Manipulation of Image

Something I found very interesting in Bazin's The Evolution of the Language of Cinema was that he believes that any manipulation of the image, such as the suggestive editing developed by Eisenstein or the dramatic sets and lighting of German Expressionism, stands in the way of realizing the film’s true potential for realism. He claims that the introduction of sound, far from destroying film as an art form, actually enhanced it as an essential element of reality. It is interesting to me that he thinks that he thinks editing to the image can create a lack of realism whereas any changes to sound does not. Nearly all images used in film are edited and made to create a feeling or emotion. The way the viewer perceives the image is how they perceive the film and editing can create this. I also think that films in general are not usually "real". Even if they are based on a true story, they still edit the image used to make it more like the original or add a certain emphasis.