Do you believe that movies affect a person?

I was wondering what everyone thought on this subject: do/ can movies affect a person's emotions and the way they are?

I'm doing a project and I was just wondering what people from other parts of the country thought as opposed to just my town. Thanks for posting!
 
Hmmm :hmm:

I'm not really sure. I definitely think that movies can speak to our emotions and have an emotional impact on our lives. I know the movie Crash really spoke to me on the issue of racism in America, it's caused me to take a look at my own beliefs and things that I might have thought about people of another race in a whole new light. Movies like that can be very eye opening.

That being said, I don't think movies cause mentally stable people to commit violent crimes, in the same way that I don't think violent video games do either.

Hope that can help in some way ^_^
 
Movies can speak to issues in very powerful ways, and make people look at things differently than they might otherwise. Anti-war movies like "All Quiet on the Western Front" are a good example. And who hasn't left a movie theater humming a tune if it's a muscial, or laughing over a good comedy?
 
I grew up amongst racist people, my grandad especially, which rubbed off on my mum to a lesser extent.

Not saying movies alone has changed my views which were drilled into me from family, but it has played a huge factor. American History X showed how negative an affect racism can have on people, that amongst lots of other films I've seen lately played a big part in changing my views.

I'd say yes, they can change people's emotions, both for the better and for worse, when someone goes off on some serial killer type shiznit because somebody did in a film, that ain't good.

Don't know exactly what type of answer you are looking for, so I won't waste my time typing anymore until you ask me some more specific questions. :cool:
 
I think that movies have a big impact on people's emotions. I can be down or upset and put on a movie that I love and after that movie is over, I usually feel very different or even ready to go back and tackle what ever it was that was bothering me before.

As to having a bigger impact on people's outlook on things, I would have to say that movies can help people look at life from a different prespective than how they are currently seeing it. It can help me appreciate other people's view, even if I don't agree with them.

I also believe that watching the wrong type of movies can negitively effect a person. If you let small children watch violent movies or movies with inappropriate behavior (for a small child), it will impact that child's view of things and can be devistating.
 
I definitely believe a movie can affect and change people. I know that's the case for me, and many, many other people.

And I'm talking about any movies. High School comedys can affect teenagers and kids, because they might believe that's the way they should act. This might sound weird but..My sister's in sixth grade and her friends acts exactly like the girls in "Mean Girls". Ever since they saw that movie, they've used lines from that movie and have been dressing like the girls there and they vomit because they're scared to get fat.

Although I believe movies like drama movies affects people a lot more. But I suppose that then you have to understand the movie. I prefer these kind of movies because they are usually sad or touching and I like to reflect over the movie.

Thrillers or scary movies can make a person very paranoid. Especially if you're not used to watching these kind of movies.

So, I think that any movie can affect and even change people.
 
I don't think movies can change people other than by enhancing or bringing to the surface latent feelings or beliefs that are already somewhere inside a person. I took a course on the power of the media and this is an issue we talked about. We came to the conclusion that basically, the media reinforces values and ideas that people already espouse. So, for example, if a person is more liberal, watching a movie that protrays conservative ideas more favorably can only really make that person more entrenched in their own beliefs, rather than perhaps change their opinion about things. The same can be true of all sorts of issues, not just political ones.
 
I don't think movies can change people other than by enhancing or bringing to the surface latent feelings or beliefs that are already somewhere inside a person. I took a course on the power of the media and this is an issue we talked about. We came to the conclusion that basically, the media reinforces values and ideas that people already espouse. So, for example, if a person is more liberal, watching a movie that protrays conservative ideas more favorably can only really make that person more entrenched in their own beliefs, rather than perhaps change their opinion about things. The same can be true of all sorts of issues, not just political ones.

While I agree with you on this as far as adults are concerned, but it is not true for children and teenagers because they are still evolving and learning...if a child sits in front of tv or videos, that is going to shape their beliefs.

With Adults, I agree it brings feelings or beliefs to the surface and they can be to the extreme. You have people who get so obsessed that they stalk stars. While this behavior was probably just under the surface, it was a movie or tv show that effected this change that makes the person go to this extreme.
 
While I agree with you on this as far as adults are concerned, but it is not true for children and teenagers because they are still evolving and learning...if a child sits in front of tv or videos, that is going to shape their beliefs.

With Adults, I agree it brings feelings or beliefs to the surface and they can be to the extreme. You have people who get so obsessed that they stalk stars. While this behavior was probably just under the surface, it was a movie or tv show that effected this change that makes the person go to this extreme.


I don't know if that's really true about children. I began watching more "adult" movies and such at a much younger age than many of my friends, as well as playing shooting vidoe games. None of those have caused me to become some kind of homicidal maniac, even though I was exposed to them as a child. The potential for that kind of behavior has to already be there. You've got to already be a troubled child or have the makings of one for media to have some sort of influence on you. If you're well adjusted and well balanced it won't have negative effects on you.
 
I am not talking about people being turned into maniacs. What I am talking about is more subtle. I am talking about morals. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal. etc. I believe these things are wrong. When children and teenagers are constantly exposed to tv, movies and video games that demonstrate poor morals, that has an effect on the shaping of that young person's thinking.


As far as the more extreme things that we see in movies, etc., I feel that watching brutal acts will descentize (sorry for my spelling) people and make it common. You see a brutal act in a movie or video game for the first time and it will upset you. The more you see it, the more you are used to it and then the violence doesn't bother you at all. I see it happening to myself when I watch the news. You watch a report about a murder or a kidnapping or something else and your have all sorts of emotions and fears running through you...but when these things keep happening in our society and you keep seeing it on the news...it stops effecting you the way it originally did.

To me these things are examples on how movies effect people.
 
I defienetly think that movies affect people. Not all movies cos lets face it some of them are just like meh ? :blink: but a truly good movie could change your opinions about soemthing, or make decisions for you. Its the same with songs aswell, the world on entertainment has a great impact on who we are.
 
I think that good , and i mean really good movies can do that. The problems just has to be shown from interestic side.
I think it works mostly in emotion's spere. Or unconcius sphere of our mind.
And when it could shock, scare us, makes us cry us becouse it means that it get a reaction :D
 
Yes,I think somewhere ,It effect us ...Because whenever we watch any movie ,It just feel "what's going on the movie ",it happens same with us in our real life .....Even I felt that many times when I watch movies.... :smiley:
 
Back
Top