Tuesday, November 16, 2004

The Incredibles and Reality

Ontological Authenticity is an excellent phrase. I’m not sure if it will hold up under close scrutiny, but it seems to mean what is true about the nature of things, which shines through imaginary reconstructions of the world. Perhaps it is the logical truth that holds together even fictional universes. This is the kind of truth that helps understand that if an animation falls from the sky and bounces off the ground, it does so in a certain way, even though none of this is possible in our universe. More complex animations develop more sophisticated rules, allowing for ever more impressive effects still staying within these rules. Of course a lot of animations just do whatever fantastic thing the author thinks of next. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Incredibles makes the case for an ideal universe, truer than true, in which characters are capable of amazing things, yet are still true to their world. And, in some way, they are true to ours as well. The Slate review of the Incredibles is an excellent read.