When I was a child, I always felt a distinct combination of wonder and amazement whenever I saw a movie for the first time. On the playground and in the classroom, my friends and I would spend time recounting the events of our new favorite movie, re-enacting scenes and moments that left lasting impressions on us and even reimagining the way we felt the movie should have been done.
All these things helped shape my childhood into a memorable and pleasant one that has made me who I am today. Movies played a very significant role in my development, and I would venture to say they have had an influence, either great or small, in most everyone’s life.
It is impossible to deny the role of cinema in society. Ever since its conception, moving pictures have proven to be far more than just a simple tool for entertainment. Throughout history, individuals have manipulated this technology, not only to tell stories but also as a unique channel to broadcast opinions — opinions that have gone on to change the perspective of entire generations and achieve real change. The most common method of doing this comes in the form of documentaries, movies that usually focus on a specific, real life topic with the hopes of initiating change or bringing an awareness to an issue otherwise not there.
A prime example of this success can be seen in “Harlan County, USA,” directed by Barbara Kopple, a documentary revolving around a strike against the Duke Power Company held in 1972 by the coal miners employed there. The strike lasted over the course of several months with tension and incidents of violence rising to a boiling point and finally ending in the death of one of the miners. “Harlan County, USA” was filmed during the midst of all this chaos and some believe just the presence of the crew and their cameras helped reduce the level of harm of the strike. The documentary went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1976 and, as a product of its success, called public attention to the appalling conditions of the mining industry at the time and helped instigate change on a national level.
However, not all movies are used as a means of positive change. Perhaps the most infamous example of cinema’s effects on a mass public is shown in films such as the Nazi documentary “Triumph of the Will,” directed by Leni Riefenstahl, and D.W. Griffith’s inflammatory “The Birth of a Nation.” Many have attributed the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan to “The Birth of a Nation,” as it explores the group and its exploits before and after the Civil War, and “Triumph of the Will” portrayed Adolf Hitler as a beloved celebrity working to eventually create the cult of personality that would surround him.
Cinema extends its influential reach to more than just cultural phenomena. Quite a few pieces of technology cite their original visualization to the world of movies. Science fiction movies, specifically, boast a vast array of what was once thought to be completely fantastical devices but are now tangible technology.
A number of movies have pushed the envelope and made wild demands of technology in order to more accurately portray the fictional world they create. In turn, these worlds have gone on to inspire others to actually create and adapt this technology for the real world. Perhaps one of the most famous sci-fi movies, “2001: A Space Odyssey” was a huge advancement for technology, not only in movies, because this movie would also provide an inspiration point for a plethora of minds that would go on to shape history.
Nowadays when I see a new movie, I no longer get the immense mixture of emotions I once did as a child, but I do still feel the pangs of nostalgia and hints of mysticism that used to entrance me. After viewing a movie, I still feel that lingering high of inspiration that makes me want to go out and create something, anything. I am sure countless others get a similar, if not the same, feeling and that the impact of movies is rooted to our very core both on an individual and global level. So, whether direct or indirect, cinema is paramount to our society’s development.
