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What is There to Fear: The Roles Movie’s Play in Society (First Draft)

Movies are a common form of entertainment and many people in the world watch them.

With large audiences viewing movies, what effect can this have on society and the individual?

Films were made to have a message, whether the message be good or bad. As people who like to

dream and watch movies, we compare our world to what happens in the movie. Movies are not

always made factually and use the imagination, but regardless they leave an impact on every

person that watches. Some movies leave a minor impact, while others are major.

Movies are played for large audiences with varying ages from young children to adults.

They are emotional and have a meaning that is being portrayed to the viewer to either learn or

talk about. Each movie is different and they affect society in different ways. Such as how

someone feels about a certain topic or get an idea of something that can be done. Films have this

power that is overshadowed. This happens because movies are portrayed in another world where

anything can happen. People know that movies are not real life, yet it is treated like it is. Kids

especially have a harder time differing what is real and what is fiction.

Movies and Children

Movies are rated for certain ages because parents and adults don’t want kids getting ideas

of violent actions and knowing vulgar language at a young age. Kids are seen as innocent and

naive, a group that should be protected from the real world that can be cruel. Kids also can’t just

go watch these movies only to be protected, they could also be traumatized. Films have an

impact on the mind. Children and teenagers are still developing their ideas and perceptions of the

world. They are discovering new things and to watch certain cinematics without it affecting

children in a negative way, they must be mature. This is why films are rated so parents can know

whether they want their children and teenagers watching a movie. Children don’t understand
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right from wrong, and they tend to believe everything they see. This can cause children to have a

skewed view on life and have misconceptions about things they don’t understand. The effects

this can have on the future of their can affect our society as a whole. As adults on the other hand,

views in life are more solid and less likely to be changed compared to children.

Children that have been traumatized could affect them in their everyday life such as

sleeping on a regular basis. Kristen Harrison and Joanne Cantor, from the University of

Wisconsin, did a research among children and teens, which appeared in the journal Media

Psychology (qtd in Degroat). They have found that half of the reported incidents with their

normal behavior with their sleeping and eating was due to a horror film or show. The effects of

eating and sleeping were among the most common, as well as avoiding situations that were

similar to what they were traumatized by. The effects normally last a week or two, but they can

also last into adulthood. This proves how movies affect society and the individual for the rest of

their lives.

However, horror films are not always an evil moving picture for whoever watches it.

Parents are advised to not let their children watch these movies that can affect them in a negative

way, such as sleepless nights. The factor about the horror films is the adrenaline effect that

differs from one person to another (Victoria Advocate). The adrenaline rush on children can be

unpredictable with how they will react and if it will be too much for them to handle. As children,

they are still developing and their brains can’t always process what is happening. They also don’t

always realize what is fake and what is real, they tend to believe everything they see. They get

scared and the traumatizing events linger on with them into bed with the terror of their dark

bedroom all alone- they feel vulnerable.

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Some children can watch horror movies and not be affected, instead they learn that it is

all made up and it is fake. On the other hand, as the movie industry has more and more advances

with effects and CGI, the movies look more realistic and they get more gory. As more and more

parents are aware of how movies can affect a child, they pay more attention to the ratings and

what they allow their children to watch. Adults on the other hand understand that movies are

fake and made up. Adults still are scared of things they watched as children, such as “It” by

Stephen King. It seems common that most everyone is scared of clowns, which is caused by the

horror movie that traumatized them as a kid. Keep in mind that everyone is not the same and

there are those who can watch horror movies without the negative effects, it is the children that

are being affected by films that parents have to be careful.

Movies and Adults

Adults see cinemas as entertainment and sometimes not much else. What if movies

present a topic that is controversial or a topic that they may be unaware of? This means, like a

child, that is all they understand. Whatever the film shows, that is all the information that is

known to them. Movies can manipulate whatever scenario into how they want the viewers to

perceive it. This can be a positive and a negative thing. Films can cause adults to question their

government and law enforcement, or it can cause them to have more faith in them. Movies affect

adults differently than children. Children are shown fantasy or devastation and they believe what

they see. Adults have an understanding of imagination and reality. They, on the other hand, are

more affected by concepts and ideas of topics and other things they may not know about.

Organizations portrayed can be affected by how they are viewed in theaters.

In an article about how different movies affect people differently in various ways,

Natasha Englehardt gave many different films that brought about different topics as an example.
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She showed how different genres of movies can have an effect on people, although it is in

different ways. The film “The Day After Tomorrow” hit the silver screen in 2006, awakening

global warming. This film made the audience scared for their future and what effects global

warming could have. The film was scientifically inaccurate, yet it still caused the viewers to

think about global warming as a force to be reckoned with. This formed activists that were

against global warming and wanted to do anything to prevent the continuation. This happened

because the topic was brought to light to the general public and they took interest and saw it as a

problem to be solved. A research study “by Michelle C. Pautz, an associate professor of political

science at the University of Dayton, suggests films can act as an influence” (qtd in Guida, John).

The study showed how after watching a movie such as “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty” affected

how the viewers felt toward the government. Their views tended to be more positive after the

film due to how the government was shown in a positive light in the screen. Another example

would be “Fight Club”, which came out in 1999. Since the movie came out in theaters, there has

been an increased amount of fight clubs that have begun since the film introduced fight clubs as

a way to vent frustrations. This cinematic influenced violence in adults and condoned unethical

behavior. This effect was not only in America, it was also in Moscow and Thai.

Movies in History

Other countries also produce films, and they too affect their own culture and society.

Richard C. Helt saw that there was a connection between films and society. An example was the

Nazi’s and how to portray them in German cinematics without crossing a line with the subject.

They didn’t want to portray a subject too early and have a negative response from the audience.

Producers have these topics to keep in mind as they have a great influence on subjects both

unknown and well known. America has produced many classics such as “Star Wars.” This movie
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most everyone can recognize without actually ever seeing it. President Ronald Reagan during the

Cold War had a plan called the Strategic Defense Initiative which was to protect America and

calm people's fears from the Soviets nuclear weapons (Kennedy Leslie). It was later coined the

name “Star Wars” due to the ambitious and impractical plan that seemed like it was an idea taken

from saga. Movies have integrated into society and is apart of everyday life with so many

references being made and connected. Reagan’s plan was to calm fears of many, so connecting

to something familiar helped with reassuring their safety. Movies was used to change the minds

of America and make them believe they were safe in their homes.

Movies have changed throughout the years, but they still affect society and change what

people think. They can be a positive change and a negative change. Children could be

traumatized by the movies they see that scare them or scar them for life. Adults and teenagers

have a better understanding than children do when they can realize what is real and what is made

up. Teenagers and adults although will believe topics they either don’t know about or don’t

understand. Teenagers are more susceptible to this due to who their beliefs and values are not

fully developed. These can be a positive as long as what the films are showing are true and the

information are correct and not twisted. As long as they remember that everything is not always

true and factual, it can be a good thing and can bring about conversation.
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Works Cited

DeGroat, Barnie. “Scary movies can have lasting effects on children and teens, study says,” The

News and Information Services, The University Record, 12 Mar 1999,

http://ur.umich.edu/9899/Mar29_99/9.htm. Accessed 6 Nov 2019.

Englehardt, Natasha. “Film and Society: How Films Impact Society and Popular Culture,” Platt

College, https://platt.edu/blog/film-society-films-impact-society-popular-culture/.

Accessed 13 Oct 2019.

Guida, John. “How Movies Can Change Our Minds,” OP Talk, The New York Times, 4

Feb 2015, https://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/how-movies-can-change-our-

minds/. Accessed 13 Oct 2019.

Helt C. Richard. “Ribbons in Time: Movies and Society Since 1945 by Paul Monaco,”

The Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the German Studies Association,

German Studies Review, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1989, pp. 398-399,

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1430139. Accessed 16 Oct 2019.

Kennedy, Leslie. “Why Reagan's 'Star Wars' Defense Plan Remained Science Fiction,”

History, 22 Jan 2019, https://www.history.com/news/reagan-star-wars-sdi-missile-

defense. Accessed 12 Oct 2019.

Victoria Advocate. “How Watching Horror Films Can Harm Children,” Victoria Advocate, 14

Oct 2016, https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/how-watching-horror-films-can-harm-

children/article_efae53e1-566b-513b-bc51-

4c8b528e0c52.html##targetText=A%20well%2Dknown%20study%20by,anxiety%20dis

orders%20well%20into%20adulthood. Accessed 6 Nov 2019.