Chronicles of a Filmmaker: Hollywood and the Media's Societal Influence

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and certainly one picture posted on the Internet can certainly influence millions with the click of the mouse. Since the invention of the motion picture camera in the late 1800s, one can only imagine what kind of influence these moving pictures have made when they have passed before our eyes at 24 frames per second.

The entertainment industry certainly gets accused in various places across America, on talk radio programs, and debated among our leaders in Washington, in forums consisting of concerned parents and religious leaders - they all seem to point the finger on a daily basis at the "threat" of Television and Film and it's "dangerous and dark influence" on our culture. Is it really true? Can't folks just turn the television off or just stay away from the local movie theater or video store if they don't like it?

When determining what to write in these chronicles, speaking from the point of view as a filmmaker and journalist, I realized that it might be best to first look into my archives of research that I did in the 1990s when I looked into the influence of Media on our society and culture and share that with you. I mean, that's the forum that I am engaged in - and that is the outlet that I am called to express the talents that God has given me. So if you are interested in pursuing this career path or calling or are already engaging the culture in this way - maybe you are taking your responsibility for granted. Maybe you actually are blind enough to think that whatever you say or do doesn't make a difference. Maybe you are blind enough to think it's just about making money or being in the spotlight. Please consider that there is so much more at stake here.

Certainly advertisers are willing to pay millions to air their commercials during the Superbowl. They are willing to pay top dollar in that medium to get the word out about their products. What is it that the advertisers see?

Just consider these interesting tidbits about media impact:

-SAT scores began taking a plunge in 1964 as those kids took the tests had been the first generation that grew up watching television for the first time (New York Newsday article ""What can we do about our kids?", January 8, 1992;p. 39)

-After the movie Babe opened in Bangkok, one restaurant owner told the Nation Newspaper that his sales of roasted piglets had dropped from more than a 200 a day to fewer than 100 after the film opened even though Pork is a staple of the Thai diet. (New York Newsday compiled from news-service reports - March 30, 1996 - page A07 -"You can't make this stuff up")

-Premiere magazine reported about Top Gun, the highest grossing movie of 1986: "The military achieved its goal of increased recruiting." ("Hollywood Courts Uncle Sam" by Rod Lurie; September 1989 - page 37 to 40

-In 1983 there was report of a strong increase in US homicides immediately after heavyweight championship prizefights. The more publicized the prizefights, the more the increase in homicides. This was a study [Phillips 1983] of the effects of mass media violence in the real world (Sociology [Second Edition] by Beth B. Hess, Elizabeth W. Markson, Peter J. Stein; Copyright 1985 - Macmillan Publishing Co; page 510.)

-Adolph Hitler used the medium of film to manipulate the people of Germany. Louis L. Snyder in the First Book of World War II (c. 1958 - Franklin Watts, Inc.; Page 87) comments that "it is difficult to understand how he (Hitler) gained such power over intelligent people." Hitler's favorite film "Metropolis" (1926) which diminished men into wooden puppets and political problems into romantic abstractions" (A Short History of Movies [Fourth Edition] by Gerald Mast; c.1986 - Macmillan Publishing Co.; page 135-154) was inspiration for the propaganda film "Triumph of the Will" featuring a Nazi rally and "Olympia" (1938) described as "blatant eulogies for Hitler, Nazism, and the Aryan race" and "the most successful propaganda films ever made" "Propaganda Film" - The Complete Film Dictionary by Ira Konigsberg; C. 1987 - Nal Penguin, Inc.; Page 279-280) Snyder points out that Hitler brought hope to Germany and pride in themselves as a people. But he burned all books that spoke for the freedom of dignity of the human spirit. He knew that people would be easier to lead once they got it out of their heads that they were capable of thinking for and ruling themselves ("The First Book of World War II" by Louis L. Snyder; C. 1958 - Franklin Watts, Inc.; Pg. 11-12) Because of the unfortunate brilliance in using media to control a population, even an intelligent people were unprepared for its influence, and a murderous tyrant rose to power, adding misfortune and tragedy to the pages of history.

This is just some minor trivia that hardly scratches the surface as to the Influence of Film and Television on the culture (and that doesn't even include other mediums like Radio, Videogames, and the Music Industry) We know for certain that motion picture footage has been known even to incite riots. Certainly, in this age with inexpensive equipment, everybody is a filmmaker if they can just figure out how to upload their homemade videos onto You Tube or Google Video. Once we upload our films, though, what kind of impact will we bring? In Part 2 of this article, I will attempt to hammer home the importance of that impact.