As we all know if a super duper movie is released today then, tomorrow there will be a great demand of dress of the actor which he wore in the movie. Day after tomorrow people will start coping the styles in which he talks, walks and behaves. This all means that whatever public likes to watch, wants to do it practically. Films have a hypnotic influence on most children and adults. They imitate the heroes and heroines. They indulge in day dreaming and fantasy and when it increases, children become unable to accept the hard realities of life. Apart from these, films create fear, terror, sorrow and pathos, love and passion, thrill and excitement. Thus, films have a dynamic influence on people which ultimately affects the society as a whole.
While violence is not new to the human race, it is an increasing problem in modern society. While the causes of youth violence are multifactorial the research literature is quite compelling that children’s exposure to media violence plays an important role in the etiology of violent behavior. How does violence in movies result in aggressive behavior? Some researchers have demonstrated that very young children will imitate aggressive acts seen in movies, in their play with peers. In general, violence in movies often conveys a model of conflict resolution.
Before age 4, children are unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy and may view violence as an ordinary occurrence. In general, violence on television and in movies often conveys a model of conflict resolution. It is efficient, frequent, and inconsequential. Heroes are violent, and, as such, are rewarded for their behavior. They become role models for youth. It is “ cool” to carry an automatic weapon and use it to knock off the “ bad guys.” The typical scenario of using violence for a righteous cause may translate in daily life into a justification for using violence to retaliate against perceived victimizers.
Hence, vulnerable youth who have been victimized may be tempted to use violent means to solve problems. Unfortunately, there are few, if any, models of nonviolent conflict resolution in the media. Additionally, children who watch violent movies are desensitized to it. They may come to see violence as a fact of life and, over time, lose their ability to empathize with both the victim and the victimizer.
Fashion has now become inseparable part of youth. Fashion effects to our lives by getting us involved something new. According to the Healthy Place website, by the time a girl/boy is 17 years old, she has been subjected to innumerable movies many of which depict actresses with unrealistically thin bodies. This exposure has many negative effects on the developing minds of girls/boys and can lead to unhealthy habits, poor self esteem and experimentation with tobacco products. Young teens are being deluged by images of skinny actresses and hunky actors. Girls are becoming weight conscious as young as 8 years old 80% of 9 year olds are on diets.
Eating disorders have grown 400% since 1970. In a recent survey by Teen People magazine, 27% of the teens felt that the media pressures them to have a perfect body. 69% of youth in one study said that the actors influence their idea of a perfect body shape. Many males are becoming insecure about their physical appearance as movies and other media image raise the standard and idealize well-built men. Researchers are seeing an alarming increase in obsessive weight training and the use of anabolic steroids & dietary supplements that promise bigger muscles and more stamina for lifting. Studies are finding that boys, like girls, may turn to smoking to lose weight. Even the Bollywood/Hollywood fashion has a huge impact on the youth.
When youngsters see their favorite actors/actresses wearing fashionable clothes and accessories they imitate them. So, to copy their style icons, they spend thousands to lakhs of rupees to have the same pair of shoes or dress. They don’t mind spending money, but they want to look just as perfect as their favorite movie star. In this way the fashion statements set by celebrities lay a negative impact on youngsters.
Movies are spoiling the youth and children most because there is the competition between youths to copy the style of the hero either it was good or bad. Children who watch a lot of movies featuring alcohol are twice as likely to start drinking compared to other kids who watch relatively few of such films, according to new research. The more smoking and drinking that young teens see in movies, the more likely they are to start smoking or binge drink, according to a pair of new studies.
To find out more about movies’ influence on alcohol use in young teens, researchers surveyed more than 16, 000 adolescents ages 10 to 19. They randomly picked 50 box-office hits from a list of 655 films. They then asked the teens how often they had seen each movie, which was color-coded for scenes of alcohol use. Overall, 86 percent of the entire list of 655 had at least one scene with alcohol. When actors smoke, sniff drugs, pull shisha and drink alcohol on screen children think its “ cool” and they tend to imitate them.
Movies like the Dhoom series, The Fast and the Furious have increased the craze of high cc (i. e. high speed) bikes and cars among youths. There is nothing wrong in it till it is done within a limit. But today’s youth not only over speeds but also try stunts which can be dangerous to them and to others too. Just remember the BMW Hit and Run case in which 6 people were died. Movies like jannat have even inspired people to start betting and gambling. As shown in movies betting and gambling seem an easy medium of earning money and thus people tend to do it.
The current movies formula has some causes for concern because the transplantation of western ideas has led to extreme vulgarity with high sexual innuendo in the films. How even the most powerful medium of mass communication, education and expression can be corrupted and abused to create an adverse effect, is best typified by the cinema. Cinema today has come to exemplify a mixture of crudity, depravity, vulgarity and obscenity of the worst kind.
Sex and vulgarity are the hallmarks of the run-of-the-mill cinema, branded as ‘ Formula Films’ Although there has been an ever-increasing ‘ permissiveness’ on the silver screen the world over, Indian cinema has particularly come to be identified with crude vulgarity and nauseating depiction and exploitation of sex meant for pleasurably exciting the audiences. The formula also succeeds in leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the more mature viewers. The coarse handling of sex in Indian films has reached a disgusting level but excessive amount of such films continues without limits.
Movies can take us to places we would never go and quite possibly never should go in real life. Although by going to these places vicariously through film, we are able to have experiences that can help us see ourselves and our problems more clearly.
If we are saying that today’s youth is copying the action of heros from violence scene then I will suggest him to watch any gandhiwadi film and try to copy the bapu’s thought in one day.
There are number of good movies also which are inspiring the youths like.
Movies like 3 Idiots, Taare Zameen Par, Munna bhai M. B. B. S from which we can learn lot of good thinks.
The movie Taare Zameen Par has inspired many people and made them realize that a child with dyslexia can also do wonders and impress the world around. These reactions have also brought about a change in policies. The film, only ten days after its debut, influenced the Central Board of Secondary Education to provide extra time to special children—including the visually impaired, physically challenged and dyslexic—during exams. In 2008, Mumbai’s civic body also opened 12 classrooms for autistic students.
In Chandigarh, the education administration started a course to educate teachers on how to deal with children with learning disabilities. After watching the movie 3 Idiots many parents gave their children the freedom to choose the career of their choice. The movie 3 Idiots also influenced people to live life in a positive way with its famous phrase “ All is well”.
Gives a Reality Check:
Certain movies play positive roles as well, and not all movies are bad. It however depends completely on the subject matter of the movie. Some movies try to create awareness about the socioeconomic and political state of affairs of nations. It spreads awareness about the evils of drug abuse, alcoholism, HIV, and the evils of having many sexual partners. Movies create awareness about the importance of education, medicine, art and politics. It also brings us to understand more about the depravity of the homeless, and the plight of underdeveloped countries, and countries stigmatized by years of war.
All these movie genres help awaken our sense of responsibly and empathy towards such situations. These socially enlightening movies help us realize the message which was being conveyed. It influences our thought process in a positive way and helps us try to do our bit in order to be of some help to humanity. While the number of people who actually do something is doubtful, there have been cases where people have taken up animal protection and human right activities after being moved by a movie they watched.
Induces Creativity:
Movies help boost our imagination. We think about the things we saw and then we take our imagination a little further and visualize. This is one of the reasons why the animation industry is gaining more and more enthusiastic entrants, who wish to learn the tricks of the trade.
Even young aspiring actors and movie makers are desirous of joining the movie industry, simply because they too will get to explore new horizons of their creativity and produce something new and awe-inspiring.
Provides Social Entertainment:
Movies act as an escape hatch for people who wish to forget about all their worries, frustrations and tensions, even if its effects last for a few hours. It entertains them and makes them focus of things which have nothing to do with their own personal lives. Movies also bring families together. Grab some popcorn and rent a movie that is appropriate for everyone. Family movie night is a fun activity that brings families together for fun and bonding.
Movies can do a lot of subtle teaching:
They can teach values, make us grateful for the lives we have, show us the different sides of human nature, entertain us and make us laugh, teach us to appreciate music and dance, etc. Movies take us to places we may never have the chance to visit, show us animals and nature that we may never see, expose us to a different kind of culture, and lots more. When we watch a movie that is positive, we are always left with a good feeling inside. Sometimes even sad movies help us to be grateful for what we have. All in all movies can leave us with something positive provided that the right kind of movie is watched, and more importantly at the right age.
Every coin has two sides one is positive and other is negative. It completely depends upon us whet her to take it as positive or negative. Now a days movies have become very commercial. Directors and actors think only about the collections. They never bother about the youth and children. So it is our responsible for taking good from movies and leave bad.
We the youths can not blame films solely the reason for corrupting youth, its the mentality of the person who decrepit the kind of teaching he/she want to get. Like in Ramayana if the role of Ravan was not described we could not have enjoyed the role of Shri Rama. After watching or reading I do not think anyone want to become Ravan, every one want be Shri Rama. So its the mentality of the person who watch the movie and what he want to learn from it.
Its fine that in movies they show us that a bare hand person can beat 10-15 armed men alone, are we fool enough to believe that we could do so, for sometime its OK but not for forever. It depends on us what we want to believe and what not. For pornography or violence I would like to say that movies are given ratings of A, U/A or you. If we know the movies are A rated still we go to watch it, movies are not calling us to watch them, its our desire to watch them.
