Impact of Movies on Society

Keywords: influence of cinema on society, influence of movies

This essay gives a brief history of how movies were developed in the first place. This not only gives a bit of experience of how the movies were developed, but also the purpose of making the movie itself. Many people begin to argue that movies are positive or negative to the society for various reasons. Nowadays, there are more amounts of people who go against movies, as they mostly fear of common problems, such as children having a chance of attempting to make risky actions from what they have watched from “action and adventure” kind of movies.

The problem about their judgement of the influence of movies to the society is that some of them do not think about the genres, as this gives a large difference in the influence to the person’s reaction. For example, another kind of genre would be documentary. As they give knowledge about the nature and reality, it is considered to be helpful and if better, change their personalities and their point of view. So that means other genres like action and adventure movies are not considered to be helpful and are none other than scenes filled with violence which may offend the audience, isn’t it?

Even if the specific genre is not a type for educational purpose, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are useless or violent to children. As generally everyone knows: all movies have a storyline, no matter what way it is, just like a book. And because of that, most of the storyline leaves a message for the audience. But is that it?

Other than United States, there are others that are trying to make movies about their own cultures. Chinese movies are one of the most well-known for martial arts and their histories. There are also directors who sometimes want to make movies from true situations that they have experienced, so that audience who watches them will be able to learn from these situations. Since the topic itself is broad, I’ll be concentrating on my own personal country, Korea. Not just that I could be able to share the history and acknowledge the advantages that people gain benefit from them, but also learn the Korean history and acknowledge them for myself.

1. Introduction – What is a movie?

To be alive is “being moved”. To be dead is “being still”. We say “The Sea is alive” particularly because of the waves. There are fish around in the sea. When we look at babies, they normally react to something or somebody moving. Man is an animal of curiosity. We all get interested in something new and/or alive. Movies can show us a new world which we can imagine. My study on movies starts here. A movie, also called a film or motion picture is a kind of living/ multi-complex art, which most of people like.

A movie is a story that is communicated with animating images. “It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects.” The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry. People in the United States call it movie, while in Europe they call it film. There are other terms that others call it, including the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies.

The history of movies comes with the historical development of the medium. The history of movies spans over a hundred years, from the late 19th century to the present day. Movies were developed so well it evolved from creative innovation to one of the most important tools of communication and entertainment, mass media in the 20th century to 21st century. Movies became highly compatible with arts, technology, and politics.

Human being is an animal of communication. We talk, we see, we hear, we smell and we touch/ feel the others. Also we are a creature who can enjoy entertainment. Movie is one of the most powerful communication tools we have ever developed so far. Movie has started as a moving picture. And now it is not just an entertainment, but it is a centre of culture. Movies influence us on every lifestyle. We see other languages, lifestyles, clothes, instruments, houses, roads, buildings and landscapes, we hear other songs and sounds, we learn other thoughts and philosophies, and we feel other emotions on the movie than what we used to. Movies can offer a lot of different and diverse experiences to people – something good and bad.

2. History of movies

If we go through the history of movies, we will realise that movie itself is a history. The skills, stories and contents have been developed / changed in accordance with our history. Political, economic, social and ideological situation influence the movies and in return the movies influence our daily lives.

2.1. Birth of the Movie

The French Lumière brothers, Louis and Auguste gave their first show of projected motion pictures to an audience on December 28, 1895. Their first public screening of films at which admission was charged was held at Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris. This history-making presentation featured ten short films, including their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). Each film is 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, runs approximately 50 seconds. It was the well-known first movies which means that film changed from a simple innovator to a commercial product.

The moving images had an immediate and significant influence on popular culture with L’Arrivée d’un Train en Gare de la Ciotat (Arrival of a Train at a Station) and Carmaux, défournage du coke (Drawing out the coke). It is said that the spectators who had looked on at ‘Arrival of a Train at a Station’ ran away as they had felt the train came across them.

2.2. The silent era (1895 – 1925)

Combining the image with synchronous sound was not possible for inventors and producers, since no such practical method was devised until 1923. For the first thirty years, they were silent, except accompanied by live musicians with possible sound effects. Even commentaries were spoken by the showman or projectionist.

2.3. The sound era (The era of talking pictures, or talkies 1926 – )

Warner Bros. Hollywood studio introduced a new system called “Vitaphone” in 1926. It produces short films of live entertainment acts and public figures. Recorded sound effects and orchestral scores were able to be added to some of its major features. During late 1927, Warners released The Jazz Singer. It was mostly silent but contained what is generally known for the first synchronized dialogue (and singing) in a feature film.

2.3.1. Industrial impact of sound

During the late 1929, Hollywood was filled with competition, including sound systems. Nevertheless, total changeover in the world overall, was slightly slower, mainly for economic reasons.

This situation was known as or called “The Golden Age of Hollywood”, which roughly refers to 1926, when sound was introduced until the late 1940s. During that time, the American cinema successfully manufactured glamour and global appeal. The top actors of the era were thought of as the classic movie stars. Some of them were Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Greta Garbo, and Shirley Temple, the greatest box office draw of the child performer in 1930s.

Sound films developed and benefited more variety of genres than silent films. One of them was the musical film. The first classic-style Hollywood musical was The Broadway Melody (1929). The first major creator in choreographer and director was Busby Berkeley (42nd Street, 1933, Dames, 1934). In France, René Clair the avant-garde director made various uses of songs and dances especially in comedies. Some of them were “Under the Roofs of Paris” (1930) and “Le Million” (1931). Universal Pictures began releasing horror films, such as “Dracula” and” Frankenstein” (both 1931). In 1933, RKO released Merian C. Cooper’s well-known ‘giant monster’ film “King Kong”.

Other popular films were American gangster films like “Little Caesar” and “Wellman’s The Public Enemy” (both 1931). Dialogue took precedence over “slapstick” in Hollywood comedies: “The Front Page” (1931) or “It Happened One Night” (1934), the sexual double entrendres of Mae West (She Done Him Wrong, 1933) or the rebellious chaotic nonsense of the Marx Brothers (Duck Soup, 1933). Walt Disney, who was previously in the short cartoon business, triggered the first English-speaking animations. One of them was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, released by RKO Pictures in 1937. In 1939, American cinema brought popular films, like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with The Wind”.

2.3.2. War and post-war: patriotism and propaganda (1940s)

The desire for wartime propaganda created a renaissance in the film industry in Britain, with realistic war dramas like 49th Parallel (1941), Went the Day Well? (1942), The Way Ahead (1944) and Noel Coward and David Lean’s celebrated naval film In Which We Serve in 1942, which won a special Academy Award.

The onset of US involvement in World War II also brought a proliferation of movies as both patriotism and propaganda. American propaganda movies included Desperate Journey, Mrs Miniver, Forever and a Day and Objective Burma. Notable American films from the war years include the anti-Nazi Watch on the Rhine (1943), scripted by Dashiell Hammett; Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Hitchcock’s direction of a script by Thornton Wilder; the George M. Cohan biopic, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), starring James Cagney, and the immensely popular Casablanca, with Humphrey Bogart.

2.3.3. Era of cold war and introduction of television (1950s)

The Cold War era zeitgeist translated into a type of near-paranoia manifested in themes such as invading armies of evil aliens, (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The War of the Worlds); and communist fifth columnists, (The Manchurian Candidate). During the immediate post-war years the cinematic industry was also threatened by television, and the increasing popularity of the medium meant that some movie theatres would bankrupt and close. Some of the most successful examples of the spectaculars include The Ten Commandments (1956), The Vikings (1958), Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960) and El Cid (1961). Also during this period a number of other significant films were produced in Todd-AO, developed by Mike Todd shortly before his death, including Oklahoma! (1955), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), South Pacific (1958) and Cleopatra (1963) plus many more.

2.3.4. 1960s

During the 1960s the studio system in Hollywood declined, because many films were now being made on location in other countries, or using studio facilities abroad, such as Pinewood in the UK and Cinecittà in Rome. “Hollywood” movies were still largely aimed at family audiences, and it was often the more old-fashioned films that produced the studios’ biggest successes. Productions like Mary Poppins (1964), My Fair Lady (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965) were among the biggest money-makers of the decade. Further, the nuclear paranoia of the age, and the threat of an apocalyptic nuclear exchange (like the 1962 close-call with the USSR during the Cuban missile crisis) prompted a reaction within the film community as well. Films like Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove and Fail Safe with Henry Fonda were produced in a Hollywood that was once known for its overt patriotism and wartime propaganda.

In documentary film the sixties saw the blossoming of Direct Cinema, an observational style of film making as well as the advent of more overtly partisan films like In the Year of the Pig about the Vietnam War by Emile de Antonio.

2.3.5. The ‘New Hollywood’ – Post-classical cinema (1970s)

The New Hollywood’ and ‘post-classical cinema’ are terms used to describe the period following the decline of the studio system during the 1950s and 1960s and the end of the production code. During the 1970s, filmmakers increasingly depicted explicit sexual content and showed gunfight and battle scenes that included graphic images of bloody deaths.

During the 1970s, a new group of American filmmakers emerged, such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Brian De Palma. The development of the auteur style of filmmaking helped to give these directors far greater control over their projects than would have been possible in earlier eras. This led to some great critical and commercial successes, like Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Coppola’s The Godfather films, Polanski’s Chinatown, Spielberg’s Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind and George Lucas’s Star Wars. The phenomenal success in the 1970s of Jaws and Star Wars in particular, led to the rise of the modern “blockbuster”. Hollywood studios increasingly focused on producing a smaller number of very large budget films with massive marketing and promotional campaigns.

2.3.6. Sequels, blockbusters and videotape (1980s)

During the 1980s, audiences began increasingly watching movies on their home VCRs. In the early part of that decade, the movie studios tried legal action to ban home ownership of VCRs as a violation of copyright, which proved unsuccessful. Eventually, the sale and rental of movies on home video became a significant “second venue” for exhibition of films, and an additional source of revenue for the movie companies. The Lucas-Spielberg combine would dominate “Hollywood” cinema for much of the 1980s, and lead to much imitation. Two follow-ups to Star Wars, three to Jaws, and three Indiana Jones films helped to make sequels of successful films more of an expectation than ever before. Lucas also launched THX Ltd, a division of Lucasfilm in 1982, while Spielberg enjoyed one of the decade’s greatest successes in E.T. the same year. 1982 also saw the release of Disney’s Tron. This was one of the first films from a major studio to use computer graphics extensively.

2.3.7. 1990s

The early 1990s saw the development of a commercially successful independent cinema in the United States. Although cinema was increasingly dominated by special-effects films such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Jurassic Park (1993) and Titanic (1997), independent films like Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies, and videotape (1989) and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992) had significant commercial success both at the cinema and on home video.

Animated films aimed at family audiences also regained their popularity, with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994). During 1995 the first feature length computer-animated feature, Toy Story, was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Disney. After the success of Toy Story, computer animation would grow to become the dominant technique for feature length animation, which would allow competing film companies such as Dreamworks Animation and 20th Century Fox to effectively compete with Disney with successful films of their own. During the late 1990s, another cinematic transition began, from physical film stock to digital cinema technology. Meanwhile DVDs became the new standard for consumer video, replacing VHS tapes.

2.3.8. 21st Century – globalization and 3D movies

There has been an increasing globalization of cinema during this decade, with foreign-language films gaining popularity in English-speaking markets. Examples of such films include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Mandarin), Amelie (French), Lagaan (Hindi), Spirited Away (Japanese), City of God (Portuguese), The Passion of the Christ (Aramaic), Apocalypto (Mayan), Slumdog Millionaire (a third in Hindi), and Inglorious Basterds (multiple languages). There has been a revival in 3D film popularity the first being James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss which was released as the first full-length 3-D IMAX feature filmed with the Reality Camera System.

As of 2010, 3D movies are gaining increasing popularity. After James Cameron’s 3D movie Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, many other movies have followed suit and been released in 3D, with the best critical and financial successes being in the field of feature film animation such as DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon and Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar’s Toy Story 3.

3. The Korean movies

Recently the Korean government office placed an order to the dept. of culture that ‘ Movie industry is mainly controlled by a few big capitals. Therefore we need to control those capitals to support making more movies that are ideologically more right-hand side’. This is an example to show us that how movies can influence on people and how some governments want to take use of movies for their political purposes.

In 2011 Director Hwang Dong-Hyeok made a movie, The Crucible (Korean name: Dogani) which is based on the novel of the same name by Gong Ji-young, starring Gong Yoo and Jung Yoo-mi. It is based on true events which took place at GwangjuInhwa School for the hearing-impaired, where young deaf students were the victims of repeated sexual assaults by faculty members over a period of five years in the early 2000s. as it was ridiculous that both crimes and the court proceedings let the teachers off with a mere minimal punishment, the film made an intense noticeable release in September 2011, which caused to reopen the investigations of these incidents. Over 4 million people in Korea watched this film, allowing the demand for legislative reform to reach all the way to the National Assembly, where a revised bill, dubbed the Dogani Bill, was passed in late October 2011 to abolish the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors and the disabled.

As we have gone through the world movie history, the movies are a product of history and they are so influential to the people. It is not only an entertainment, but also a strong mass-communication tool and become a centre of culture.

3.1. Development of Movies in Korea

Korea’s modern history has been very tough. Chosun dynasty (the last Korean emperor) was conquered by Japan in 1910 and since then Korea was under Japanese colony until 1945. After independence, there was a civil war from 1950 to 1953 for three years and divided into two countries – North and South. During the cold war after the WW2 in the world, Korea was in the most serious and severe situation. It was a tragedy as the governments always take use of this political and ideological situation for their governance. All the democratic freedom of speech, thought and writhing have been thoroughly restricted under the name of ideology. Nevertheless, Korean people have been expanding their freedom with their dynamic characters and this is the same in movies.

3.1.1. Origin of movies (- 1926)

According to the October 19, 1897 issue of The Times, “Motion pictures have finally been introduced into Chosun, a country located in the Far East. At the beginning of October 1897 motion pictures were screened for the public in Jingogae, Bukchon, in a shabby barrack that was borrowed from its Chinese owner for three days. The works screened included short films and actuality films produced by France’s Pathe Pictures”.

Korea’s first movie theatre, Dongdaemun Motion Picture Studio, was opened in 1903.The Dansung-sa Theatre opened in Seoul in November 1907.Not merely a theatre-operator, as the first film producer in Korea, Dansung-sa’s owner, Pak Sung-pil, took an active part in supporting early Korean cinema. He financed the first Korean domestic film, Loyal Revenge (Korean: Uirijeok Guto), as well as the first Korean documentary film, Scenes of Kyongsong City and showed both at his theatre on October 27, 1919. Uirijeok Guto was used as a Kino drama, a live theatrical production against the backdrop of film projected on stage. Some name a filming of Chunhyang-Jeon in 1921 (released in 1922) as the first Korean feature film. The traditional story, Chunhyang, was to become Korea’s most-filmed story later. It was possibly the first Korean feature film, and was certainly the first Korean sound film, colour film and widescreen film. Im Kwon-taek’s 2000 Pansori version of Chunhyang brought the number of films based on Chunyang.

3.1.2. The silent era (1926 – 1935)

Korean film studios at this time were Japanese-operated. A hat-merchant known as Yodo Orajo established a film company called Choson Kinema Productions. After appearing in the Choson Kinema’s 1926 production Nongjungjo, the young actor Na Woon-gyu got the chance to write, direct and star in his own film. The release of Na’s film, Arirang (1926) is generally considered the start of the era of silent film in Korea and this has shown the power of movie as it influenced the depressed Korean people to recognize their nationality. Another important director of this period, Shim Hun, directed only one film, Mondongi Tultte (At Daybreak). Though the reviews for this film were as strong as those for Arirang, Shim died at the age of 35 while directing his second film, based on his own novel, Sangroksu (The Evergreens). The novel was later filmed by director Shin Sang-ok in 1961 and by Im Kwon-taek in 1978.

The first half of the 1930s saw a decline in the domestic film industry in Korea. Due largely to censorship and oppression from the occupying authorities, the number of films produced at this time dropped down to only two or three per year, and some filmmakers fled Korea for the more robust film industry in Shanghai at this time. Perhaps the most important film of this era is Imjaeobtneun naleutbae (Ferryboat with no Ferryman) (1932), directed by Lee Gyu-hwan (1904-1981), and starring Na Woon-gyu. Because of increasing governmental censorship, this has been called the last pre-liberation film to present a significant nationalistic message.

3.1.3. Early sound era (1935 – 1945)

Korea’s first sound film was Lee Myeong-woo’s 1935 Chunhyang-jeon. The sound technique was reportedly poor, but Korean audiences appreciated hearing their own language in the cinema. The number of films produced increased during the latter part of the decade. Na Woon-gyu began making a larger number of films again with significant works like Kanggeonneo maeul (1935), and Oh Mong-nyeo (1937), before his premature death in 1937.

Sound films in Korea faced much harsher censorship from the Japanese government-General than did the silent films before them. Also, the loss of the byeonsa (narrators) with the coming of sound film meant that anti-authority messages could no longer be sneaked around the censors in this way. The showings of American and European films decreased, and were replaced by Japanese films. Korean-made films became a propaganda tool for the government of the Japanese occupation. Starting in 1938, all film-making in Korea was done by the Japanese, and by 1942 the use of Korean language in film was banned.

3.1.4. Divided Korea – South Korea

3.1.4.1. 1945 (independence) – 1955

With the surrender of Japan in 1945, Korean cinema enjoyed a burst of liberty-and liberty itself, understandably, became the major theme of films at this time. Choi In-gyu’s Viva Freedom! (Korean: Jayu manse!), about Korean freedom-fighters during the waning days of the colonial period, is considered the major film of this era.

During the Korean War, film production slowed; only five or six films were produced each year from 1950 to 1953.

3.1.4.2. Golden era of Korean movies (1955 – 1972)

The quality and quantity of Korean movies had increased dramatically this period. 15 films in 1955, 30 in 1956, 37 in 1957, 74 in 1958 and became 111 films in 1959. The most famous movies were Chunhyang-Jeon (Lee Gyu-hwan 1955) and Free madam (Han Hyung-mo 1959). Chunhyang-Jeon is based on Korean classic story, while Free madam is totally shocking against the Korean traditional way of thinking. Director Lee Kyu-hwan successfully remade Chunhyang-jeon in 1955. Within two months 10% of Seoul’s population-over 200,000 people had seen the movie, giving the re-establishment of the film industry further impetus. The movie viewers became more than 170,000,000 people per year in 1960s. There were many different genres as well – Young love movies, Comedy movies and Action thriller movies.

3.1.4.3. Dark era of Korean movies (1973 – 1979)

This time period can also be called as ‘the winter of the sixty years in Korean film’. This was due to the fact that South Korean had a very authoritarian political system that was led by Park Chung-hee. His program of Yusin Restoration (Revitalizing Reforms) caused Korea Cinema to come into a depression period with oppression through censorship. Because the government feared that cinema would disrupt the good taste or customs, harm the pride and dignity of South Korea, praise or support North Korea and Communism, or criticize the political and government politics, filmmakers were wary of this censorship and they were not allowed to produce films that they wanted. Writing in 1981, the International Film Guide said of South Korean cinema, “No country has a stricter code of film censorship than South Korea– with the possible exception of the North Koreans and some other Communist bloc countries.” The number of films in 1970 was 230 and it dropped to 96 only in 1979. The number of movie viewers was 170,000,000 in 1969 and it dropped to 64,000,000 in 1977.

3.1.4.4. The second dark era (1980 – 1996)

After the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in 1979, Korea still has to wait more time to come spring time in Korean movies. In 1988, President Roh Tae-woo began the gradual elimination of the government censorship of political expression in films. Directors were quick to begin re-exploring social and political themes in their films. During this period, producer Lee Tae-won made domestic films just to get an import quote. This import quota system controlled the films and restricted the directors to produce films that would supplement the government. Because the import quota system was controlled by the MPPC (Motion Picture Promotion Corporation, created in 1973) and because the government mainly controlled the MPPC, the government basically had all the control to display whichever film they want and cut out all the films that would go against their views.

The audience for domestic films reached a low point, due partly to the opening of the market to films from overseas, especially the United States and Hong Kong. By 1993, only 16% of the films seen by South Korean audiences were made domestically. The local film industry persevered through this lean period.

3.1.4.5. 1997 – Present

From the late 1990s, South Korean cinema managed to attain domestic box office success exceeding that of Hollywood blockbuster movies. From 1997 to present is considered golden age for Korean films, and now Korea is being considered an Asian film powerhouse, producing movies from various genres, not just for Korean market but also widely for the rest of the Asia.

The 1999 film Shiri about “a North Korean spy preparing a coup in Seoul was the first in Korean history to sell more than 2 million tickets in Seoul alone”. The movie’s popularity, coupled with the screen quota, helped Shiri to surpass Hollywood box office hits such as Titanic, The Matrix and Star Wars in South Korean theatres. This movie’s success motivated other Korean films with large budgets for Korean circumstances.

In 2000 the film JSA (Joint Security Area) successfully surpassed the benchmark set by Shiri. A year later, the film Friend managed as well. The romantic comedy “My Sassy Girl” outsold The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, which ran at the same time in South Korea. As of 2004, new films continue to outperform older releases. In South Korea some Korean productions are more popular than Hollywood films.

Films such as Shilmido and Taegukgi were watched by over 10 million people per film, which is a quarter of the South Korean population. Shilmido is a film based on a true story about a secret task force in 1970s. The other blockbuster movie, Taegukgi, was described about two brothers in the Korean War.

Films such as Shiri have been distributed in the USA. In 2001, Miramax bought the rights to a remake of one of the successful Korean action comedy movie, “My Wife is a Gangster”. Recently, popular Korean movies such as Il Mare (remade as The Lake House), Old Boy, My Sassy Girl, and Joint Security Area have also been bought by Hollywood firms for remake as well.

The 2003 psychological horror A Tale of Two Sisters was successful as well, leading Dreamworks to pay $2 million (US) for the rights to a remake, topping the $1 million (US) paid for the Japanese movie The Ring.

3.1.4.6. Festival success

In 2002, Korean film first acquired serious international recognition at the Venice Film Festival, where the film of “Oasis” won the second prize award. It’s about an isolated young woman with cerebral palsy who falls in love with a simple minded man who has recently completed a term in prison for hitting and running an accident that killed her father.

Old Boy came in second place in the Cannes Film Festival, second to Fahrenheit 9/11, and hence known for another Korean film to achieve international recognition. It is about the life of a man who is put into solitary confinement by someone he doesn’t know. He had to live there for 15 years before he is released and given 5 days to discover the reason for his cruel entrapment. Dark and gloomy, Old Boy experiments with several psychological madness and sexual distortions.

In February 2004, Kim Ki Duk won the award for best director at the 54th annual Berlin Film Festival, for a film about a teenage prostitute, Samaritan Girl. In addition, he won the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival for his 2004 movie, 3-Iron. In 2010, Poetry won the Best Screenplay Award and was selected for the main competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. In November 2011, the leading actress, Jeong-hee Yoon won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for her performance.

3.2. Korean-Wave

Korean movies together with Korean dramas and Korean songs are making a new wave in Asian countries as well as the rest of the world nowadays. There are three important dates of new Korean-wave movies: 1992, “Marriage Story” was financed by Samsung, marking the first non-government funded film. 1999, Shiri was released and led to Korean films taking over 50% of the local market. Ultimately, “My Sassy Girl” became the most popular and exportable Korean film in history.

4. Movies, as a major part of culture industry

Every day we meet movies on TVs as well as at theatres. Most of the people from the young to elderly enjoy movies.

There are so many genres – action, science fiction, adventure, comedy, crime, epic/myth, fantasy, horror, love/romantic), social drama, thriller, and so on. A movie is not just a mere entertainment, but a part of our lives. We have unlimited imagination and access to high technology. Movies don’t stick to walls any more. It walks in and out of our mind. They become part of our experiences we may never be able to see from overseas.

5. Conclusion

Because movies are strongly influential to the people, there are negative effects. They may be good and enjoyable movies. They can, however, be violent or sexual. They could particularly give a bad impact on youngsters.

Few cases have been found in the USA. One of them was about a young student who shot several people dead. He admitted that he imitated a violent scene he has watched.

The politicians take advantage of movies for their political purposes. Hitler used movies for his Nazi system. The movie “Triumph of the Will” is an example. During the Cold War era, there were a lot of movies related to the Cold War. One of them was one of the 007 series. Horse opera movies were made for the White to justify their conquering of the continent and pushing away the Indians. People may be biased that the Whites are good and Indians are barbarian or bad through the movies. Movies can control our way of thinking, our attitude, appearance and our character. As movies are a culture, they can be much effective than newspaper or magazines.