Sometimes obviously or sometimes subtly painting does something more than a camera. Whether by painting a subject at different times, or from different perspectives, or in the colours you think they *should* be in, these incongruities aren't viewed as mistakes, but a form of expression.
Conversely, obviously sometimes there are mistakes. If one element of the picture breaks the rules of the rest, eg. by being drawn in warped perspective, it draws your attention, which is good if that was the intent, and bad if it was a mistake.
This can be seen as an analogy to fiction, be it film or book. Almost all fiction glosses over little details of real life, like bathrooms and parking spaces, and this is just part of the medium. To us it conveys the story more effectively than if it were more true to life, but an alien having film explained to him would probably be as amazed as he would that brush strokes are visible in impressionist painting.
Fantasy or science fiction have their own styles that work in those contexts, but would jar your attention in something else. That insertion is greatly effective if you WANT to highlight an event's amazingness, but is dumb if you just thought it would make a good ending. The same applies to history; if you change history to make a good story, that's one thing, but if you change it because you never researched it, that's bad.
For instance, if you're watching space opera, and all of a sudden smuggling cattle is economically viable, you "go what da' hell?" and stop watching. But if the milleu is from the start an equal mix of space opera and cowboys then nothing stands out and it all fits.
So in conclusion (1) Firefly is amazing and should never have been cancelled and (2) I like unrealistic things because I'm sophisticated, but the unrealistic things other people like are moronic[1].
[1] Irony. That is, I think there's some truth in what I say, but depending on what you think is deliberate or obvious you'll think it applies to different things. Hence vehement discussion :)
Conversely, obviously sometimes there are mistakes. If one element of the picture breaks the rules of the rest, eg. by being drawn in warped perspective, it draws your attention, which is good if that was the intent, and bad if it was a mistake.
This can be seen as an analogy to fiction, be it film or book. Almost all fiction glosses over little details of real life, like bathrooms and parking spaces, and this is just part of the medium. To us it conveys the story more effectively than if it were more true to life, but an alien having film explained to him would probably be as amazed as he would that brush strokes are visible in impressionist painting.
Fantasy or science fiction have their own styles that work in those contexts, but would jar your attention in something else. That insertion is greatly effective if you WANT to highlight an event's amazingness, but is dumb if you just thought it would make a good ending. The same applies to history; if you change history to make a good story, that's one thing, but if you change it because you never researched it, that's bad.
For instance, if you're watching space opera, and all of a sudden smuggling cattle is economically viable, you "go what da' hell?" and stop watching. But if the milleu is from the start an equal mix of space opera and cowboys then nothing stands out and it all fits.
So in conclusion (1) Firefly is amazing and should never have been cancelled and (2) I like unrealistic things because I'm sophisticated, but the unrealistic things other people like are moronic[1].
[1] Irony. That is, I think there's some truth in what I say, but depending on what you think is deliberate or obvious you'll think it applies to different things. Hence vehement discussion :)