How do movies or TV affect People?
“Reel life is based on real life,” they say. But how far it is true is left to the judgment of the individual’s intelligence. The impact that movies and television have on our lives can never be over-emphasized.
Nowadays television and movies are the only sources to keep in pace with the latest trend in the global environment. Every part of our lifestyle is somehow influenced by what we see in the television or in movies. The advent of the motion picture has been one of the greatest influences of the cultural activities of the humankind. It does not require great intelligence to ascertain this fact. If we just give a glance to see hanging or posted on the walls are the photos of our favorite celebrities from the tinsel world, mounted on the table are things from our favorite T. V. show, the music blaring out of the system of the latest excuses for musical excellence, in your wardrobe are outfits last seen on our favorite stars, the hair cream, shampoo, paste, and what not, the list is endless. This does not stop with just what we wear and own it also extends to the way we behave in our peer group.
Some time back, my friend and I were at the cafeteria near our college when were suddenly mobbed by a group of students who were dressed up as people straight out from prehistoric age. They were carrying contraptions that resembled like weapons for a battlefield, which made us wonder whether they were struck in a time warp. And what followed actually bemused us completely, the group started speaking to each other in a very laboriously slow manner in a language which sounded nothing of this world. My friend and I were not able to understand a single word of it, we left that day with a really confused mind and were in the same state for quite some time. But it all ended on the day we decided to watch the movie “Lord of the Rings” Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J. R. K. Tolkiem’s novel of early 1900s. We understood the costumes and the weapons were the film’s souvenir collectibles, and the language they spoke was that of the elves originally created by the great author.
Thus we see people talking about ‘molecular disintegrators’, ‘laser swords’, ‘elves’, ‘hobbits’ etc., and also tend to act and perform like what they have seen in movies and television. We also see that big FMCG companies bringing in newer products inline with the latest movies. There are several institutions, which glorify such attitude. Those who dare to ignore are considered archaic and become the butt of all jokes. This can be easily acknowledged by the fact the elves language has already been recognized as part an official curriculum in a British university.
Thus the line between real and reel life is fast becoming a blurred one. The whole behavior and cultural activity of the human race is left to the mercy of the next big moviemaker.
Movies are popular because people are great watchers. They like to watch other peoples’ lives. They like to live vicariously. By going to movies, we can escape our own lives, share other people’s emotions, and imagine ourselves as someone else.
Many of our lives are not as adventurous or glamorous as the lives in movies. We do not battle evil all day long and then go back to our luxurious penthouse apartment. We just go to school, do our homework, eat, talk to our friends, and sleep. We need a little excitement in our lives and we find excitement at the movies.
Humans are very emotional people. We all like to cry and laugh. Fortunately, there is not much to cry about in my life so I like to go to sad movies where my heartstrings can be tugged. I also like to go to comedies so that I can laugh. I tend to cry and laugh more in a dark movie theater than I do in broad daylight.
Now I am a student, but I know someday I will be a scientist or a politician or a famous model. When I go to the movies, I can see my role models. I see how they act, what they wear, how they talk. I can prepare myself for the day when I will be like them.
Even though my life is quiet, I can go to the movies and watch someone else’s life. I can share their emotions and their everyday life. I wonder if they would like to share mine.
Every human being tends to take some time off from his or her chores for relaxation. There is no doubt that movies and television play a major role in get tiredness and boredom away from us. Though primarily intended for entertainment, these media do influence the behaviors of human beings. I would like to discuss the effect of the media on the demographic divisions of children, teenagers and the adults.
No doubt that children are the most fascinated and fond of watching movies and television. Though parents are temporarily relieved from baby-sitting their children who are indulgent in watching television, they are certainly worried about the influence of this media. Today’s movies are filled with violence. Heroism is being portrayed as the capacity to destruct (the enemies). This easily influences children. The fondness of children to watch WWF wrestling on television bears testimony to it. This proclivity towards violence tends to show up at schools, where they start to bully their classmates.
While teenagers tend to show some maturity over the issue of violence, there are separate gamut of factors in the media that influence them. Teenage is the important period during which one choices his career and subsequently his direction of life. This media greatly influence the choice of ones career. Today’s rock concerts and music televisions create an impression that becoming a rock star or a video jockey is the best profession in the world. Numerous teenagers are drawn into this whirlpool and it becomes too late when they come to realize the reality in life.
Adults watch this media mainly for entertainment and to relax themselves. However they too are relieved from being bitten by the media bug. The constantly running television advertisements have a negative bearing on the adults. The ostentatiously displayed by a Porsche car driving by the hero in our favorite films inadvertently propels our instinct to go for a similar car. Seldom do we think about the aftereffects and get entangled in the spider web. We tend to sink our ship by the exorbitant interest rate, mortgage and the overflowing credit card bills. Once overloaded with these, we tend to become peevish losing our natural gregarious behavior.
Hence I feel that the media has an influence on each one of in what ever above said categories we are in. While there are also many things which positively influence people’s mind, I have purposefully chose to deal with negative aspects as understanding these problems instigates us to seek a suitable solution. We as a parent, a teacher and a good friend can help some of our friends who need help to get themselves out of these problems.
Our life has gone through great changes since television and movies came into being, which provides a totally new and different way of using our spare time to the traditional way. As a matter of fact, with the wide spread of this mass media such as movies and television all over the world, people’s behavior and thoughts have been changed a lot since it has become an inalienable part of our daily life. Movies and television influence people’s behavior by altering their views of value, beauty, and the world.
People become more confident and seldom give up after watching the movie Forest Gump, they stop smoking and begin to do exercises after watching the TV program about smoking ruins one’s health, and girls try hard to lose weight after actresses in movies and television tend to be thinner and thinner. All these changes, indeed, has much to do with mass media. It is obvious that, teenagers talk a lot when gathered together about sports games or newest Hollywood movies, whereas adults discuss the world’s political situation or social problems when having time in their offices. The topics that they focus on, in most cases, are acquired either from television programs or from movies, and so forth.
Movies and television influence people’s behavior by satisfying their imagination. Heroes and heroines achieve great success of their business, attain sweet love of their life, and gain high respect of their fame so easily within a two-hour long movie. When watching it, audiences can experience the same evens, share the same feelings, and this whole process would fulfill their fantasies, as a result, cause them to find balance in their lives, or, to some degree, lose the balance, which depends on not only the movies but also the audiences themselves. All in all, mass media, including movies and television, has a significant correlation with people’s behaviors. To put it differently, tasks are arduous for mass media to bring people laughter, joy and relaxation, and at the same time some pedagogic meanings.
