Realism vs. Formalism: A Comparative Film Study of Coco and Sugar Man

This essay undertakes a comparative analysis of the films 'Coco' (2017) and 'Searching for Sugar Man' (2012), exploring their respective uses of realism and formalism in storytelling. 'Searching for Sugar Man,' presented as a documentary, is examined for its realistic portrayal of events and characters, particularly focusing on the investigation into the life of musician Sixto Rodriguez. The essay highlights the film's detailed depiction of the South African music scene and its critical perspective on the music industry. In contrast, 'Coco' is analyzed for its imaginative and creative elements, including its animation style and culturally sensitive themes, specifically focusing on the struggles of an aspiring musician named Miguel. The comparison highlights how 'Coco' employs conventional film techniques while still addressing themes of social critique and the hardships faced by musicians. The essay concludes by noting that both films, despite their different approaches, effectively expose the darker aspects of the music industry, with 'Searching for Sugar Man' offering a more direct and realistic portrayal, and 'Coco' using a more positive and family-friendly narrative style.

Running Head: INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
Introduction to Film Studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
The movies, Searching for Sugar Man (2012), and Coco (2017) are films that took artistic
understandings and perceptions to new heights by addressing to perfection formal and realist
elements in their narratives and depictions. Searching for Sugar Man is particularly well known
for its portrayal of real life while Coco remains one of the best made movies of all time, largely
because of its conventional tone.1 This essay attempts to compare the realist elements that are so
prominent in Searching for Sugar Man with the so called formal or conventional elements of the
movie Coco, pointing in turn to how innovative and creative film making can be.
Searching for Sugar Man is a well made movie that is primarily about a South African
cultural phenomenon that took South African society by storm, breaking many boundaries and
showing life for what it is. The movie captures and portrays realistically, the efforts that were
undertaken by two very obsessed fans of a South African musician by the name of Rodriguez,
whose music was hugely popular in the decade of the 1970’S but who suddenly died of a heart
attack, leaving fans perplexed as to what had become of him. The fact that fans to be passionate
and obsessed with the stars that they idolize is a fact that is relatively well known, but what
Searching for Sugar Man really succeeds in doing is to showcase how tireless fans can be in their
efforts to express or reveal the truth and nothing but the truth about the people they admire.
Famous people, be it musicians, film stars, singers and song writers tend to lead unconventional
lives and they are often depicted by the media for who they are not. When Rodriguez died, most
of the world had accepted that this had happened largely due to the fact that he was addicted to
drugs and alcohol and that it was because of this addiction that he had lost his life so early.
Searching for Sugar Man shows that two of his most dedicated fans refused to accept this truth
about him and undertook as many measures as it was possible to do so, to divulge that Rodriguez
1 Kolker, R.P., 2015. Film, form, and culture. Routledge.

2INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
did not deserve to die so early and that there was perhaps foul play associated with his death, a
realistic angle that resonates with what usually happens in real life.
The realistic portrayal of characters and events in Searching for Sugar Man is something
that is definitely noteworthy. The element of detail is well addressed in the movie and those
who watch the movie with care and attention, can see for themselves what it is that the South
African music scene was all about in the nineteen seventies, how the hippie or the flower
movement was one that turned out to be more damaging than good and how drugs including
cocaine was claiming the lives of so many young people who showed signs of promise and who
had everything that was needed to make it big on the world stage. The element of transparent
language is addressed by keeping the narrative restricted to the use of simple words and phrases.
Searching for Sugar Man, is in essence a documentary film as what it manages to do is to
encapsulate the life of Sixto Rodriguez, the type of music he would make that brought him the
kind of popularity he received and the lifestyle he led and the company he kept. The movie is
highly informative in nature with an element of mystery dominating the movie from the very
beginning right up to the end. The movie for instance points to a number of realistic issues that
are often responsible for the demise of artistic careers in the world as we know it. The movie
portrays how bad career management led to Sixto Rodriguez suffering financially, in spite of
being a musician whose songs and records were doing so well in the South African market.
While royalties accumulated in large sums, none of this money was ever received by Rodriguez,
leading him to become obscure in the bargain. The element of social critique and the element
of class can be witnessed as the film also depicts the various reasons that led to Rodriguez’s rise
in the South African music scene as well, such as his Latino identity and also the fact that his
songs portrayed the oppression of black and colored people living in South Africa at the time.

3INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
What makes the movie Coco really stand out is the fact that it is beautifully animated
while being quite culturally sensitive at the same time. The film contains elements of detail as
follows the in detail the life of Miguel, a young boy who lives in Mexico with no one but his
grandmother, a lady who suffers dementia. The film shows how passionately Miguel feels about
art and music and how he expresses his desire from the very start of the movie about becoming a
well known musician someday, given his love for music. The elements of class and element of
social critique are addressed by show-casing how Miguel is the son of a vagabond musician and
so music is something that runs in his blood. Coco as a movie realistically shows the struggle of
an aspiring musician, depicting all the struggles and hardships that musicians have to go through
in order to make their mark in the society as well as on stage. Unlike Searching for Sugar Man,
imagination and creativity dominates Coco as a movie far more, with Miguel making his way all
the way to the land of the dead in order to seek the blessings of a deceased musician De La Cruz.
It is only after Miguel obtains his blessings and makes his way back to the world of the living
that he is able to establish himself as a musician.
The element of transparent language is addressed in this movie. The dialogues that are
used in the movie Coco, are of course fictitious and not the same as the dialogues that have been
used in Searching for Sugar Man, with the latter being a realistic documentary film. Coco is
more like what conventional movies are all about, with its use of animated or cartoon characters,
beautiful background music, interesting story line and meaningful dialogues. It is far more
entertaining to watch than Searching for Sugar Man and less morbid too, as it portrays how a
young aspiring musician is able to realize his dream of being truly successful on stage after a
considerable amount of struggle and hardship.

4INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
Unlike Searching for Sugar Man, Coco is a movie that can definitely be watched with a
family audience. It is a movie that is suitable for viewing by the young and the old alike, in spite
of being so death obsessed and life affirming at the same time. Searching for Sugar Man is a
movie that points to the ills of the music industry. It points to the exploitation of artists by the
music industry and shows how musicians of promise can be forced to claim their own lives or
disappear into oblivion because of the unfairness that is meted out to them. It portrays how
financially astute artists and musicians are expected to be if they want to avoid being cheated by
music producers and distributors and claim the profit for their talent. Coco is a movie that is far
more positive in tone, in spite of having many realistic elements in it as does Searching for Sugar
Man.2 Coco is a movie which highlights the struggle of a musician entirely, but also shows how
through struggle, hardship and with the help of his friends and the blessings of deceased
ancestors, Miguel is one day able to establish himself as a successful musician.
Thus, both Coco (2017) and Searching for Sugar Man (2012), are movies that are very
interesting to watch and which definitely do a great job of showcasing all the ills and the
demerits of the music industry in the global South. While both are quite realistic in nature,
Searching for Sugar Man is far more so, largely because of the fact that it is shown in the format
of a documentary and not as a work of fiction. Coco on the other hand takes the form of a
conventional formal animation film, with beautifully colored and depicted characters and objects
and interesting portrayal of events that makes it a joy to watch for both children as well as adults.
Coco also reveals the struggle and the hardships of musicians just like Searching for Sugar Man
does, but in a way or format that is considered to be less morbid, more cheerful and more
2 Eisenstein, S., 2014. Film form: Essays in film theory. HMH.

5INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
pleasurable to view than Searching for Sugar Man. At the end of it all, it can be safely concluded
that both movies do a successful job of exposing the dark side of the music industry.

6INTRODUCTION TO FILM STUDIES
References
Eisenstein, S., 2014. Film form: Essays in film theory. HMH.
Kolker, R.P., 2015. Film, form, and culture. Routledge.