Film and You!

I'm sorry. I've done wrong. I've been writing for who knows how long presuming everybody has the same knowledge I do regarding film theory. However, recently, I realized this isn't true. So, in order make up some lost ground, here's a quick lesson:


A movie is never just a movie. 


If that isn't enough for you, here's a longer lesson. There are two things that control society: written laws and ideology in the form of cultural traditions and customs. Laws, because they are written into a physical form, can be reacted against. For instance, the speed limit of freeway 50 is 65 mph. To show the man what's what, many people go 80 mph. Likewise, it is against the law to spray paint the side of a building, but it's a great way to stick it to the establishment. Because of the transparency of laws, they aren't very effective. Sure, we usually obey them because we don't want to get in trouble. But that isn't as good as obeying something because we want to.

That's where ideology comes into play. These encompass social norms that most people don't think about. For example, why do baby boys get dressed in blue and baby girls in pink? Some might say, "It's always been that way," and that's 1.) intellectually lazy, and 2.) wrong. The habit began around the 1940s. Why did it happen? As far as I can tell, nobody knows. But it's tradition now, and with the exception of some liberals out there, it's still a popularly held belief. Similarly, the phrase "under God" wasn't placed into the Pledge of Allegiance until 1952. But, of course, most people would just say "It's always been that way" and think no more of it.

What would happen if a law was written to officially designate that all baby boys must wear blue, and pink for baby girls? People would fight it. But since nobody is making it visible, everybody just consumes and accepts it. And that's why movies are dangerous.

Movies, primarily classical Hollywood movies, thrive on this point. The cutting to continuity that makes progression through a film so smooth passes on hidden ideologies that audience members usually don't pick up. My go-to example for this is Disney princess movies. Those films time and time again feature passive, White women that wait for a man to rescue them. The film doesn't show flash cards saying "Women are helpless" because women would get pissed off. But when you have it written in the character, it isn't visible enough for the general audience member to notice. So, they consume it. 

Of course, some people would argue that just because they see something on a movie screen doesn't mean that they incorporate it into themselves. I would disagree, as would most psychoanalysts. See, there is this old French guy named Jacques Lacan who came up with the theory of the mirror stage. Babies as early as six-months old can recognize themselves in mirrors, however are still dreadfully uncoordinated. The conflict that arises because of the complete image the baby sees and the uncoordination he or she feels creates a rivalry between the two. Two squash this aggression, the baby identifies with the image, and the Ego is created. 

This relates to film in this way. The movie screen takes the place of the mirror, and instead of our own reflection on the screen we see actors and actresses. We feel the same conflict that a baby has with its reflection, and we end up viewing ourselves as the protagonist in the film. This process is augmented when the gender of the protagonist matches the viewer. This explains why it's usually girls that take after princesses in Disney films whereas boys try to be the courageous, active princes.

There are tons of other ways ideologies are passed onto audiences. For instance, as I stated in my "Iron Man" review years ago, that film perpetuates the idea of Middle Eastern people as terrorists. Since there is no substantial counter argument in the film, we are to believe that if you are Middle Eastern, then you are a terrorist. The movie could have easily been changed to have a militia group stateside abduct Tony Stark, but opted to feed us the fearful impression of the Other. Also, in "Rebel Without a Cause" the only character to die was the guy who was alluded to being gay. Hopefully I don't need to spell out what that one means.

My point is that movies aren't just movies. If you believe they are, that's when they get you. Of course, if you are fine with that, then that is your prerogative. Be comfortably numb. Give yourself over to Hollywood for hours at a time. Let them do whatever they'd like to your mind. I, on the other hand, don't want to be worked on. I want to be in control of what gets into my brain. 

Just do me one favor. Think about this for me. When Alex was tied down and forced to watch violent and pornographic images in "A Clockwork Orange," what do you think that was really about?