Another factor that should be taken into account is the effects media have on younger audiences that are still in a ‘learning phase’ and are therefore considered more vulnerable and prone to external influence (Impact of media use on children and youth, 2003). Cinematographer Mo Ogrodnik highlights the fact that blockbusters, flagships of the Hollywood film industry, are usually targeting young male audiences aged between 16 and 24 years old (Ogrodnik, 2016, interviewed by the author, 20 January), or, in other words, voters in the making, as well as potential military recruits. It is therefore legitimate to think that mass media have a major impact on their audiences, and should be acknowledged as ‘effective instruments of ideological justification’ (Tanguay, 2012: 228) or ‘active agents spreading political ideas and psychological archetypes’ (Sánchez-Escalonilla, 2016, pers. comm., 15 February). Hollywood and the media are thus tools of ‘soft power’, which refers to “a persuasive approach to international relations involving […] cultural influence” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016) and ‘the
Another factor that should be taken into account is the effects media have on younger audiences that are still in a ‘learning phase’ and are therefore considered more vulnerable and prone to external influence (Impact of media use on children and youth, 2003). Cinematographer Mo Ogrodnik highlights the fact that blockbusters, flagships of the Hollywood film industry, are usually targeting young male audiences aged between 16 and 24 years old (Ogrodnik, 2016, interviewed by the author, 20 January), or, in other words, voters in the making, as well as potential military recruits. It is therefore legitimate to think that mass media have a major impact on their audiences, and should be acknowledged as ‘effective instruments of ideological justification’ (Tanguay, 2012: 228) or ‘active agents spreading political ideas and psychological archetypes’ (Sánchez-Escalonilla, 2016, pers. comm., 15 February). Hollywood and the media are thus tools of ‘soft power’, which refers to “a persuasive approach to international relations involving […] cultural influence” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016) and ‘the