Slice of life

Slice of life

:"For anime usage, see Slice of life story":Slice of life is a theatrical term that 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). ["Random House Unabridged Dictionary", Random House, 2006.]

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..." [ [http://www.wayneturney.20m.com/naturalism.htm Turney, Wayne S. "Notes on Naturalism in the Theatre".] ]

In the 20th century, it expanded to mean "the realistic description or representation of events and situations in everyday life in literature, film, journalism, etc." [ [http://www.yourdictionary.com/slice-of-life "Your Dictionary"] ]

During the 1950s, the phrase had common critical usage in reviews of live television dramas, notably teleplays by Paddy Chayefsky [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=g3uY59k0XNUC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=chayefsky+%22slice+of+life%22&source=web&ots=3P3kcaxW5U&sig=tVpznjStwcPDjjfB8K8oIDWgZdU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result Gottfried, Martin. "All His Jazz", Da Capo, 2003.] ] and Reginald Rose. [ [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/rosereginal/rosereginal.htm Dowler, Kevin. "Reginald Rose". Museum of Broadcast Communications.] ] At that time, it was sometimes used synonymously with the critical label "kitchen sink realism," adopted from British films and theater.

References

ee also

*Émile Zola

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DC1030F930A35751C1A96F948260 "Film View; Mining the Eloquence of Ordinary People" by Vincent Canby. "The New York Times", December 3, 1989]


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  • slice-of-life — slice′ of life′ adj. of or pertaining to a naturalistic, unembellished representation of real life: a play with slice of life dialogue[/ex] • Etymology: 1890–95; attributive use of slice of life, trans. of F tranche de vie, allegedly coined by… …   From formal English to slang

  • slice of life — n. 〚transl. of Fr tranche de (la) vie, prob. coined by dramatist Jean Jullien (1854 1919)〛 1. the realistic description or representation of events and situations in everyday life in literature, film, journalism, etc. 2. such an event or… …   Universalium

  • slice of life — n. [transl. of Fr tranche de (la) vie, prob. coined by dramatist Jean Jullien (1854 1919)] 1. the realistic description or representation of events and situations in everyday life in literature, film, journalism, etc. 2. such an event or… …   English World dictionary

  • slice-of-life — ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ adjective Etymology: from the noun phrase slice of life, translation of French tranche de vie : of, relating to, or marked by the accurate transcription into drama or another art form of a segment of actual experience in these… …   Useful english dictionary

  • slice-of-life — /sluys euhv luyf /, adj. of, pertaining to, or being a naturalistic, unembellished representation of real life: a play with slice of life dialogue. [1890 95; attributive use of slice of life, trans. of F tranche de vie, allegedly coined by… …   Universalium

  • Slice of life story — A slice of life story is a category for a story that portrays a cut out sequence of events in a character s life. It may or may not contain any plot progress and little character development, and often has no exposition, conflict, or denouement,… …   Wikipedia

  • slice-of-life — adjective Date: circa 1934 of, relating to, or marked by the accurate transcription (as into drama) of a segment of actual life experience …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • slice of life — part of the history of humankind, part of one s day to day life …   English contemporary dictionary

  • slice of life — a realistic representation of everyday experience in a movie, play, or book …   Useful english dictionary

  • (a) slice of life — a slice of life phrase a description or picture of ordinary life in a book, play, film etc The documentary was meant to be a slice of life. Thesaurus: descriptions and storiessynonym Main entry: slice * * * a ˌslice of ˈlife …   Useful english dictionary

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