Reconsideration of realism in contemporary cinema (A comparision between cinemas of Turkey and USA)

The conception of realism in the arts is identified as an aesthetical category so far. However it is essentially an epistemological category. It is a way of thinking on the society it originates from. The notion of realism should be considered in relation with the other notions such as real and reality. The reality in question is not the physical dimension of it, but a combination of its social, cultural and cognitive processes. Real is a gap which can not be attached to that social reality, but at the same time it takes place in the heart of it. Realism is an outlook on the reality through the medium of the real. Therefore, it is also an ethical and a political act.There are many examples that are close to this sense of realism in the contemporary cinema of USA and Turkey. In the meantime, reality remains a major problem of the both societies. Despite the utopian contexts of the realistic narratives, today?s societies are not able to envisage new conditions other than their current ones.