Moral Responsibility of Filmmakers

I believe in one of the alien film commentaries, i heard that they had to cut a scene of ripley lock picking her hand cuffs for a certain country, because it wasn't allowed to be shown.

I don't know if there are any laws like that in america. I know in fight club they changed some chemical formulas so they weren't just teaching people how to make bombs. I think that makes some sense to do.

Scream says that movies don't create psychopaths, movies just make them more creative. What do you guys think?

I have been writing a short crime thriller, and some of the coolest parts are the original ways that the main character gets away with his crimes. It required a lot of deliberation and creativity, but it also serves as an instruction manual because I believe these methods would work in real life.

Personally I love that kind of stuff in movies. Like the scene in the hunted where tommy lee jones teaches you how to kill someone with a knife. Or thunderball where sean connery uses a hidden tape recorder to find out if someone is in his house. In MacGyver when i learned that aluminum and rust becomes thermite, and you can ignite it with magnesium! To me it is something special in a film when I am really entertained and i learn something real at the same time. Even if it is crime related

edit.. just did a search and found this link
http://brainz.org/15-films-inspired-real-life-crimes/

If a person is intent on doing something wrong or committing a crime, that person is going to do it. There is no movie on Earth that is going to make anyone do anything.

In my review of The Battle of Algiers I talked bout how it gained a reputation as a "dangerous" film because radical elements would copy cat the guerrilla acts depicted in the film. The film did not make the the likes of the IRA or the Black Panthers commit these acts. They did that themselves. They sought out the movie because of the content and got ideas from it. That is it.

As for **** you learn in movies, that is always something cool when you learn a new trick from a movie. But at the same time, lots of said info can be found in books or the internet, and movies can exaggerate some stuff so it might not work in real life. Also, do not try certain things at home!

First of all I think that film makers should not be obliged to ensure that their films met any type of standards as to not influence viewers. They should be allowed to make whatever they want, it's a film and what goes on in it should be a reflection of what they think could happen in the fictional world that they are creating. If someone watches a film and goes out and kill someone there is clearly something very wrong with that person in the first place.

I kind of agree here, and my example of this would be the TV show Dexter. His killing method appears so immaculate and I think in the end he dumps the bodies in the gulf of Mexico which due to the strength of it could end up taking the body so far that you would never be able to track it to a certain point? All these details make it all the more fascinating and help with suspense for me too, especially when we go through things step by step, but never would I want to murder someone because of it

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I can't speak for anyone else, but in all the art I've created I try to be true to myself. I consider that my main responsibility.

As sentient beings we are receiving input from our surroundings 24/7. Input can be anything from the weather and the food we eat to what we see, hear, etc. That input is constantly creating our consciousness and helps inform our next actions.

To think that movies are somehow a special category of input that in no way, shape or form shapes people's consciousness is naive. However, what each filmmaker does with that knowledge in terms of 'responsibility' is his/her personal decision.

I can't agree with that.

Take for example the case of the movies that were mentioned in the blog entry. Are they the main cause for the poor discernment between fiction and reality those people show? No, but it's the consequence of this what, through exposing them to this stuff, influences their mindset towards a certain direction. If that sniper teen hadn't watched The Matrix, he wouldn't have grown in his mind the idea that there is a virtual reality.

Is that the fault of the movies? No. The inability to spot those kinds of influentiable cases is what is there to blame. A movie is built as a mean of mass communication.

On the other hand, I think your statement ("If a person is intent on doing something wrong or committing a crime, that person is going to do it.") has to be used with some care because these kinds of deterministic ideas can be used to defend some serious moral atrocities.

I just hate the idea that filmmakers can't express themselves because they are restricted by these moral laws.As Gunslinger mentioned,I agree that if you're planning to commit a crime,you'll do it despite of film.But imagine how should,for example,Oliver Stone or Nolan feel since their films (Natural Born Killers and Dark Knight) lead to criminal acts.I think they still feel guilty,despite the fact that it's basically not their fault.
I blame the society for this!

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"Anything less than immortality is a complete waste of time."

How is it possible to separate 'society' from individuals?

I quite often think Freddy Krueger is real and sleep with the lights on.

Oh, wait... that was when I was five.

I see no problem with violence and so on in movies. People just need to stop being five years old.
I get so frustrated with the Nanny State that modern society is becoming...

Current adults who jump around saying films and games encourage violence and twist people's minds need to take a step back and say to themselves: "Did it twist me when I was young? No. So why would it twist people today? It doesn't."

Make films and games. Don't be afraid of hippies who think everything is dangerous.

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I am actually familiar with more then a few of the cases listed. But here is the question, is the real issue to individual the influence of the movie or is there a larger problem?

The Matrix example. The issue with the Matrix is the idea that that some people got the idea in their heads that we are living in the Matrix, and that this is all virtual reality. When I hear that statement, I think the bigger issue is not the movie, but the mental health of those who believe this to be fact. And the issue should be not the entertainment industry, but the fact that we cannot get mental health services for certain people who really need it.

I think the best example I can give to make my point deals with the movie The Warriors. The Warriors was a movie about a group of gangbangers fighting their way back to Brooklyn from a park in the Bronx. The movie gained a reputation for being "dangerous" because fights and killings would breakout at screenings. All the crimes were committed by gang members who wanted to see the movie. Sometimes rival gangs would be at the same screening and violence would breakout. The issue is not the movie, it is the gang violence.

As for my statement about "if someone is going to do it he will do it" I said that in regards to the fact that if a man wants to climb a clock tower and kill people, odds are he will do so because has the idea already in his twisted head. A movie however will not make a perfectly healthy, rational, and logical human being commit mass crimes because he saw a movie.

The whole society is influenced by films(dressing like film characters,children playing Star Wars etc) and it's okay to a certain point.But lately,that influence just goes too far.Maybe it's not the society's problem but the culture.But then again,society forms culture and vice versa.
Also,I'd say that if this "film-influenced" violence occurred rarely then it's problematic individuals.But that happens quite often so there's something rotten in the whole society.So,there's a difference between individual and society.

Very blunt and very true.

Next time you meet one of these, let me know.

Well I was going to say normal but lets face it I have yet to see one of those too.

I can't add much other than to say the quote from Scream pretty much nails it.

I wasn't sure what kind of response I would get, but this sounds very reassuring. No worries proceeding with my crime thriller then

Yeah, I actually agree with most of that, so maybe I didn't understand your point at first.

Anyway, though I still disagree with a little point of your discourse. A movie is a stimulus (an experience), therefore it is able to generate a specific reaction. One person can have a warped view of reality, be schizophrenic or paranoid and still be able to have a rather normal lifestyle because they lack the "right" stimulus to change their views into that direction. These people may be specially susceptible to being influenced due to their inability to differentiate between fiction and reality, but that doesn't make the movie less "responsible" of being the stimulus they needed to end like that.

This, though, has nothing to do with blaming the creators of the work, since movies are directed to a wide and non-specific audience, not to individuals.

I'm of a similar mind of rodent and gunslinger and firmly believe that no one, no longer, takes responsibility for their actions.
A game, a book, a song, a movie made me do it.
My parents loved me too much, not enough; and countless other options on who and what to blame except the individual commting whatever crime and/or atrocity.
It's society, it's the sign of the times, its upbringing, its this, its that,....
and never, EVER, the person making a concious decision, putting thought to action and causing pain and suffering to others.

And, reading jal90's post, I do appreciate the potential of "stimulus" to evoke and inspire

I would hope that far more people are inspired by movies to do good rather than harm, but cinema's ability to have its messages misinterpreted or misapplied has been with us as long as it has. The same goes with all art.

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okay good we have common ground. and I agree certain warped individuals can be more susceptible. But I think we both agree the issue is said mental health and not a film or song

I've just watched Srpski Film but I don't want to do any things portrayed in that film. Had I been a psycho, I could take an example from films like that, but it would be only my fault then, not the director's, because normal people wouldn't do things like that. Damn, the film was intense: