You, Me, and the Screen

Even though the idea of the saying can be defended by some persons, I believe it is an overstatement — which makes it untrue — to say that movies are the mirrors of societies. Probably for commercial reasons, there were additions I noticed in a movie about the biography of a well-known person. I had read the autobiography of this person; the additions did not alter important events that really occurred. Nevertheless, these additions may be considered true by some persons who have watched the movie but not read the autobiography. If every scene in a movie detailing a biography can’t necessarily happen in reality, what are more movies of the action, sci-fi, horror, and adventure genres, to name but a few? Furthermore, some movies are based on how things are thought to appear at some time in the future; the last time I looked at myself in a mirror, it showed me how I looked like at present – hilarious, right?

Okay, so not all movies give a clear idea of what the society is like; in fact, some give ideas of what no sane person will want a society to be like. By and large, there is a relationship between the society and movies as the latter can affect the former — and vice versa. For the sake of this exposition of movies, I will touch on, and stick to, how movies affect the society, people in general, or us.

           

On the positive side, movies add more to our consciousness. Even if it is for a couple of hours, movies take us to a world and/or time different from ours. Via movies, we can get a glimpse of the knowledge and values shared by a particular society at a particular time. There are also testimonies of people who used movies to understand languages different from theirs. Movies based on social ills of various forms help to generate the desired responses to such concerns. Even history tells us that with the help of movies, it will remain relevant. In other words, we also get to learn about particular historical events through movies.

We all need to be inspired; some movies can, and do, help in this regard. A friend once told me that as a child, he aspired to become a physician because he was inspired by a movie that profiled the life of a medical doctor. Of course, his decision would have been influenced by other factors, but he claimed it was the movie that made him fall in love with the profession. Irrespective of the movie genre, we can get to see regular people carry on and succeed against all odds. In turn, we may be inspired to see the troubles in our lives as obstacles we can overcome. Creativity, which is a relative to inspiration, is also bolstered by movies. Movies of the comedy genre give us one of the best medicines: Laughter. Amongst other health benefits, laughter has been proven to help reduce blood pressure, deal with depression, relieve pain, and strengthen the immune system. Extreme laughter for fifteen minutes, or over, while watching movies has an equal effect on the wellness of our cardiovascular system as exercising, and mental health specialists sometimes prescribe selected movies as part of a healing regimen for depression. We can relate to this as the funniest of movies can help put smiles on our faces or, at least, halt the tears when sad thoughts set in.

We may have stressful or lazy days. On days such as these, we can just choose to entertain ourselves with movies as they can serve as sources of stress relief or just help while away idle time. When it comes to entertainment at its very best, there are a few suggestions we may call to mind before a mix of a good movie with interesting soundtracks. I sometimes decide to entertain myself for thirty minutes, or less, with the soundtracks of some of my favorite movies.

Economically, the movie industry creates jobs and opportunities. From actors, to make-up artists, costume designers, writers, set builders, etc, a movie production can employ as much as a hundred, or more, persons. When a movie is shot at a particular locality, it makes a noteworthy input to the local economy. On the whole, the movie industries of various countries contribute to their Gross Domestic Product.

One of the definitions for addiction is an abnormally strong craving; truth be told, some persons have an excessive desire for watching movies. This desire is considered abnormal, and an addiction, when there are pertinent issues to be dealt with but one opts for watching a movie. This brings me to the negative ways movies affect us — the first of which is an addiction to them. Instead of scheduling time for other activities, we may begin to pay too much attention to movies by regularly concerning ourselves with the release dates, promos, downloads, etc, of movies. The addiction to movies, just like other addictions, affects performance and productivity with add-on negative consequences. From strained relationships, job losses, failed exams, etc, the effects of addiction to movies lead to more physical and mental torture.

Some movies give ideas of what no sensible person will want a society to be like. Why does this statement seem familiar? Well, that is because I have stated this in the second paragraph of this exposition. Unarguably, so many movies today are more violent and explicit. Let’s keep censorship or age ratings and guidance for movies to the side, the unfortunate reality is that so many persons have been exposed to movies inappropriate for them. To make matters worse, there are easier, faster, and more private ways to get hold of all sorts of movies. The effects of watching these explicit activities stem from another unfortunate reality: Not everyone – with emphasis on young people who have impressionable minds – can separate fact from fiction or the acts they see on screen. Whether such sadistic movies display novel or already known ways of being violent, excessive exposure to them do lead to actual criminal acts. Talk about explicit movies, and we will have to touch on ‘adult movies’. At least, these are thought of as movies, right? We will be fooling one another if we think these movies are appropriate for a particular age; the truth is that adult movies are not appropriate for any age! Just because some movies can be viewed by persons of a certain age do not necessarily make these movies ‘fitting’ for them. Furthermore, can we comfortably say these movies are mirrors of the society? Can we begin to relate with my stance on arguing that this saying is an overstatement? In any case, the problem with adult movies is what defines them. Sadly, these obscene contents, though subtlety, are increasingly being displayed in movies not considered adult. This has led to an increase in ‘adult’ demeanors amongst children; adultery and fornication amongst married and unmarried adults respectively. On the society as a whole, there is an increase in the number of socially and physically diseased persons. One of the chief reasons for the increase in violence and explicit acts in movies today is the fact that there is a corresponding increase in the number of film makers who are not concerned about upholding morals. They will rather make movies that appeal to the senses, or what I will describe as deciding to capitalize on the innate weakness that pulls toward wrong because they are majorly concerned about making money – and for some of them, so much more.

Talk about so much more, and we cannot deny the fact that via some movies, we get exposed to, and sometimes accept as true, a lot of unbefitting ideas. From trying to make foul words seem ‘fitting’ to express certain emotions or in certain circumstances, to an outright display of alternative and highly controversial lifestyles (like having people practicing witchcraft as good protagonists), we can only speculate why some film makers decide to spread these propaganda. The effects of these inappropriate concerted set of messages are disagreements and for those on the wrong side of the controversies, the acceptance of false notions.

Via movies, and entertainment in general, we sometimes get to celebrate and even consider as role models leading actors that are not idyllic. If a role model is defined as someone whose attitudes, deeds, etc, people try to emulate because they think highly of them, then there is trouble when we have leading actors as drug addicts and alcoholics, fornicators, adulterers, racketeers, etc. There are real life heroes whose activities are worth emulating and celebrating, but these may be crowded out by the activities of hyped movie stars. To bear out, try taking a survey amongst 10-13 year olds asking them to list ten movie stars within three minutes; they will likely be done under three minutes. Then try asking them to do the same when it comes to non movie stars that make, or made, a positive difference in our world; you won’t be shocked by their responses and response time if you thought they won’t be able to.

Movies can affect our lives positively and otherwise. The good thing is that we, to a significant degree, can influence their supply via our demand powers, and we will be glad if we use those wisely.