Influence of Film

The film industry has played a major role in how many of us view the world since it began. Hollywood has been pushing its agenda, whether subtly or right in your face, basically since it was established. People young and old have been influenced for good and bad since that same time. I want to talk about my own experience with movies, and how they affect me.
My earliest memories are of watching those classic Disney movies. I feel that they were very beneficial to my childhood as my mother could get a break every once and a while, and it taught me that good always prevails. That may not always be the case in real life, but it is certainly a great ideal I hope to instill in my own children someday.
Now days, I cannot say that I participate in the same viewing genres. I am more into movies that I wish related to my own life. Movies like Batman, which are not even possible, allow me to place myself in a different world for a little bit and live through the eyes of a super hero. I think that is one of the main reasons people watch movies. They can leave their own lives for a minute and experience something completely different, whether possible or not.
However, I am certain that the film industry understands this and uses this desire people have to influence them. They portray things such as immorality, violence, and just evil living as normal and accepted. They make it seem ok to do things that really you would get thrown in jail for or worse, sin. I am not saying all movies do this, but I am saying that it seems to be the trend they are heading in. I myself am guilty in indulging in movies that influence me in a very negative way. Whether I initially recognize it or not every time I watch a movie with any of those things above mentioned in them, I am more inclined to do them myself.
Movies are very powerful and can be used to do a lot of good. Sadly, most of the world is using this power to do the complete opposite.

Our Generation and the Movies

Everything I do is influenced by the media – movies probably more than any other outlet. After seeing He’s Just Not that Into You I was inspired by the main character to have more self-confidence and stop relying so much on what others think of me. I was also inspired to buy Keane’s CD because “Somewhere Only We Know” is probably one of the best songs I have ever heard. I never would have realized how much I like the song were it not for the movie. It’s now the most played song on my iTunes.

Our generation has made it commonplace for a movie to already be a major success on opening day. We have started a trend of making big movies like Star Wars, Harry Potter and, more recently, Twilight attract large crowds who often spend the night outside the theater waiting for the first showing at midnight.

As I get older I worry that movies are taking a toll on the self-esteem of young girls in America. At 21 years old I still suffer from an inferiority complex every time I see a movie with Jessica Alba because every guy I know has made a comment about how “hot” she is. I recently got a haircut similar to Sandra Bullock’s in The Proposal and bought a jacket similar to one Mandy Moore wears in Because I Said So. My nine year old, brunette cousin Rebecca (pictured below) remarked after seeing the Hannah Montana movie that she wished she had blonde hair like Hannah.

Movies also have an influence on the way our society has become desensitized to indecent exposure and language. Sexual innuendo is a natural part of my generation. I find I have even become immune to the bad language and I no longer feel uncomfortable with sexual jokes and suggestive behavior in movies because it is found everywhere. It is sad that PG-13 movies make the most money because my generation feels they are too “mature” to go to PG or G rated movies. Hollywood has made us believe that things are only funny or entertaining if they include some sort of sexual joke or behavior.

I worry about the things that will be appropriate in movies for the next generation. The ratings standards have been lowered over and over and I wonder what my children will be viewing on a regular basis. Hopefully at some point the standards will no longer need to be lowered and the next generation can rise above and appreciate decency in movies and watch only those movies which affect them in positive ways.

movie collections and their affect on youth

How much influence do movies have?

click on the above image to know more about the history of the WestWood Theater

How do you feel about crime and gun control, the homeless crisis, the AIDS epidemic, or the aging of America? According to Purdue University English professor William J. Palmer's studies "people in mass society get their sense of history from the way it's portrayed in movies."

"How do Americans interpret history? Do they get it from historians? Some do. Do they get if from the news? Some do. Do they get if from movies? Certainly they do. I think one of the main sources of history is movies. I'm not certain it's the best source, but certainly it is a main source."

Even since Clark Gable took his shirt of in the 1934 movie It Happened One Night, it's been more than clear that movies do make an impact in society. Still today, and I believe that more than ever, we see how much influence movies have.

Humongous lines with people dressed like Harry Potter to watch the midnight showing of the new release, count downs and numerous paraphernalia with Ron, Hermione and Harry all over.

Ad agencies have started, for a while now, using movies as an advertising mean. Product placement is everything. What drives Edward is a classic example, so much that not only have they had they share of apperances in the movies Twilight and New Moon, but they are using the movie and characters as a way to reach out to a new audience.

THE REX

Here in Rexburg, Idaho, there are a grand total of 4 theaters. The Rex, Paramount Twin and Holiday Theaters (both "cheap/dollar" theaters, as locals call it) and the recently inaugurated Drive in theare The Vu.

There is not one night where one of these theaters is empty. Movies have always been a big part of society. It's part of life and people want to go to the movies. Despite all the new commodities of home theaters and blue ray players and surround sounds, there is still nothing like the movies.

BIG LINE AT PARAMOUNT TWIN

Not only are we shaped by movies, but movies are shapped by us. As noted on the article entitled Do movies shape your opinions? from USA Today, films reflect the issues of that time. For example "Bad guys (...) can give hints about the decade in question. In the 1970s, villains were corporations, as portrayed in "The Formula," "Chinatown," and the "Godfather" movies. By the 1980s, the villains were terrorists. There was international terrorism ("Nighthawks," "The Little Drummer Girl," "Die Hard"); South American government terrorism ("Salvador," "Missing," "Under Fire"); and drug terrorism ("Colors," "Scarface," "Extreme Prejudice")."

Another example used in this article is that of the Vietnam War. "America has changed its views of the Vietnam War and veterans of that war. Up until 1977, no one wanted even to talk about Vietnam. From 1977 until 1980, a whole bunch of really good movies about Vietnam came out, and suddenly it was legitimate. Now, it's okay to be a Vietnam vet."

We are what we watch, and we watch what we are. From product placement to political brain washing we are greatly influeced by the movied we watch, and probably don't even notice it.