User:Nihonjoe/Slice of life

Slice of life is a term which refers to a naturalistic representation of real life when portrayed in any dramatic or fictional presentation such as theatre, television, or film. The term is a translation of the French tranche de vie, credited to the French playwright Jean Jullien (1854–1919), and is sometimes used as an adjective, as in, "a play with 'slice of life' dialogue.". 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."

As a presentation or representation of real life, there may be an appearance of little plot progression or character development, often with little to no exposition, conflict, or denouement, as well as frequently having an open ending. However, the best works in this genre tend to have a clear plot-line which depict the every-day life of ordinary people and brings seemingly random elements together to further the plot. Slice of life stories may either be dramatic or otherwise presented in a very serious nature, or may be used to help frame a comedic setting. Slice of life works can also contain significant conflict as well. An example of a slice of life drama which contains a lot of conflict would be The Catered Affair by Paddy Chayefsky.

Literature
Slice of life elements are often used within literature in order to ground the story in something familiar to the reader. John Steinbeck is an example of an author who uses "slice of life", making characters who could very well be real, then turning it into a story such as in Of Mice and Men. Other literary examples include the manga series Yotsuba&!, which shows the world through the eyes of a child, and Dubliners, a short story collection by James Joyce.

Theatre and dramatical presentation
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..."

During the 1950s, the phrase had common critical usage in reviews of live television dramas, notably teleplays by JP Miller, Paddy Chayefsky and Reginald Rose. At that time, it was sometimes used synonymously with the critical label "kitchen sink realism", adopted from British films and theater.

Other examples of slice of life presentations include the television series Seinfeld and the anime video series Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō.