NEWS: Do Movies Influence People?

CULTURE: Do Movies Influence People?

Do you believe everything you see in movies? How many believed that 2003's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based on a true story like it advertised? Or, did you bother researching and realize it was loosely based on Ed Gein? Sometimes Americans (myself included) believe that which we see is truth, without any research.



That's why the idea of films like Redacted and Battle for Haditha, both due in November, bother me. It's a natural for Americans (or humans in general) to solidify one species, group, race, or tribe to believe that all of them are just the same. Case it point: Al-jazeera. Do you think Al-jazeera is a Middle East news organization run by terrorist sympathizers or a legitimate organization based in London? Check it out for yourself and decide.



I worry about the effect these films have on the general populace. Will people appeal to their better half and say, "Hey, not all soldiers are rapists and cowards," or will they create a MySpace group called "Fuck the Troops"? Oops. Too late. Brian De Palma, director of Redacted, wanted to have actual pictures of dead Iraqi civilians shown at the film's close, but he lost that battle because the producers thought it would be too problematic.

Add to this to films like The Kingdom and Rendition that paint a bleak outlook on the war and terrorism, and in my opinion, have a way of influencing individuals. That is what bothers me.



Of course, there are movies like Body of War coming out as well, which provides hope that maybe people will find balance and realize that the military is an institution and the soldier is a minimum wage earning man or woman just trying to do the right thing.

I am not here to sway opinions one way or another. I'm not even here to lash out at individuals who hate the military or America. But that doesn't mean that I have no feelings about it. Here is a secret I never told anyone: I served in Iraq not for my country, not for my President, and not to stop terrorism. I served in Iraq so that those U.S. Soldiers that were there, who had families, could go home... and I would go back again if it would give a father, mother, husband or wife the right to see their loved ones again.



Then again, I have not seen these films so I could be completely wrong, and this article could be completely out of context.



code_red will be doing reserve duty this weekend, so he hopes that you enjoy yours.

I have met people with a blind spot in their generality radar concerning the armed forces. All evil, all good, no in between. Thing is, like everything else in reality, there is a lot of inbetween.

I've known soldiers who just wanted to give back to their county and others who have turned down officer training because they wanted to be on the front lines killing the enemy. Whoever that was. In a nation that claims to have a vast majority that believes in G*d, we are judgmental fucks. Especially the ones that say they aren't judgmental.

Movies absolutely influence what we think. If nothing else, they make someone actually do research on war, serial killing or whether Whitley Strieber was really abducted by aliens. They make people want to become filmmakers, artists, writers, or, on a baser level, have sex with someone that looks like their favorite movie star.

Of course movies influence people. I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe someday they'll influence the 50% of the voting public that stayed home on their ass too lazy or too concerned with making a "political statement" in 2004, to participate in the process next time.

i totally agree with u on this matter being part of the armed service myself and active duty in the marine corps i like how jarhead the movie puts it all in. like yeah the new guys are edger to goto iraq and what not but from my experice iraq changed me not for good nor bad just on how i hae a outlook on life and the middle east i respect the people there they are good hard working people just tring to get by its like the phrase one apple spoils the whole bunch they are good iraqis and bad iraqis like in the states but the media whether it be news or entertainment is influenceing people's opinions about something they dont know frist hand i challenge anyone even myself to look into a matter by the selfs and not just one side both sides and make up theyre own minds about whats happening in the world and not letting media decide for them media should just be a bridge to other world and let u know stuff is happening round the world

I wouldn't sweat it too badly, since the small handful of films that have you concerned are really a drop in the ocean of war films that depict soldiers as heroic, patriotic and just plain awesome.

That is the nature of story telling most movies. They only have so much time to get thier point across, and as result, the full story rarely gets told. It doesn't matter if it is about the military, minorities, corporations, or whatever, there is always more to the story.

The problem is just what you said it is. People believe what they see without researching the whole story.

That website represents the opinions of the general public how?

In case you haven't realized or never knew, back in Vietnam, grotesque war photos were published on a regular basis.

But not in Iraq. And why shouldn't they be? What's the argument against it? That people will get offended? It's odd that the public is so supportive of "the war" without ever realizing what "the war" entails, and will willfully ignore such reality in the name of keeping up a false patriotism that they don't even know why they possess.

Really? Seriously? You're worried that the movie will influence public opinion? Could it be that public opinion influenced the making of these films?

And besides, what damage would these films do? Presenting the war on terror in a negative light? The war on terror presents itself in a negative light. Have you forgotten about Abu Ghraib? You think Goya's work was bad because it painted the Spanish government's injustices in a negative light, and that might have "influenced individuals"?

Fixed.

And there haven't been fictional films made about this before? Why aren't you mentioning any of them? You're willing to grant documentaries more credence in society as "truth" than you are fiction? Political documentaries are more manipulative than most fictional movies. You think Body of War won't "influence individuals"?

Holy christ, you really just said that.

Aaaand, one last guilt trip, and we're done.

First time i ever saw The Three Amigos, i went out and raped the horses and rode off on the women.

Really? Because I went off and had an all-male threesome. Weird.

Considered the nature of the Internet, I nor any other reasonable person would really be concerned about any MySpace group. Not to mention those with only roughly 500 members. Hell, Nickelback's MySpace has 342,340 friends and I'm far more worried about that group of people.

I agree with Fuck The Troops' statement.

But I'm not American, so my opinion is irrelevant, and so is this post.

*bows*

You know, there was a respectful way to get most of those point across without being a total prick. I actually agree with some of your points, but what purpose is served by being so damned antagonistic about it?

Thank you for the point of view.

I still don't care how anyone thinks about the war. My worry is if, like during the Vietnam war, people will lash out at the soldiers instead of the administration that sent them.

Jesus man, sentences, paragraphs, they're your friends! I think you've seriously won the award for run on sentence of the year. And I was interested to hear your POV, but I got lost about half way through (due to the no sentences thing).

It was probably way more believable when the original came out.

High five to this.

Amen brother.

Tobefairatleastthewritebotheredtousespaces.

t lst h lft n th vwls...

I have no idea what the point of this commentary is. How do these films, or apparently just the idea of these films relate in any way to your reasons for serving in Iraq? Can you name some films that you actually have seen that you think blame soldiers, in general, for being soldiers? How do a small band of Myspace misfits connect with Brian DePalma?

Which part bothers you? Is it just the fact that movies can influence people, or the fact that some of them can influence people in a way that you would rather they were not influenced?

I think the most interesting part of this commentary is that you never actually contest the accuracy of the stories.

The armed forces is comprised of cowards, heroes, and any shade in between you care to name, same as any segment of humanity except that under the extraordinary circumstances of war, the highs and lows of human nature are pushed to the extreme.

Putting a gun in a man's hand and tell him to kill for his country doesn't automatically make him want to kill babies nor does it automatically make him King Leonidas.

I appreciate that you fought in an unpopular war for reasons separate from the political motivations of the people who sent you there (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and Munich all contributed to my appreciation of that), but don't bullshit me and don't patronize me that I nor the rest of the American public can differentiate between fictional interpretations of war and the real thing. We do have CNN nowadays, we don't go to the same place to get our war movies and our newsreels anymore.

I mean seriously, what do cheap one off thrillers like The Kingdom have to worry you when we've got reporting like those dispatches from Anbar that we've been getting here at Suicide Girls.

Thanks for making the sacrifices for your country that I never would, that takes guts and faith. I'll trust you to do America proud while you do it, but in exchange you've got to trust that I'm going to have the benefit of the doubt that you actually will. Quid pro quo, innit?

I don't think I understand the article. I'm heavily medicated and have been very sick for a few days so I struggle to understand most things. However, what I interpret to be the point is that the writer doesn't want the popular tide turning against the troops. But why would it? I imagine most people know soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. When did people lash out at troops during Vietnam?

The myspace group's name is perhaps in poor taste. But they do state the following:

"-We do not hate the troops; we do not support the troops.
-We do not wish harm to the troops; we hope they return home safely."

Fair enough. But even if you violently disagree it's a minority opinion. It's a group with less than 600 members. IT'S MYSPACE FOR FUCKS SAKE.

I personally don't give a shit about "troops" either way. I know people serving in Iraq who are bless, and I know people serving in Iraq who are complete turds. I don't agree with what any of them are doing from a moral perspective, but I'm not exactly bursting at the seems with moral fiber myself, so who am I to judge?

Actually, I'm pretty sure that King Leonidas was totally down with the baby killing. And the raping too.


Otherwise I agree with your post pretty much across the board.

How is a fictional movie with a bias towards one side or the other any different than a real life documentary with a bias towards one side or the other? IE Roger Moor.
People are allowed to express their opinions and tell their story any way they like.
Don't protest the movies, protest human idiocy when the movies are taken as gospel.
If people want to form an opinion based on misinformation, it's up to smart people to make them realize how dumb they are, not the FCC to sensor them.