Magical Realism in Pop Culture

While reading "One Hundred Years of Solitude", one of the most prominent things that stood out to me was the way Marquez narrated bizarre events with such a normal tone. As a reader I was really intrigued by this "magical realism", as Marquez makes the most insane situations seem almost normal.  It also made me think of how this story-telling technique is used even in modern media, and how this media uses magical realism to convey the same points made in 100 Years of Solitude. Take the U.S. TV show "Shameless". Similar to 100 Years, Shameless is centered around a family and the events that they experience. The show also delves into certain subjects that are considered taboo, such as teen pregnancy, drugs, and prostitution, and addresses them in such a way that they seem normal after a while. Much like the Buendias family, the Gallaghers never fail to fall to their own vices, and always end up in solitude with themselves. But what magical realism does in Shameless and 100 Years is add drama and emotion to events in order to make them seem real. In Shameless, the show's alcoholic patriarch Frank, after ruining his daughter's wedding day by declaring the truth that her fiancee had been using again, gets thrown into the freezing Chicago River by his other family members and left to drown. While in the water, he sees apparitions of his family, and he realizes the things that he's done and for once in his life, feels guilty. I find this similar to the way Ursula started seeing the ghost of her husband in 100 Years of Solitude. I think that Marquez and magical realism definitely inspired modern writers to use this tone to convey their stories, as it serves as a way to downplay spectacular moments yet make them even more emotionally empowering.