MOVING IMAGE CULTURE
DISCUSS HOW MOVIE AFFECT THE SOCIETY AND THE CURRENT GENERATION
DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF MOVIES ON MODERN SOCIETY USING EXAMPLES OF MOVING IMAGE WORKS OF YOUR CHOICE ?
The primary communication for the brain involves pictures and emotions that can be demonstrated through movies. Throughout decades, movies have been used as powerful tools to communicate with the masses. The metaphors they carry, whether linguistic or non- linguisticspeak directly to us, as they are engraved into the abyss of our mind. They tend to immerse the audiences into an alternate world, where a typical pattern is found to emerge; a battle between the viewer’s subconscious mind trying to explore solutions, whilst the conscious part of the brain immersing itself in the ‘wide awake dreaming experience’(Booker, 2010). According to Stephan king “If movies are the dreams of the mass culture...horror movies arethe nightmares” (Gold, 2003), or as it is explained in The Truman show(1998), “one simply accepts the reality of the world with which they’re presented”.
To say in the more clinical terms, movies have become a form of societal medicine; a therapeutic endeavor for the masses (Liulevicius, 2020). The legions of traditions and customs that are present within our society have made us ignorant of our ground realities andas a result halted our society’s growth through its negative influence. The degree to which wehave been captivated by these beliefs may vary between developed and developing nations (University of Minnesota libraries publishing, 2010). Throughout history these negative influences of ignorance, misogyny, dowry systems; extreme patriarchal nature and caste system have been present and have sustained great deal of damage to the human civilization. These influences are not only present within our society but are practiced without the reverberation of the wake that they bring with them. These practices areblindly followed by society and are preached like aristocracy through hereditary traditions to each upcoming generation (Fairman, 2016).
On the other hand, movies play the role of glowing torch that visibly radiate to eliminate the obstinate discolorations present within society. According to Liulevicius (2020), if one were to go back to the age of motion pictures, perhaps the finest example of movies having a democratizing aspect could be observed in the work of Charlie Chaplin, whoembodied these influences in his work. Not only did he use comedy as a tool for entertainment but used it as a social tool to promote his ideas to the masses. Whilst many of his comedies poked fun atthe authority such as ‘keystone kops series’; Chaplin was always easily embraced by the audience, due to the simple nature of his characters as the masses could easily connect to them and the messages that they were communicating, which reflected the growing influence of cinema & its ability to deliver democratizing messages to the viewer (Liulevicius, 2020).
Another example that can showcase the influence of movies on promoting a message to the masses can be demonstrated through Django unchained (2012), which basically reminds the audience about slavery & the plight of African Americans during the 1800’s, while enlightening them about the atrocities that were committed against them before the anti- slavery movement that came into motion, during 1840. However, movies can directly or indirectly affect viewers in both positive and negative manner. For example, they have been a great force of influence in changing the ancient narrative of taboo issues. During the 1990’s,contracting AIDS was essentially a death sentence, as this disease had killed over 200,000 individuals (Mulkerin, 2019).
At the time a good majority of these victims were homosexual that were afraid to come out due to the widespread fear and hatred against the LGBT community, as the political class remained silent (Mulkerin, 2019). This is when the movie Philadelphia (1993) was released, which played the flag-bearer role in highlighting the issue of AIDS and instigated the public to reconsider their views about the predicaments that were being encountered by the gay community.
Similarly, movies can also play a pivotal role in changing opinions, educating individuals and promoting national integration and solidarity (Savoy, 2020). When governments or institutions feel dominated by a heavily negative perception; movies tend to act as their medium to promote their message in order to bring clarity to the public, while encouraging the audiences to more nationalists unifying views, as reflected by the movie Top Gun (1986). The U.S Navy had funded the film with the hope that it will make it more desirable andincrease its enlistment. In his book ‘Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes andCensors the Movies’, Robb (2004), claimed that the resounding success of the movie had improved the image of the U.S Navy and had increased its enlistment for aviators by almost 500 percent. Outcomes as such encourage governments to sponsor movies that can promote their narrative and improve their image, such as in the case of Argo (2012), or Zero Dark Thirty (2012), which influenced the perception of viewers about the US government which in turn led to an improved image (Robb, 2004).
Movies can also be used to spread awareness and empathy by stirring up our sense of responsibility and civic duty towards issues that are imperative in nature. Movies can enlighten us and influence our thought process by motivating us to work for the betterment of our society (Mohan, 2018). A good example of this idea can be observed through the movieThe day after Tomorrow (2004), which made the viewers more aware about the impending problem of our planet. Furthermore, it encouraged them to take responsibility for earth’secology, so that the looming impact from the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources can be halted, by changing consumer attitudes & buying behavior (Englehardt, 2017).
A general consensus can also be build based on debates arising as a subsequent consequence of movies, such as the case of An Inconvenient Truth (2006); a film at the heart of man-made climate change and its inevitable threat to humanities existence. The film had a global reach and was viewed by a wide range of audience. A study was carried out by Nielsen Company in collaboration with The Oxford University, to determine the impact of the film on its audience, which showed that the viewers were strongly influenced by the film, as they became aware about the issues and now had a better understanding about the consequences of their actions, which had prompted them to change their lifestyle and buying behavior (Mulkerin, 2019). Another impact of the movie was that it inspired a new generation of Environmental activist who led the 2007 benefit concert called ‘live Earth’,that was organized with the sole focuse of saving the planet.
This shows that movies will always appeal to the masses as it holds a great deal of influenceover their minds because it’s a form of art; every art being a propaganda of some thought, feeling or idea. The true essence of the art lies in the effectiveness of the propaganda (Mulkerin, 2019). A better depiction of this can be seen in JFK (1991). It is a movie based on conspiracy theories regarding Kennedy’s assassination that influenced peoples judgement about the probable causes behind his assassination and the nefarious schemes that were being played behind the shadows to cover his murder (Englehardt, 2017). Similarly show’s &movies that were adaptation of OJ Simpson trial, such as American Tragedy (2000), or OJ Trial of The Century (2014), etc. gave the whole world unprecedented access to the case. It gave the public a sense of duty to hold opinion about the matter, such that they could determine whether he was guilty or innocent, based on the ineffectual and bias information that they were getting through various sources. This access to unreliable information shaped their perception about the case, as race had become a pivotal issue in this case narrative, which could have had a strong bearing on the outcome of this case (Cram, n.d.).
This reflects that the influence of movies is not just limited to shaping and changing behaviors but it has the ability to change outcomes of cases by influencing and manipulating the popular opinion of the masses. Apart from that, movies can also influence society to be acceptable of different patterns of behaviors, such as drinking, cheating, doing drugs or engaging in illicit activities that were once considered shameful or illegal, but are now considered normal (PRIMACK, et al., 2010). The Pineapple Express (2008), is a suitable example of movies promoting the use of marijuana, which is a criminal offence in most parts of USA, however the influence of movies and shows has been such that according to a survey in 2019 by ‘Pew Research Center’, Two-thirds of American adults support marijuana legalization, such that its recreational use has been made legal in almost 18 states of USA (Leins, et al., 2022).
However, movies are created to cater to global audiences across different cultures with the aim of enlightening them. Unfortunately, at times they can be interpreted differently by people, which could challenge their core beliefs regarding issues, such as drugs, murder and sexuality etc. which can have adverse effects on their mind, as these propagandas can leave their traces in our psyche, which could be unhealthy for the society in the long run (Mulkerin, 2019). This can be clearly reflected through the case of Michael Hernandez’s who stabbed his middle-school classmate to death and later admitted that he was replicating the behavior that he hadobserved from the killers in the movie American Psycho (2000) & The Silence of the lambs (1991), as he “Identified himself completely with the killers” (Margaritoff, 2021).
This shows that individuals that are susceptible to violence or have been exposed to it at an early age often look for role models with whom they can connect at a deeper level to escape their misery. Often these children are found to be deprived of compassion and guidance, as their set of values becomes inconsistent with that of society, which leaves them at the risk of being alienated (Marono, et al., 2020). When these young innocent children are repeatedly exposed to these gruesome crime scenes & violence on shows or movies as mentioned in thecase of ‘Michael Hernandez’s’; then the antagonist from these movies that have traumatic past become relatable individuals, such that their stories of abuse and injustice, which ultimately led them to take such strong and brutal actions against other people seem justifiable. As time passes by, these children eventually lose all empathy and fundamentally start to believe that indulging in violence is the best solution for them to vent out their frustration.
According to Marono et.al (2020), most of the serial killers in USA were abused by someone during their childhood. The trauma they suffered along with the alienation of society had cornered them to commit violence & cruelty against animals during their initial stages. Over time this behavior continues to progress and evolve, until it escalates to the point that they lose all empathy for all living creatures. This is the point when they start to target people in order to achieve satisfaction that is derived from the misery and helplessness of their victims, as in the case of Javed Iqbal, a famous serial killer from Pakistan, who during the 1990’s had allegedly raped, strangled and killed more than 100 young boys (Jenkins, n.d.).
Alternately, movies are also being created that are closely linked with modernity and realism. Modernity in movies can be artistic, societal or political modernization. Perhaps a suitable example could be Pather Panchali (1955), which is a prime precedent of movies displaying a beautiful combination of pragmatism and modernism. This movie shows the need to break away from the traditional obsolete patterns, in order to adapt to new ideologies & constructs of modern times (Vasudevan, 2011). He showcases the obsolete nature of traditional roles and the need for alterations within said patterns of behaviors to evolve and grow as a society, which can encourage the current generation to be more pragmatic and have open thought process.
Despite its drawbacks, movies can still play a compelling role for our current generation, as a tool to pass multitudes of information ranging from history to the world economy as it’seasier for people to learn from movies and videos then through books (Kubrak, 2020). Furthermore, it brings marketing opportunities for companies to indulge in product placements, such as ‘AUDI’ and the movie Transporter (2002), which can support the economy and provide alternate ways for companies to reach out to captivated audiences. Thus, it can be established that movies have the power of altering and reshaping our thought process, lifestyle and buying behavior, while enlightening us about issues that need to be addressed, so that we can try to progress and build a better society.
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