The Impact of Movies on the General Public Movies are an unparalleled communication channel that effectively informs and entertains an audience through elaborate stories and experiences. They occupy a place in American pop-culture through their ability to evoke emotions that facilitate the bonding of friends and families. The most contradictory debate concerning movies is found in their ability to influence people’s behaviors and expectations in everyday life. Some argue that movies’ sole purpose is to entertain and negate claims that movies can contribute longterm effects. However, after analyzing certain features of film making, including the rating system, heavily personal and emotional data has led many to believe that movies have the
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Even if the movie is obviously fictitious, people often alter their behavior, even if only for a short-period after the movie. A fine example of this is stated in the essay “Research: Horror Movies and their Effects on Society.” In this work, the author provides a case in which audiences may alter their behavior following a scary movie. He or she portrays their claim by using horror films that led to an alteration in viewer behavior. Their whole purpose in writing this article, is to analyze how and why horror movies effect society the way they have. “The second is Jaws, the thrilling story of a nautical man in search of a terrible, beastly shark that has been terrorizing local beaches. Once again, because swimming at the beach is something that we as humans always like to believe is warm, fuzzy, and a safe retreat from reality, the concept of the story created a new element of fear for its audiences” (para. 3). He or she discussed how the movie, although it was fiction, still made viewers skeptic of the water. This movie, altered everyday behavior. In her article, “Do Horror Films Filter The Horrors of History?” Shaila K. Dewan, asserts that the true horrors of reality are portrayed through horror movies. She supports her claim by using a variety of different movies and quotes as examples of how films incorporate the terrors of realities such as war …show more content…
She explores the reasoning behind the restrictions put on movies. The rating that each film is assigned provides support to the idea that movies have effects on the general public, otherwise what would be the purpose of rating a movie in the first place. A child watching a R- rated movie could potentially cause confusion about their perceptions of reality, depending on why the film was given an R-rating. Elizabeth Perse also mentions the consequences of over exposing children to the film world. Emphasizing on the example provided above, she states, “Fear was one of the common emotional reactions to the movies. Over the years, certain movies and television programs have been anecdotally linked to childhood fear. Some movies, rated PG, were so frightening that another category to the MPAA movie code was created: PG-13” (Perse 216). Without the knowledge that comes with growing in age and maturity, children may experience a more severe impact from certain genres, such as horror films. They do not know how to differentiate between what is realistic and what is
Even if the movie is obviously fictitious, people often alter their behavior, even if only for a short-period after the movie. A fine example of this is stated in the essay “Research: Horror Movies and their Effects on Society.” In this work, the author provides a case in which audiences may alter their behavior following a scary movie. He or she portrays their claim by using horror films that led to an alteration in viewer behavior. Their whole purpose in writing this article, is to analyze how and why horror movies effect society the way they have. “The second is Jaws, the thrilling story of a nautical man in search of a terrible, beastly shark that has been terrorizing local beaches. Once again, because swimming at the beach is something that we as humans always like to believe is warm, fuzzy, and a safe retreat from reality, the concept of the story created a new element of fear for its audiences” (para. 3). He or she discussed how the movie, although it was fiction, still made viewers skeptic of the water. This movie, altered everyday behavior. In her article, “Do Horror Films Filter The Horrors of History?” Shaila K. Dewan, asserts that the true horrors of reality are portrayed through horror movies. She supports her claim by using a variety of different movies and quotes as examples of how films incorporate the terrors of realities such as war …show more content…
She explores the reasoning behind the restrictions put on movies. The rating that each film is assigned provides support to the idea that movies have effects on the general public, otherwise what would be the purpose of rating a movie in the first place. A child watching a R- rated movie could potentially cause confusion about their perceptions of reality, depending on why the film was given an R-rating. Elizabeth Perse also mentions the consequences of over exposing children to the film world. Emphasizing on the example provided above, she states, “Fear was one of the common emotional reactions to the movies. Over the years, certain movies and television programs have been anecdotally linked to childhood fear. Some movies, rated PG, were so frightening that another category to the MPAA movie code was created: PG-13” (Perse 216). Without the knowledge that comes with growing in age and maturity, children may experience a more severe impact from certain genres, such as horror films. They do not know how to differentiate between what is realistic and what is