Blow Up- ERK

Between the movie "Blow Up" and the short story by Julio Cortazar, there are few similarities in plot. However, the underlying magical realist themes and devices of the two works are very similar. Both examine the nature of reality by exploring the magic in every day life and by challenging our conventional understandings of reality through their analysis of the cyclical nature of time and by questioning what is real. In the story, Cortazar explains that what makes reality real is how it is observed, he cites how if he goes, his remington will "sit turned to stone on top of the table" to explain that existence is in the eye of the beholder. Similarly, in the movie, the white-faced people are playing tenis at the end with a ball that is not real, but when Thomas decides to believe in it, the tenis game becomes real and observable to him. Also, the cyclical nature of time is demonstrated in both works while Cortazar indicates that he is "not afraid of repeating [himself]," Antonioni chooses to demonstrate the cyclical nature of time through the consistency of events such as the appearances of the white-faced people, and the monotony of Thomas' everyday life demonstrated through his time at work and his social interactions with women. In addition, the concept of parallel worlds is also demonstrated in the movie by the clear disconnect between the white-faced people and normal society and also in the story by the analysis of photography, the author is able to create parallel worlds between reality and the photo where the characters take on imaginary roles and personalities that we cannot know are real.