It is a known fact that the human brain is open to any kind of manipulation. Even though we might not realise it in our daily lives a lot of factors shape our thoughts and ideas. From the type of music that we hear in elavators to the decoration of the room that we are in can effect our way of thinking. So why wouldn’t a film do that as well?
I’m sure that a lot of people have heard about “The Truman Show”. The film starres Jim Carrey and was directed by Peter Weir. For the sake of not spoiling the plot I will just go through the effects it had on people. It was proven that after the film was released plane ticket sales rised by a lot. Why you might ask. Because after seeing the film people who never left their hometowns (ever) were now sceptical of their own lives. Also a phycological disorder was named “The Truman Show delusion”. The writer of the show responded to this by saying “You know you’ve made it when you have a disease named after you.” He is not wrong at the end of the day.
Another film that I want to talk about is “The Matrix”. It is a trilogy actually but I will be just mentioning the first one. The film starres Keanu Reeves and was directed by The Wachowskis. Once again I will not spoil anything from the plot. After the film was released a new religious movement was inspired from it. It’s name is “Matrixism” and it is in fact a real thing. There are some debates about whether the followers of this practice are serious about it; however, the religion –real or otherwise- has recieved attention from the media.
Lastly I will be mentioning the animated disney film “Bambi”. The film came out in 1942 and was directed by James Algar. After the film was in theaters, deer hunting in the US was cut in half. Furthermore “the Bambi effect” comes from this film. It basically means anthropomorphizing “cute” animals. The film was also nominated for 3 Oscars since it played an important role in changing many people’s way of thinking.
As we can see it in these examples; films of any genre can have a dramatic impact on real life. This also shows that we should watch films from time to time to expend our views on life. It’s never bad to learn new things.