Fountain of Knowledge

Think of slipstream as a surreal painting where everything's out of proportion. A painting where you know it's strange, but you can't exactly put your finger on what's strange about it. Or better yet, think of someone who's under the influence of hallucinogens, like LSD. It's not in the territory of speculative fiction per se, but reality isn't exactly real either.

An excellent movie example would be "Being John Malkovich". Here's the trailer  . A definite must-watch for anyone interested in slipstream. Or that black-and-white "Felicity" episode where the main characters are trapped in a gigantic box, and they're trying to get out of it. For anyone who loves "Supernatural", anytime Loki/the Trickster shows up, Dean and Sam get trapped in this weird world; in one episode, they enter a parody of famous TV series.

And yes, "Alice in Wonderland" can be called slipstream, what with the size-altering potions and the Cheshire Cat and all.


As for magic realism, it's a bit hard to explain, but I think "Pan's Labyrinth" falls in this category, even though it's categorized as fantasy. Those of you who haven't watched this movie...well, you should. It's awesome!

Another example is myths. Back then, people truly believed the gods walk among them, producing half-god children, and the fantastic is a part of the accepted norm. In the Iliad, gods and half-gods play important roles in the battle. The way these myths are passed down, it's like they were true.

Stories about telepaths and telekinetics as well, in a world where everything else is our normal reality. I'm not sure if anyone here remembers the movie "Powder", where this albino-white kid has strange, unexplainable telepathic powers, and is shunned by the rest of the community except for a few. He ends up transcending into a being of pure energy. Or M. Night Syamalan's "Lady in the Water". It's about regular, problem-ridden people who come across a lost water spirit, and try their best to help her find her way home before these dark creatures get to her.

So I think magic realism stories are deeply set in the normal world (past, present or future), only with fantastic elements (telepathy, magic, mythical elements) added.