Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

Why are movies important to society?

Why do we as people flock to the theater just to see a movie. Yes, the obvious answer is entertainment. But there has to be something else other than that. We can entertain ourselves in other ways without having to shell ot $8 (U.S.).

Why do people like us, avid movie fans, escape the reality of the real world to sit and watch something that is not real, but is set in the real world? And even if the film is not set in the world we know, the characters feelings are exchanged to us by the actors as if they are real. Why would we want to see someone else portray something we live out everyday? What is it we're looking for inside a movie?

What is the most important contribution that film brings into our society? And do we actually learn from what we see, or just forget the whole thing after we see it?

we learn from films, of course we do, i learned what a pugilist was when young guns was first released, when i was just a kid, vocabulary is a big part of film and same with books, it increases your knowledge of basic things in life such as conversation and different possible situations people can be put in, and of course morals found in films the same as books which can try to teach people the right thing to do. films are an escape, its a vacation from the same setting you view on a regular basis to see the world in a different perspective and try to understand people and the world around you better. movies aren't just a form of entertainment but also a form of education, and to enhance an imagination of what is possible. I personally will never be a detective, or see the wild west, or fight vampires but i can watch a movie about it and get an overall sense of what it would be like to be the character, and still identify with the character based on personal beliefs and habits. that is why film is so important to society, and film will continue to be important to society in the same way that books have always been important.

I dunno. Why are new threads so important to you? ;D

Serious answer (sorta): people love to be entertained, and, in my mind, movies are the ultimate form of entertainment. They combine music, stories, and pictures all in one, and these days they do so with uncanny realism.

Yeah, I know I was sort of the thread hog the other day. I just ask these questions because there is more to movies than just "Favorite" and "Best of" lists. :D

I do find to strange that in order to escape from real life to watch a film we have to sit in a large room and sit next to someone we've never met. I'd rather stay home.

Escape.
Sure, I think everyone likes to be entertained and of course you can learn from movies but I personally think it's a form of escape too. I'd rather sit at home and watch a movie in peace too but if I'm at a theatre and if I'm engrossed in the movie, I don't particularly notice those around me. Most times if I rent a movie or go to the cinema, I go to relax and escape my day -- usually from a hairy day at work.

re:
 

I saw a church sign as i was on my way to a movie (obviously). It stated "We are judged based on our actions, not on our intentions". I thought it was so true. We have good intentions, but most of us are too afraid or too embarased to go through with them. In most movies (usually the ones that make the most money) is really about turning those intentions into actions. The movies show the result of this. It could be good, could be bad, but in the end you know you've done something right. Something other than what we do. We always want to save the world or make a difference, like what people do in movies, but we just brush it off. If it's saving the world from the bad guys, having the guts ask a guy out on a date, sustaining a relationship when things seem bad, and getting up when you've fallen. Think of any movie you know, and think about how the characters have done something you wouldn't of, in a good way, of course. Jackass doesn't count. Since no one does it in real life, directors want to see what would happen if it did. We want to see people succeed. We want to see them fail. We wan't to see them do things that none of us can do. That's why movies make so much money. That's why they have an impact on our society. I'm agreing with r3port3r66 that entertainment isn't enough, because it isnt.

I personally have to go with the escapism theory. Life pretty much sucks and the world's a frickin' mess these days, so who doesn't want to get away from it all for at least 2 hours. I love going to the movies because for that space of time, I don't exist. My problems are gone, the world is gone, all that matters is what's up on the screen. Sure, some movies can change the way you think, see the world, etc. But only a real big liar says they go to the movies to learn important life lessons or have their perceptions of things changed.:yup: In the end, if movies don't entertain you in some way, they've failed.

movies are definetly an escape but you learn things from them as well, you can't deny that you don't learn things from watching movies, i didn't mean for that to be the ultimate purpose of watching movies, who reads novels purely to learn? i was comparing books to movies, they're basically the same thing in essence.

to be brief...movies are important because they are fun...because they are scary...because they are educational...because they are classy...just because
they are there to excite the human emotion
not just entertain us but to allow us to feel what we want
(example:...if you want to feel scared what are you going to go see?...dumbo??...nah..you want a good horror movie)

Hey, R66, I dig your threads. They breathe a little life into this place.

I'm a sensory junkie. I was diagnosed long ago with attention deficit. It may or may not be a b.s. disease, but I know I crave sensory input like Charlie Sheen craves hookers. The movies play to those cravings. I get a head full of stimulus, an ear full of booming sound, and an eyeful of candy without leaving my seat.

Can't think of another place/way I could do that short of following Charlie to the house of ill repute.

People love stories, too. Cave paintings were about conveying a story. The tradition lives... the media changed.

I have to agree with Fox and Monkeypunch about escapism… movies can help you unwind and even if they show the very worse society has to offer, hopefully they still make you feel better because what is on the screen is worse than what you’re going through and if not, then for a short time you have someone else who has the same problems you do…

Where's Holden?....

Back in the day when Shakespeare was an active playwright, he mentioned that the reason he wrote his tragedies and comedies was because of the human condition. Life can be hard and cruel, and people need to be given relief. More for their over burdened and over stressed minds than anything else. Watching a tragedy that can make you feel grateful for the trivialities that encumber your own life can be healing. In fact, it can increase your lifespan if you really think about it. Times are different now, of course, but now we have even more stresses than the simple issues of keeping warm and dry, and staying fed. Mentally, we need much more relief than they did back then, because we are bombarded with multitudes of problems that cannot be escaped, that people back then couldn’t even begin to fathom. I can have a hard day at work, be in pain from missing some loved ones, be burdened with debt, and worry about my future; but then I go to a movie. It might make me laugh, it might make me cry, but regardless of what it does…it heals me, if only for a short time.

Very well put, Slay and so true.
In short, we escape if only for a brief while the tribulations of real life.

"Movies are not only the dreams of society, but also the therapy."

From a paper written for an intro to film class. I couldn't agree with it more. Though people may not think about it on an active level, movies make our lives easier by both escape and understanding.

Movies are great in all the aspects mentioned thus far... escapisms, reflection on life, entertainment, and such.

One other thing too. We should consider that movies are a semi-modern art form. They've had written art in novels and suck for awhile, and paintings, written music which could be duplicated.

But movies are the only artform where you actually see life being represented or at least mimicked. So just imagine 1,000 years from now when people are studying history. What's going to be the biggest source people can draw from to understand the way things are today? movies of course. There's no doubt in my mind that historians 1,000 years from now will be studying The Grapes of Wrath, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, and many others to get a depiction of what life was like or might have been like. Even lesser movies or (god forbid) TV shows, news broadcasts and stuff like that. The camera will probably go down as the greatest invention of all time, even possibly surpassing the printing press I would imagine in the centuries to come. Seriously it's an eye into the past. Wouldn't it be great to study (if they had it) movies from the era of Christ or Ghangis Khan, or whoever else? Just to get a glimpse of how things are.

Of course that's just one of the reasons I love movies because of their potential (though CGI could be a huge misstep in this), but there's a million others too. But I just wanted to quickly mention something a lot of people might not think of.

also can you imagine what a great tool movies are going to be to historians studying dialect, culture, and such. Maybe everyone in 1,000 years will be one race. Wouldn't be cool to see people of different races in movies, that are actually real people who lived and die, rather than some painting or heiroglyph.

I just like the feeling you get from driving to the theatre, standing in the line and talking to the lady behind the glass, finding a seat way up high and sitting down and waiting for the lights to dim and the movie to start. It's relaxing in my opinion, and to have to pay seven bucks to sit down and relax for two hours and see something new and refreshing (hopefully) is well worth it to me. That is why I go to the movies. Nice topic though.

Why are movies important to society?

In the case of The Thin Blue Line, it could be a matter of life and death.

[quote=Loner]Why are movies important to society?

Because they allow us to see what REAL life is like. Movies are all about real feelings and real people and real circumstances.

Just like in real life, the ugly loser always gets to tap the hottest girl.

Just like in real life, the nervous, ugly, useless kid can play a 5 minute electric guitar solo at the school talent show at the most important time.

Just like in real life, all women have gorgeous bodies, perfect skin, and always reach orgasm.

Just like in real life, when women shower its always seductive.

Just like in real life, the good guys always win.

Escapism
Entertainment
Dissemination of information, education
To see others who are having the same problems we are
To see how others handle problems
To see justice served, for a change
To see others who are having bigger problems than we are
To feel connected to humanity
To feel connected to aliens, robots, talking lion cubs, etc
To see the art of it
To see the reality of it
To explore "what if"

Aye, not forgetting "to get out of the rain" (which is the only explanation I can give for paying money to see Cabin Fever). ;)

The whole 'escape' issue is a bit murky for me. It's really the same problem I have accepting movies as 'entertainment.' I've certainly used movies as an excuse to avoid work or given specific tasks before (procrastinate from doing homework, to avoid hanging out with people you don't want to see or whatever) but for this purpose movies are merely a tool and frankly interchangeable with just about anything else you can think of which takes up time: reading, other types of work, listening to music, alphabetizing your comic collection, walking in circles endlessly, hanging out with people, etc. etc. etc.

I also wouldn't agree with the other idea of escape which assumes 'movie reality' is somehow better than 'real reality.' It just doesn't stack up, for me. Real reality is much richer and more interesting than any movies I've seen. And anyway it doesn't account for the fact that many of the movies I like are much more bleak and depressing than real life. You have to be pretty ****ed up (or at least a good deal moreso than me) to say the world in Vengeance is Mine, Andrei Rublev or Aguirre: The Wrath of God is a happier, more pleasant world than the ones we live in, for example. Movies that have likeable and believable characters whose experiences and emotions I can share do have a certain appeal but it's just so rare that I come across stories that have these characters that I can't point it out as a major reason to watch movies. And anyway sympathetic characters don't have to exist in a pleasant world for the movie to have the same sort of appeal, so it doesn't really characterize a form of escape there either.

So reasons to watch movies would include:
1. to meet interesting and sympathetic characters and share their experiences. ->(it's pretty rare that I meet them in a movie so this isn't a major reason but more of an added bonus for me.)
2. procrastination (fill up time while I wait to do nothing.) ->I still use movies for this sometimes, but not too often anymore (fortunately, but there are plenty of other procrastination tools besides film in the world.)
3. (a) to be taken to interesting conceptual and/or visual places that I wouldnt experience otherwise. And (b) to find the rare movies that do this to me. ->this is the best reason I know, and my reason for watching a movie usually falls into one of these two subcategories.

4. Various combinations of the above three.

And nonreasons to watch movies include:
1. Entertainment -> because to be entertained just about anything suffices so there's no real distinguishing qualities here. Presumably crappy movies can be just as entertaining as good movies can be just as entertaining as a good novel can be just as entertaining as a good/crappy comic book, television show, conversation, experience etc.

2. Escape to a better world -> because 'real life' always beats out movies. This assumes your experience of real life is greater than going to classes/work, eating pizza at the roller rink with your friends, and sitting in front of a computer screen at home (definition b). If that's what you mean by real life then movies probably are better, but I would posit that that sort of life is itself a form of escape from 'real life' (which would make movies an escape from escapism.) My answer might be different if I was living in crushing poverty working at an emotionally and physically incapacitating job, but I'd like to think I'd still choose 'real life' over movies.


EDIT- this last aside isn't in answer to anything specific in this thread or a reason to not watch movies but just some thoughts on the one thing that I think makes movies more appealing than real life, versus the rest of my post -EDIT
There is one place that I agree movies do beat out real life:
they are faster and more predictable/familiar than real life.
The appeal of this isn't from movies' familiarity with our real life experiences but with our simulated experiences in other movies that we've seen. An example of this is when you see a movie about teenage romance and know that the nerdy wimp hero is going to win the bombshell because of other movies that you've seen. You further know that they will live happily ever after eternally in love. Not from experiences in real life but from shared experiences in movies. You know what a laser gun sounds like from watching Star Wars (the same place you know what space ships look like.)

Note that I'm saying that this appeal isn't the pleasance of the outcome but in our familiarity with the rules. Compared to real life (at least, the real life that I've experienced) movie worlds are much easier to navigate, the experiences easier to assimilate and enjoy. There is a certain appeal in this; such is the power of genres, formulas and symbols.

for me personally, i see them to escape reality, because any problems that occur in those movies seem petty to me, and i sometimes like to imagine "what if i could do that"

Why do people go to the movies? I don't know. Does it matter? Do other peoples actions really mean that much to you? If you like movies, go. If you don't, then don't. One of my friends might like a movie because of the effects, while I like the movie because I was able to relax for awhile. Who cares. Either way, I'm going.

I personally like to think of films as another art form. How much talent must go into producing a good film? It must require real talent and skill and energy. I think it's fantastic to watch a product of all that hard work and effort. I'm a big reader too so it's like seeing characters really come alive and opening a gateway to other worlds, especially for those who don't read a lot. When you read a book you get to use your imagination, people who don't read don't get to have that but a film allows them to see it in 'real' life.

I like to see films to enjoy myself, and, like a lot of people, to escape from reality for a while. What makes the experience even better is if I get a warm fuzzy feeling afterward, knowing that the film I've watched was going to stay in my mind for years.
So far that list consists of 2. Empire Strikes Back and Pirates of the Caribbean.


Oh, and I also like cinemas because it's a social event.

Why are you on this site? Why are you bothering to post on this thread? Who cares. Bugger off and let others enjoy their banter.

And like art they can be interpreted and enjoyed by so many different people, so to put it simply whether you are entertained or movies help you to escape from your life it's still your own reasoning, so it's pretty difficult to generalise all movie goers from our personal viewpoints because we've seen so many movies over our lifespans that we unintentionally will have bias from our personal experiences. So I think it's better to say that everyone loves movies for their own reasons and leave it at that. :)

Another point to raise is where this 'unreal world' of movies ends and the where does the 'real world' begin, I've seen countless young girls emulating their movie idols and gangs forming in areas who seem almost exactly like the gangs in movies + TV. Why is this occuring? It is because people want to live in a dream world, a fantasy world, a world where there is certainty about tommorrow and by conforming to these movies they feel secure in these roles. Thus is the power of movies + media and the almost slave-like pressure on young people that drive the youth suicide rate so high (personal experience).

Sorry if that's a bit of a tangent but I was just responding to previous posts. Have a nice day -SpoOkY

Someone asked, I answered. I guess I should have known that answers are only right if they're okayed by you. Unless, of course, you were just being a pizza-face. If this is the case let me know. I'll be glad to continue this.

what and pizza-faces are all that bad? I guess you are suggesting they are........anyways lets keep this thread rolling and not stop to argue :)

my film professor would say:
"The ultimate goal of films is to ensure a sense of social stability" I dont know if ive ever agreed with it, but its worth thinking about. I think the simple entertainment of the movies can indeed make us believe that 'everything will be ok'.

Imagination. Inspiration. Laughs. Shocks. Cheap thrills.

General entertainment.

Every person on the face of this planet does something to "escape" every day life. I wouldn't say that movies are always "someone else portraying something we live out everyday". many movies are NOTHING like real life. and im not just talking about movies like Lord of the Rings, Terminator, and, oh....Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. even your run-of-the-mill romantic comdies about a girl and a guy that fall in love are often NOTHING like real life. i think it tries to trick you into thinking that this is supposed to be similiar to real life. sorta like how when you look at models in magazines, its a message to teenage girls and boys that THIS is the normal way to look. but it isn't.

but anyway, i think i got off track. ;) like i was originally saying, everyone has a past-time that allows them to escape. in some ways, that could be the very definition of 'past-time'. just something to do to get you to escape the icky parts of life - maybe its dealing with icky people all day at your crummy job, for example (my personal example). :) what better way to do this than to sit down in a dark theater (or on your own comfy couch) with a cup of your beverage of choice, and watch the cutsey actors and actresses onscreen say their clever lines? what better way to do this than to watch a really interesting, original plot twist thought out by a director you really admire for their genius?

anyway...thats my reason...

I think everyone goes to the movies for a different reason... Some to try and escape a rather humdrum existence, others just to get away from the kids for a few hours (that's me!), and some just to be entertained. Regardless, it's a wonderful medium that can at times be funny, moving, violenct, gory, etc... Basically just a heck of a lot of fun!

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

Escapism is the one thing I don't get - I get a sense of engagement if anything. When I see something amazing, that feeling inside is why I love film.

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

I don't think they are that important, especially modern movies made for the sake of entertainment, as if 'entertainment value' is some god-given gift from heaven. People could live without entertainment. I don't see why it's so important. Now, that's not to say I don't enjoy the occasional escapism every now and then of course, but my point is, I don't think it's as important as, say, politics and art.

With films that engage me emotionally and intellectually, on the other hand, now that's important. They shape society and culture. They actually do something more productive than kill two hours of your boredom while you wait for the next Walking Dead season to be released so you could kill more time at home sitting in front of your boob tube.

Now, I'm no movie-historian, and I'm probably mistaken, but it's been a while since I last watched a movie that has set some kind of major milestone that revolutionized the movie industry in a more significant manner than "Hey, we've connected a comic book universe together on-screen so that you'll pay more money, sucker."

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

To address those questioning the "escapist" claims. I think that rather than providing an escape route, movies serve as a guiding path, just as stories generally have served to educate humanity for Millenia about proper behavior and whatnot (think parables, stories about the tortoise and the hare, religious texts, etc.). Movies now serve as the medium for transmission of stories and lessons because they are tremendously rich and easy to consume,

Because 2 hours of a movie is more thrilling than 2 years of most peoples' lives

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

Because you get to get away from your own life and its problems and get into someone else's.
Martin Scorsese said in his documentary that movie makes a common memory for complete strangers. You may have never talked to some people but you share the same memory of experiencing a certain film.

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

If we didn't have movies, what else would we do to imagine what life could be like?

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

Read. Imagine. :)

Re: Why Are Movies So Important To Society?
 

mainly because it shows what people want ,they ignore the reality and live with movies you know what i am saying