An artist always has a message, no matter what form of art they use. We may not realize it at all, but they influence us even if it is in minimal amounts. In this age where watching movies is one of the cheapest and most available ways to access entertainment, we find ourselves watching movie after movie. Many fail to realize that through movies we create the basic ideas we have about almost everything we know about society. Even though we live in this world and are experiencing all these things first-hand, we still rely on other people’s accounts. We watch movies about the ultimate high school experience, and find ourselves depressed that ours are nothing close to the “normal” high school life. Now, who has defined this “normal” high school image? – the film makers. Many of the things they portray are accurate to an extent, but we are given an over-dramatized view of everything and then feel that our own lives lack this excitement.
When watching movies one of the most stigmatizing affects that they have is that they teach us where we stand in society. The directors of movies are the artists that work to create the image they want their audience to see. When Scorsese directed Taxi Driver, he had a very clear idea of how he wanted people to view New York. Through his portrayal New York is full of “scum,” as Robert De Niro’s character, Travis, constantly points out. It gives the audience the idea that New York is filthy and that all the people here are concerned only with themselves. Anyone that sees this movie, especially those that do not live here will generate a very low image of it in their minds. We are introduced to the character of Iris, who has found herself in prostitution. Although she wishes to escape she thinks she really has nowhere else to go. With Travis’ out of the ordinary help, Iris manages to escape this life, but without him she would have never escaped. Movies such as this one create for us a structure of society that we never spend time to really question. There could be more people like Travis that want things to change, hopefully with a more peaceful solution, but all the other Irises will not be as lucky to find help and escape this saddening cycle of people at the bottom of the social pyramid.
Then we take a look at a film like Wall Street, prevailing in the ultimate demonstration of American greed. We have our protagonist, Bud, who has always been in the middle class, but is enticed by all the riches of becoming the next big thing on Wall Street. Serving as a protégé to Gordon Gekko, Bud sees all the riches he could ever wish for right before him, and he appears to be willing to do anything to grasp them. Although Bud has the opportunity to gain this status, it is only through immoral methods, which include trading insider information. This film reinforces class structure because it basically shows Bud cannot get anywhere from just working hard, and therefore no one else really can. He does do the right thing in the end, but he has been unsuccessful in climbing the so-called social ladder. We appreciate Bud’s character and how he finally realized what was important to him, but all it proved was that he was stuck right where he started at the beginning of the film. It is virtually impossible to watch these films and not be influenced in how we view societal structures.
