Should We Try This At Home?
Have you ever seen something in a film and thought to yourself wow, maybe I should try that?
Written by Esther Smith
Whether it’s confessing your undying love in the pouring rain or jumping in a taxi, yelling “Follow that car!” to the driver, we’ve all had the urge to do something because it looked so cool in a movie. Let me see a show of hands— see? We’ve all been there.
The truth is, we’ve all at some point imitated a film or have copied a character’s actions. Why does film have so much influence over our lives? Most importantly, is it always a wise choice to recreate scenes we’ve seen in the movies?
We’re simple creatures: we wake up, we eat food, we complain about the weather, and at the end of all of this, we’re very easy to influence. So much so, the advertising industry is worth $1 trillion (how many packets of crisps could you buy with that?). The reason this figure is so high is because we respond to being told we need something and, most importantly, stories. Where else do we see stories? Ding ding ding!
Because we use film to tell stories, we’re going to have things that stick with us over the years: quotes, lessons, music — but not everything the audience takes away can be predicted. Whether these films were made with the intention of driving change, or if it was all done accidentally, we’re being influenced by films and it happens a lot more than we realise.
An Intentional Message
Filmmakers are taught to not spoon-feed their audiences. We can read between the lines, we’re smarter than they think. However, some films are made with the very intent to invoke a call to action from their audiences — such as propaganda. Our very own Jess has taken a deep dive into propaganda films to see if she can be influenced to join a cause.
When the credits rolled for Don’t Look Up, did you laugh and say well, I’m glad that isn’t really happening in the world? Uh oh, that’s where you’re wrong — scientists having their expert opinion waved off by the world and their leaders really is happening, I’m afraid! While the film was made to highlight the climate crisis, we’ve seen real climate scientists come forward to express how accurate the film is. Rare is an organisation that tackles climate-related issues throughout the globe, and they conducted a study on the effectiveness Don’t Look Up had on climate change awareness: the results? The film had been found to “significantly shifted some mental states” of the participants, which was the film’s intention from the beginning — and the film team have continued to push the message.
In recent and constantly-unfolding news, Netflix’s Adolescence has taken the world by storm. The show was made with the intent of deconstructing the incel ideology and addressing the violence against women. At the time of writing, The UK’s Prime Minister has approved of the series being shown in schools and many people have expressed how much the show has resonated with them — including parents. Many sites have published articles on how to continue the conversation and raise awareness.
Documentaries are made with the intent of sharing stories and educating the audience. More often than not, they inspire real world change. In 2013, Blackfish uncovered the truth behind the captive Orcas in SeaWorld. Since then, boycotts have taken place, petitions have been signed, and as a result: SeaWorld’s attendance rate dropped. However, the fight continues as ocean animal shows are still popular and SeaWorld still operates with Orcas in captivity.
Somewhere, A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings
From the never-ending stream of film references in Gilmore Girls to recreating fictional food, we can’t ignore the media we consume has an impact on our daily lives. These are pieces of film and TV we’ve kept with us long after the credits have rolled — not even these creators knew how their work would live on through others. I’m looking at the impact these fictional stories have had on us in the real world.
Ah, the Sideways Effect, a phenomenon that has been debated many times over the years. The 2004 film, Sideways, featured a character who hated Merlot - and he wouldn’t hold back — and legend says it caused the wine industry to nearly perish at the drop in demand. Studies found that yes, the demand for Merlot decreased, but this was not as drastic as we’re led to believe. In fact, the true Sideways Effect was the boom of Pinot Noir as its popularity has skyrocketed thanks to the film. Merlot is making a comeback, but maybe we were blowing the Sideways Effect out of proportion to begin with?
After the release of the 1978 critically acclaimed film, The Deer Hunter, there had been reports of people committing suicide by playing Russian Roulette. Psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Radecki called for television stations to edit out the infamous scene as he said it could “inspire real-life imitators”. It is believed up to 35 people died with the latest reported death occurring in 2006.
In 1975, Jaws was released and the world will never see sharks the same. In fact, there is a link to the film’s release and the increase of shark hunting in the US, as well as the rise of humans becoming fearful of sharks. Director Steven Spielberg regrets the impact his film has had on the public’s perception of sharks and before his passing, the author of Jaws, Peter Benchley, dedicated his work to protecting the shark population.
Now, it’s not all doom and gloom! I promise there’s been positive influences from film:
Just after one year of its release, The Night at the Museum saw an increase of 20% of visitors at The American Museum of Natural History — and now the Natural History Museum in London regularly hosts sleepovers
We’ve seen many characters equip a bow and arrow throughout the years, but The Hunger Games has been credited for the boom of interest in archery, more specifically, with female archers.
When we weren’t making banana bread and hoarding toilet rolls, the US saw an increase of sales in chess sets by 87% — this was all down to the release of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.
In 2001, a chain email led to hundreds of thousands of people filling in their country’s census with Jedi as their religion, as seen in the Star Wars films.
Career Changes
If I didn’t think I was easily influenced before, I do now. It’s at this point, I’m remembering how often I wanted a specific career because it looked so cool on the big screen. Now I realise how unrealistic this was, but I still believe I’d absolutely smash it in an Ocean’s Eleven styled heist — that’s the reason why I haven’t gone to Las Vegas (yet).
It’s a well-known fact that the entertainment industry misrepresents jobs; there’s been countless articles and lists detailing how inaccurate these portrayals are. Yet, people are still influenced by what they see in film and TV and career advisory websites have used films to break down different career paths that may interest you.
After Top Gun was released, US Navy applications shot up by 500%. MI6 have said they catch the interest of “thrill seekers” after the James Bond films. There’s been an increase of women going to law school and credit Legally Blonde for this. Grey’s Anatomy inspired women to start their career in medicine after watching how Dr. Meredith Grey navigates the male-dominated field.
Are We The Problem?
The audience, however, is the most vital piece to this puzzle. Without audiences, there are no stories to tell — whether they’re trying to influence us or not. There are two docuseries who are unafraid to call out audiences for their participation in the media circus.
Markus, attorney of Nick Prugo during the Bling Ring trial, describes how valuable our attention is in The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist by saying, “Yet, attention is the least-valued commodity because we are also willing to squander it [...] Through this film, you have given them exactly what they wanted back then [attention and validation]”.
John Green in Don’t F**ck With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer reflects on the series of events by asking: “Were we pawns? Were we being used to help him tell his story? What part did we have to play?”
It highlights an interesting perspective on audiences — we are responsible for the content we consume; we are responsible for the impact these stories have on the real world outside of fiction. If we aren’t careful, these actions can impact the environment we live in and the people we care about.
At The End Of The Day…
It would be all too easy for me to sit here and say fiction is separated from reality — and in most cases it is. However, we can’t ignore the statistics that prove how many people are influenced by film and many families have suffered as a result of tragic fatalities. When Jackass aired, cast members would explicitly tell audiences not to try the stunt at home — but it didn’t stop people from doing just that. But that’s not the full story: there are many cases of positive influence and this should be celebrated — films can be used to tell stories, inspire people and inspire change.
So, should we try this at home? Well, not always. It’s important for us to take what we see in film with a pinch of salt. Yes, I’m including myself in this finger-wagging because even though becoming a personal assistant in a high-pressure environment like in The Devil Wears Prada seems cool, it doesn’t mean that’s the reality… although I would still jump at the opportunity.
