it may draw our attention to fundamental questions about the nature of reality and the likes. This is just my personal opinion.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We love it when our videos inspire a lot of great thinking! 😅

[@user-sb3bz2mk7f]

Очень классный ролик! Читала лет в 18 «Сто лет одиночества» помню какой это был увлекательный вынос мозга ))) В детстве читала «Нос» Гоголя и не могла открывать его ещё долго потому ,что было страшно) до определённого возраста Гоголь был для меня очень страшным и зловещим 😅😅😅

[@CuriousMuse]

Спасибо! Очень рады, что вам понравился ролик! 🎉

[@yashikadudeja2]

Thankyou so much for this piece of content! Quite insightful and interesting.

[@CuriousMuse]

You’re welcome and thanks for watching! Hope you like our other content 🙏🏻

[@LeeFangYu]

Thank you for making this video, it makes me wanna know more details about magic realism ! so I wonder if you could provide the list of all the clips you refer in this vedio? (I can only reconize few of them, such as Amélie ,Pan's Labyrinth and Birdman.)

[@iratakeuchi3031]

Well. Technically, the majority of Murakami Haruki’s novels are magical realism. Not just Kafka on the Shore. He’s a pretty big in the genre if contemporary magical realist novelists...

[@CuriousMuse]

❤️ Murakami

[@satyendrasinghbhadauriya594]

I am from India 💓🌹👌🙏I am so impressed with your channel that I have watched and shared all your videos. Thank you very much for adding Hindi subtitle in the caption.

[@CuriousMuse]

Hello! Oh wow, you’re a gem 💎, thank you for doing it!

[@satyendrasinghbhadauriya594]

@@CuriousMuse warm welcome to you 🙏#Hats off to You! Like Muktibodh, I am telling a little truth about myself with utmost request. Its purpose is simply so that you may be in harmony with me or me in communicating or addressing you. I am a movement worker associated with one lakh very poor people. I am a university topper in philosophy and psychology. I am like an expert in the humanities and other dimensions in the global perspective, so whatever you can talk to Samastar, I will have no problem in understanding. World famous literary editor-journalist-thinker Rajendra Yadav (Hans Patrika), Mudrarakshas, ​​Kamleshwar, Rajkishore, Omprakash Valmiki, Abhinav Ojha, Girish Karnad etc. were my close friends and Kamleshwar, the father of the new story, had written many articles on me. Yours is Satyendra Singh Bhadauria aka Vitarag M.P. India

[@shashwitasharma8396]

Thankyou for this. Very well done.

[@CuriousMuse]

Glad to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@ipsumquaerere6927]

Now this seems like a list of books I should pick up to expend my horizon!

[@CuriousMuse]

Wonderful idea - let us know which book 📚 we’ve inspired you to read :)

[@rabindrasoni5169]

Wonderfully explained

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you! ✨✨ We wonder what should our next video be about? 😅

[@alfredsams9059]

Beautiful presentation on magical realism.please do one on :what exactly is literature? We cant define literature as.you do with economics or sociology yet we know it when we read it.also literature is defined

[@alfredsams9059]

There is a lot of confusion about what is literature.literary theory has compounded this problem.also high literature has distanced itself from the masses. Since literature is important please do a good video on what is literature?

[@tatianasizykh6948]

There were some examples of magical realism in movies, and I can't recognize some of them. I've identified Pan's labyrinth, Amely, The Grand Budapest Hotel, maybe Inception. What was the rest?

[@MrK.A]

Great video. Cheers.

[@CuriousMuse]

Glad you liked it! 👍🏻

[@dianalindeman1644]

Excellent explanation of a term new to me

[@rasmur1]

I'm currently reading Midnight's Children. It's a bit long and difficult, but it's also very funny and interesting.

[@English_kufa]

Great,thanks

[@catalyst4385]

Anyone have a list of movies shown on here? Great video btw!

[@miriamjaimes8213]

Don’t forget Elena Garro her first novel, Recollection of things to come.

[@Comrade-wv1lu]

This video is magical! Your voice‚ background music‚ clips- all perfect! 🔥

[@Game_Hero]

This all remind me of the french "fantastique" genre of the 19th century in authors such as Maupassant or Théophile Gauthier altough it is different from what was shown here because the text first person narrators do pinpoint and question the unrealistic elements that introduce themselves in an otherwise perfectly realist world. However the characters rational explanations (and the expectations of the readers seeking to know if what happened really happened in the story or is an hallucination) often come short because at the end certain elements that contradict the hallucination explanation appears at the end, leaving us bamboozled enough to not being effectively sure enough to prove that what the characters experienced was real or not.

[@malihausmani5945]

It was really a wonderful explanation. Could you please explain Fictocriticism. .

[@CuriousMuse]

Absolutely! 🙏🏻

[@mtaylor8387]

100 years of solitude / Gabrielle Garcia Marquez would have to be one of my faves ❤

[@PlainsPup]

Ok, so now I’ve watched both the Curious Muse video on Surrealism, and now on Magical Realism here. And I still do not really understand why these two categories are not collapsed into a single genre. Can you explain, please?

[@CuriousMuse]

It's a great question! In simple terms, Surrealism incorporates symbols, dreams, the unconscious... imagine unrealistic, bizarre, and completely illogical stuff. On the other hand, magical realism stories are set in a completely realistic setting, usually contemporary, relatable world but with some with magical elements stuck in. Does it make sense? Thanks for watching both videos!

[@PlainsPup]

@@CuriousMuse Thank you, yes, very helpful! I would think you could further distinguish both of those from the urban fantasy subgenre, which simply involves fantasy stories that take place in the modern world.

[@CuriousMuse]

👍🏻

[@DonnaSnyder]

I would love to see videos on Doris Lessing, Iris Murdock, Simone de Beauvoir, and Xánath Caraza.

[@DonnaSnyder]

And this was a good video. I've read there is a difference between magic realism and magical realism, and that one version began in Cuba around the same time at in Europe.

[@CuriousMuse]

Great suggestions 👍🏻 We’ll see how to make it work 💪🏻

[@luisagf1385]

I'm here bc of Disney's new movie, Encanto! I'm surprised this vid doesn't have more likes, amazing quality! Thank you

[@CuriousMuse]

Glad you liked it! 👌🏻

[@fazarra5355]

i haven't finiahed the video yet but you can maybe talk about surrealism vs fantasy vs dreamy or nightmarish movies because anything fantasy related is confused with everything else

[@CuriousMuse]

Great idea 💡, we’ll think about what’s the best way to make such story.

[@fazarra5355]

@@CuriousMuse i just saw that you already have something on surrealism i should've checked first

[@CuriousMuse]

It’s actually one of our best videos - hope you’ll like it 🙏🏻

[@shreyaspamaraju262]

100 years of solitude and Midnight Child Are 2 of my top favorite

[@CuriousMuse]

Great ones! Thanks for sharing.

[@aanimalpuzzle]

The first book of Magic Realism is Gargantua and Pantagruel from Rabelais Francois.

[@andrewtrout4256]

I used this today with one of my classes! I teach intermediate and advanced high school English Language learners and they also get Language Arts credit for my course. Thanks for such a great video!

[@CuriousMuse]

Amazing , happy to hear our content is useful! 👍🏻

[@suzettehenderson9278]

Nice eliding mention of The Master and Margarita. However, I do object to proclaiming that fantasy as a genre is without social critique.

[@rolokidsnetwork5544]

Would be nice to see What is Opt Art? What is Kinetic Art? What is Mexican Muralism? What is Street Art? What is Abstract Art? What is Pointillism? What is NeoPlasticism?

[@alineweed4201]

Doesn't Kentucky route zero involve magical realism

[@nazrinnasimiart]

nice explanation thank you

[@CuriousMuse]

You’re welcome! 😚

[@bobbleplast]

Question: are the visuals examples of Magical Realism?

[@anshika4130]

Would like to know more about Existentialiam... since this was explained beautifully

[@CuriousMuse]

We have this story in development 👍🏻 so hopefully comes soon!

[@anshika4130]

Oh great!... will be looking forward to it

[@BabyNnef]

The Phantom Tollbooth is a good example, right? I love that book.

[@CuriousMuse]

Great one 👍🏻

[@rishabhaniket1952]

Magic realism is when the magical part doesn't drive the story. It is just there for a few moments. You also forgot to mention Carlos Fuentes, je was as imp. if not more than GGM

[@ummMaryam1]

Thank you very much

[@CuriousMuse]

You’re welcome 🙏🏻. How did you find this story?

[@gianlucalione9461]

Today i discovered that my two favourite authors have a genre in common :D

[@CuriousMuse]

Glad you learned something new! 🙃🙏🏻

[@keonicoleman]

who is the animation studio who does these?

[@michaelcoleman1387]

We applaud you!

[@CuriousMuse]

We’re so happy to hear it! ☺️ What did you like in particular?

[@chrisa3961]

you forgot "Noola and the Whale Changeling" from the Ballad of the Sperm Whale and the Giant Squid series 🙂 Magical realism is my favorite Genre

[@TheBruzka]

There is a 17th century Dutch book of the history of rock art research in Colombia that includes colonialism. Globalism didn’t start in 1850… German academics have a school at my city

[@UrbanMemories]

Magical realism was touched on and written for hundreds if not thousands of years ago. Prime example is the arabian nights In a which an ordinary world in arabia and persia and india gets elements of fantasy and magical events and has jins and ghouls and different creatures and adventures

[@CuriousMuse]

Good one! The Thousand and One Nights is a master at blending in the supernatural into everyday reality in its tales.

[@callinicobo5991]

Great video. I suggest also an Italian author: Italo Calvino, expacialy the Nonexistent Knight and the Cloven Viscount.

[@CuriousMuse]

Amazing, will check out your suggestions 😍

[@CapriUni]

@@CuriousMuse I also recommend Italo Calvino's _If on a Winter's Night, a Traveler_ -- It's written in a limited perspective narration, but the protagonist's pronoun is "You," instead of He or She. 😉

[@criss3619]

Can regular show be considered magical realism?

[@ayshathoyba]

it help for my appreciation fiction...we have topic magic realism

[@CuriousMuse]

Absolutely 🙌🏻

[@luciathefemininewoman]

I am taking gender and literature course this spring semester in 2024, and my professor discussed magical realism and allusion. I still have difficult time grasping magical realism because I am not a logical and analytical type of person, I am working on my left brain little more. I am more right brained I am more spiritual, creative and artistic, and likes to see the big picture and think outside the box. I kinda see magical realism kinda like allusion. You mention or refer to a person, place, literature or text. What does this have to do with magical realism? Let's say a Disney movie where a young woman and young man meet each other by fate for searching for the lost empire that has been lost in human history or civilization, and the young man who's scavenging more about the lost empire that was hidden away in human civilization. What am I referencing? I'll give the answer if no one got the answer. If you use allusion in magical realism it's kind of like the magic is there right in your face, yet it's not there. It's difficult to comprehend magical realism because the point of magical realism is to use reality as your base, and take references from literature, texts, myths, places and mesh them together without mentioning what they're referring to. It's kinda like surrealism where you find yourself it's like finding your identity. There's this pyramid where environment begins at the bottom of the pyramid and identity is at the top, and above it is spirit, consciousness or God. You're kind of like soul searching or using introspection to investigate who you are in this world. I hope this makes sense. I was thinking of getting the snow child with magical realism as the theme or genre. I felt drawn to the title because I have an interest in children and I like colder temperatures. Call me weird. The reason I have an interest in children because unlike an adult children are youthful, lively, full of energy, easy going, and innocent like. There's a difference between child like or childish and I find that if I read the snow child I'll maybe understand magical realism more. Also, I'm thinking of reading more magical realism literature it's my first time, and as an artist who draws and paints I'm thinking of making it my art style. Before I do I need to grasp magical realism first because I incorporate into my art. The book I want to read for the first time with magical realism is the snow child by Eowyn Ivy.

[@joelluuna]

Juan Rulfo, Pedro Páramo.

[@sanaali2747]

hii .... the video explained things in brief and clear way, but just wanted to say that you should give credits to TEDEd team, for copying the clips from their video on 'Why should you read one hundred years of solitude'...

[@soulofglebb]

Anybody know the song?

[@CuriousMuse]

In what part of the video?

[@thewitchcoven]

Unbelievably based video.

[@eliorharush8804]

Anyone knows what movie it is in 0:45?

[@bluevms10]

Birdman

[@KcMcclary]

Curious case of Benjamin button, green mile, Big, big fish, age of Adeline, the shape of water, forest Gump, meet Joe black, almost all of Wes Andersons movies, and beloved would all fit into this genre so I'd describe this genre as ( magical ppl/events / things existing in the real world 😆)

[@RossoNero1987]

Could somebody recommend me some good short stories with magical realism vibe?

[@CuriousMuse]

Hopefully someone from the community will. We know only long stories: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

[@ThuPham-if3gn]

You can try "Eyes of a Blue Dog" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[@UrbanMemories]

The arabian nights. They are a collection of tales and stories It’s very large as a complete work but it’s chapters could be read separately as a short story. Because each tale is a complete tale on it own

[@jugbrewer]

I love magical realism, thanks for this great summary!

[@CuriousMuse]

Glad you enjoyed it! 🙌

[@user-up2hh6ny5s]

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" I finished on the second try. I could see unfortunate Latin America , all in despair and confusion, invaded by foreign powers. Tony Morrison's “Beloved” I read long long time ago and I found its Korean version too difficult to properly understand. I enjoyed Murakami Haruki books too. I used to dream a lot, almost every night.. Each dream that I had was exactly how true magical realism was. I saw no reason ever to bother to read magical realism novels..😁😉

[@CuriousMuse]

Sweet dreams ☺️, lucky you to have them full of magical realism! 👍🏻

[@user-up2hh6ny5s]

@@CuriousMuse 😇

[@elfboi523]

I prefer good old fantasy. Tolkien, GRRM etc.

[@Greg-tr9tq]

Take a look at artwork by Rob Gonsalves if you want to see excellent examples of Magical Realism on canvass...

[@CuriousMuse]

Will do, thank you

[@ardiris2715]

I still have no idea what it is, but then, I had never heard of any of the books listed. This situation sounds like the only people who know or care are academics. (:

[@CuriousMuse]

In a nutshell, magical realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. It's like the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world. Does it make sense?

[@ardiris2715]

@@CuriousMuse How does that exclude Harry Potter? Besides HP not being literature, that is. (:

[@howtubeable]

@@CuriousMuse If that is your definition of Magical Realism, then why did you spend so much time in the video condemning the Euro-centric worldview and promoting generic college Marxism?

[@JohnDoe-tt6en]

​@@CuriousMuse I didn't want to reply (and I'm still not exactly clear on magical realism or why it shouldn't be considered proper fantasy) but I can't really agree with this definition and some of the points in the video. My understanding is that high fantasy take place in another world (or in some sense a world within our world, like with Harry Potter or Once Upon A Time - the part that takes place in Storybrooke. Other examples would be The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, Xena / Hercules, The Sword of Truth / Legend of the Seeker series etc., some of which are worlds people from our world discover, and Lord of the Rings even though it takes place in the past, like Xena / Hercules, I think it's different enough that it might as well be considered a different world) and low fantasy takes place in a version of our world that contains magic or supernatural elements that are normally hidden from the mainstream (ie. Buffy / Angel, Indian in the Cupboard, Tuck Everlasting etc. I don't know why so few examples immediately come to my mind for both. I can't even list most of my favorite movies and books off the top of my head, it's frustrating). I don't think most low fantasy qualifies as magical realism. My understanding is that with magical realism the supernatural events are treated as though they are ordinary and mundane and people act as though they aren't out of place or don't contradict the established laws of our world (in the video you said that in normal fantasy there's no explanation for the magic and the characters don't react much to it, or something like that, and I thought it was exactly the other way around. There may not be an 'explanation' for magic in fantasy stories, some of my favorite fairy tales or stories are the ones in which something fantastical or contrary to established laws of physics occurs for no scientific or predictable reason; like a cat starts talking and that's never been normal before and the people aren't overly surprised by that or in Rapunzel when she cries and her tears fall on her lover's face restoring his sight and that was never expected or predictable but shows the power of her love which can't be explained by the inherently impersonal laws of physics and I'll resist the urge to get into some other examples, but the characters acknowledge that it's magical and not mundane), kind of like in a dream where you're sitting by your friend one minute and the next he's a bear but you don't think that's unusual, it doesn't even register that your friend is now a bear and you treat it as normal and don't even acknowledge the change or contradiction. Personally, I believe that high fantasy requires the most imagination (not the fantasy part per se. If we experienced living in a world with magic and that was normal stories with magic wouldn't require a higher suspension of belief or a greater ability to create mental images we've never actually seen based on previous real life objects we have, unless maybe those stories involved different kinds of magic or supernatural phenomenon, but stories that took place in different possible worlds would) and I find it ironic that people claim one of the reasons for the supposed superiority of literary fiction is that it comments on themes about the human condition better than genre fiction can because to me it seems that fantasy and science fiction is potentially more idea-centric than literary fiction ever could be for reasons I don't want to get into but at least partly because it requires thinking about how the world itself could be different and shifting your perspective in that way whereas literary fiction just focusses on individual people and their individual struggles in completely mundane and familiar settings (I once toyed with the idea that the goal of literary fiction is to get to know individual people and with the exception of maybe mystery and comedy the goal of genre fiction is to live vicariously through others, which requires relating and getting to know people; it's just not limited to that, or living in novel worlds, worlds that are emotionally meaningful because they can't be explained entirely by the laws of physics in the case of fantasy, horror and thrillers are to feel excitement, romance is to vicariously fall in love etc. but I'm not really convinced that I buy the distinction of literary vs. genre beyond general differences that aren't inherently defining or consistent). I'm also not convinced that literary fiction as literary fiction boosts empathy, because of methodological problems with some research that claims to suggest that, the difference between cognitive empathy (or accurately inferring other people's mental states) and compassion or actual caring, attributing certain reasons like well-developed complicated characters to literary fiction qua 'literary' fiction when they can be found in genre fiction as well etc. I think all prose fiction is good for developing imagination and cognitive empathy even if some of it might be better. Also, the plot in a story is only meaningful because of the character's reaction to it, if I wanted people to have empathy for slavery or Holocaust victims (as slavery and Holocaust victims) it seems to me that I would have to make a plot based story that revolves around external threats from the world (I can write a story about a slave that is character driven but it has to be plot based to the extent that it's about slavery rather than just involving slavery) and a story about most non-human animals (with normal non-human minds) could probably not be character driven (and all this is leaving aside the fact that some 'genre' fiction is character driven and some 'literary' fiction is plot driven). As long as this is I didn't and don't want to go into detail (and I'm open to my points being wrong - some are just perspectives that I might experiment with, my mind could be changed or I don't even hold firmly to them, I really don't think literary fiction requires more imagination though and that's the basis of empathy).

[@ThatOneMan830]

I think that one VERY important book was left out of this video- Juan Rolfo’s 1955 short story, Pedro Páramo. A young man by the name of Juan Preciado travels to the small town of Comala at the request of his mother, and soon finds out that it is a quiet town of the literal dead. What happens next is an incredibly surreal hopscotching between the past and the present, where the dead and living interact just because, and much more. While it was initially received coldly, its popularity later exploded. The most notable fan of it was none other than Gabriel García Márquez himself, who said that his discovery of the novel in 1961 was what not just got him out of a writing block, but directly led to the creation of One Hundred Years of Solitude. He also claimed to be able to, “recite the whole book, forwards and backwards.” While more obscure these days, Pedro Páramo’s influence, and what it influenced, cannot be overlooked in any discussion about Magic Realism.

[@CuriousMuse]

☺️👍🏻

[@SerWhiskeyfeet]

The Master and Margarita

[@CuriousMuse]

One of the greatest novels of the 20th century and is a masterpiece of magical realism 🪄

[@michaelcole4207]

This says magical realism is identified by six qualities, but it only lists three.

[@CuriousMuse]

Oh, really? Just reviewed the script and don’t see “6” there. Where do we say it? 😅

[@quinnthehobbit6680]

It’s magical realism in six minutes, not six qualities.

[@4shaha]

Thanks. But I still have problems understanding it. 😅

[@CuriousMuse]

😅

[@paranoid1182]

آره حتما فهمیدی تو اسکل تر از این حرفایی که بفهمی برو برو به دنیای واقعی و بی رمغت برس بی مغز الکی خوش ! موندن یه ایرانی اینجا چیکار میکنه اصلا !!! 😅😂😂😐🤔🤦🤦

[@bruh8911]

Twitter? I hardly know 'er

[@iamaperson5729]

Twitter funny bird haha

[@bruh8911]

@@iamaperson5729 gex has revealed himself

[@CuriousMuse]

hmmm?

[@MsSunisred2]

Would the show ‘We Bare Bears’ count?

[@CuriousMuse]

Not really 😚. It needs to have a real world setting. Though nice one :)

[@tatito1891]

الواقعية السحرية كانت في كتاب ألف ليلة وليلة قبل ولادتها في ألمانيا بقرون

[@CuriousMuse]

Hmmmmmm

[@ahmeddahouti4177]

What the Heck ??? One of the famous works about the Magical Realism is Ben Okri's The Famished Road , you didn't mention it at all !!!???

[@CuriousMuse]

6 minutes is barely enough to explain what magic realism is so hopefully this great book gets a video review on its own on our channel soon!

[@ahmeddahouti4177]

@@CuriousMuse Absolutely it was beneficial especially the analysis, by the way I was really looking for sth about Ben Okri since we're studying his works 💙🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@CuriousMuse]

🙏🏻

[@sharmilys2210]

Okay, how many arts are there, I started with watching one, and after that it is relentless. So many 'lism' are there.

[@CuriousMuse]

How many arts are where? In magical realism?

[@sharmilys2210]

@@CuriousMuse no, I meant, "How many art moments are in this world!" I was shocked after watching them one by one.

[@carbonc6065]

You deflated the balloon at 5:58.

[@CuriousMuse]

Oh no 🫣

[@nicluvsyou237]

I count watching this as studying

[@CuriousMuse]

Very good ))

[@fiftyshadesofgrey1991]

Mykola Gogol as he was of Ukrainian origins

[@ulengrau6357]

Props just on the fact that you included Carpentier. The dude basically established the "rules of magic realism" for LatinAmerican literature, and yet very few people know who he is or have ever read his incredible novels. It's amazing too, because even Harold Bloom included Carpentier in this "100 Geniuses". And William H. Gass was also a huge fan of Carpentier, placing him side by side with Borges.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you for your note.

[@smilefenn4813]

good vid but whats with the weird social media theme

[@CuriousMuse]

We wanted to make it be more fun and modern 🙈

[@pattess3946]

Mmmmmmmm Julio Cortázar is not a realista mágico, what text are you thinking? Could you please give me an example?

[@CuriousMuse]

Julio Cortazar's “House Taken Over” is a good example of magical realism, because the house is taken over by something that is unusual and supernatural.

[@pattess3946]

​@@CuriousMuse We (Argentinean ppl/ some at least) usually take this short story as fantastic, because is true that the story shares the cultural and political criticisms present in the MR, (in this case about the Peronismo) is not something shared by a community like the magical stuff happening in Macondo. In House taken over, the weird element is not magical and it could be just the narrator getting crazy or even on drugs. The magical stuff in Marquez for example isn't questioned by anybody in Macondo. But I can see your point as well. We just analyze it differently.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you for you thoughtful feedback, we looove this ❤️

[@talatthewanderer]

Here after "One Hundred Years Of Solitude".

[@CuriousMuse]

Welcome 🙏🏻

[@razzmatazz1974]

i hate the use of the term to describe any literary work from Latin America. Borges and Cortazar for example would not be magical realism because they do not make any sort of social commentary, Borges himself was a great fan of fantasy writers and i think that some of his short stories such as El Aleph are more like philosophical fantasy

[@filipipipis]

Como latinoamericano te digo con toda la sinceridad que tenemos que, el realismo mágico es un lastre para nuestra literatura. Los mayores autores de nuestro continente han escrito en su mayoría literatura fantástica o realismo o neo-barroco. Lo que ustedes llaman fantasy, lo que es en sí, una vaguedad de su idioma, en los demás menos cavernarios, se llama fantástico. Además que los norteamericanos desconozcan tanto las categorías genéricas de nuestra literatura es bastante desagrable, puesto que todo latinoamericano que escriba en la contemporaneidad tiene que pasar por conocer bien la literatura norteamericana. Aunque en su mayoría los gringos son bien provincianos para escribir, a los más llegan a Chejov, y sus temas aunque sea ciencia ficción, son locales. Decir que un libro como Pedro Páramo en realismo mágico es bien tonto, y porque los gringos lo definieron así, por mero colonialismo en el pensamiento, la gente poco leída de mi continente piensa que es de esa espora decadente que es el realismo mágico, es literatura fantástica, además de ruptura. Naah que hacerle, nos colonizan hasta en eso. No pienso escribir en inglés, porque estaría entrando en su juego. Que te vaya bien, adiós.

[@hrollins1968]

When reading One Hundred Years of Solitude do you think it is important to know about the politics of Southern America?

[@CuriousMuse]

This is a book that can be studied as well as read. You can read it without the knowledge of politics there but knowing some historical context will just help you deepen your understanding / appreciation of the novel.

[@hrollins1968]

@@CuriousMuse Thank you. I will definitely do a little research before reading. Always good to have a little more knowledge. 😁✌️

[@MajClanger]

that was an unnecessary dig at JK Rowling. Pity because (aside of appalling pronunciation) I've enjoyed your videos up to now.

[@CuriousMuse]

Thank you for feedback and watching! 👍🏻

[@sheher5170]

You did not cover the postcolonial affiiation with magical realism.

[@CuriousMuse]

As much as we'd love to, 6 minute format just doesn't allow us to go deeper and cover various angles of the concept.

[@onism8906]

okay but what was the point in bringing up JK rowlings tweets...

[@SerWhiskeyfeet]

Atlanta is the best show that fits the magical realism genre.

[@CuriousMuse]

Good one! 😃

[@zionleach3001]

Is Hellboy magical realism? It's a world like ours but it's inhabited by supernatural creatures that don't interact with most people.

[@CuriousMuse]

Don’t think so - because you very much know it’s not real

[@Colombianista2412]

Still, you missed the whole point of it. Gabo is the center of it all.

[@CuriousMuse]

Ah, okaaay 🥸

[@fiftyshadesofgrey1991]

Ukrainian culture is deeply rooted in Magical Realism but largely involving nature

[@RallyTheTally]

I don't hate JK for her opnions on trans people, as a woman I care about my space.

[@CuriousMuse]

😊🙏🏻

[@sanfranciscowasalmostdestr3519]

Great magical movement ! We hope you will like too our first surrealist short silent movie "THE IMPASSE" : kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqWxo5Kel7Vnedk

[@CuriousMuse]

Amazing movie - thanks for sharing!

[@sanfranciscowasalmostdestr3519]

@@CuriousMuse U're welcome and tx about your great support

[@ganesago]

Magical realism has to have a political component, not just social commentary-as you say. If there's no political point of view, a work can be fantastical or fantasy but not magical realism. As such, there may have been many works of fantasy before magical realism but it was fantastic literature. Americans and Europeans constantly fail to realize that because what Latin American writers were political about, is the colonialism of Europeans and Americans. The other little detail missing on your video is Pedro Paramo, the first work of Magical Realism .100 Years of Solitude owes everything to Pedro Paramo. Where 100 years of Solitude is like an Agatha Christie novel, Pedro Paramo is like Edgar Alan Poe. Also, Haruki Murakami is more of a fantastical literature writer, not magical realist. You do need to research your videos more.

[@howtubeable]

In other words, to get into the elite Magical Realism club, you must push a radical Marxist agenda, based on your hatred of white people.

[@Ozgipsy]

The political spin you put on this ruined what was otherwise a very adept and interesting video.

[@CuriousMuse]

What’s in the story that makes you think theres a political spin put on this video?