Anything Goes : Can movies REALLY make a difference in our society? what do you think? by Tanveer Pial

I think movies can really make a difference in our society too, Tanveer Pial. They can encourage us, inspire us to get up and take action, make us feel better, etc.

I think movies reflect our society, act as commentary on social issues or delve into moral issues. Isn't that the purpose of art? To make us pause and reflect?

Yes! All kinds of Art can make a difference. That's why we must keep creating!

Of course they can. It's called propaganda. Whether it is marketing, virtue signaling, or outright social manipulation, movies have a 'higher level of sell' (theme) that appeals to or reinforces an audiences' already entrenched biases. As for making a difference in society, it is kind of a preaching to the choir phenomena. Movies are marketed to their target audience (aka, market). Art house, or indie might break from that straight jacket, but it has literally no audience without a distributor that already has a bias or axe to grind. Sadly, it appears that the streamers are the only place one can go to actually, actively and consciously find something that might widen one's horizons, but the bloody algorithms are railroading (crushing) any exploratory or 'out of the comfort zone' search for enlightening, or life changing, cinema.

Morgan- While you are not wrong, I do think movies have been used like that, that's a sad and rather pessimistic point of view. I'm sad for your perception. I hope you will find the joy in making movies, do it for you, not for how you think it may be perceived. That is passion. Change someone's perception of the world, that is the point of art.

Of course, I feel the way you do about the 'art and craft', Suzanne Bronson , but I wear two hats, nowadays: artist and producer. I would kill or die to make movies for me, the way I want, shouting from the rooftops my vision, but I'd have to self finance, and so far, I don't have that kind of dough. If I did, I'd end up with a film I could post on a streamer that my own mum might begrudgingly watch and post a review - if I asked really nicely. It might be life changing, paradigm shifting, earth shattering, but who is going to see it? I could shovel a few million into advertising and publicity, if I had it, and maybe that would help, but without marketing, AKA audience targeting, AKA making a movie to feed the market not the creatives, it's not going to provide a return on investment.

Bottom line: ROI - Return On Investment

Unless you are working for someone else - as a piper paid to play someone else's tune (propaganda, training films, porn, faith schlock, commercials), or you have money to burn, that horrible, nasty, crass ROI is the only thing that's going to get your movie made.

Currently, banks (general term) make movies. They make movies to make money. They don't make movies to make a difference, or change someone's perception of the world.

Pessimistic or realistic? Depends on what hat you happen to be wearing.

Brill thread, BTW. It would be wonderful if we could get some more convo/voices in on it.

I would love to hear from filmmakers who have made movies from the heart, and had success (not only financially), and made a difference.

Have you read this blog, Morgan Aitken: www.stage32.com/blog/influencers-vs-investors-the-future-of-film-funding...

It talks about different funding options.

Too cool for words, Maurice Vaughan ! I'll check it out. ---- (A few minutes later) Just read it! Yup, it was an eyeopener. Thanks for the link!

Ruben Östlund from my home city Gothenburg in Sweden is a good example of a writer/director that make films with a message. He started with small circumstances and then won Best Feature Film in Cannes twice and was the head of the jury last year. Force Majeure, The Square and The Triangle of Sadness. Have you seen them? The Triangle of Sadness(Oscar nominated 2022) had a bigger budget after he won in Cannes with The Square. I think Ruben is the BEST now living director in the world and he is very humble and down to Earth. People in Sweden don't have this celebrity thinking that you have in the US. And we think it doesn't matter WHO you know. You still have to do the WORK! He is just very hard working and GREAT! So! Of course, it's possible to make great films! But it takes a lot of HARD WORK! So let's keep WORKING!

His films are all very funny! Force Majeure is based on the research that totally breaks the myth of the male hero. Actually, when there is a big accident like for example Titanic, in real life men save themselves first and leave older people, women and children behind to die. The Square(my favourite) is a wonderful film about honesty and also cultural snobbism joking with people who think they are special because they work with Art. The Square is the idea of a place/square in a city where everyone should feel safe and we have squares like that in a few cities in Sweden.

Safer to count on them as some sort of entertainment, even intellectual ones...they surely can leave an impression on the individual, through...

I think cinema has an impact on human psychology, but in a minimal way. Movies allow us to experience the world through someone else's eyes. We can see their struggles, triumphs, and relationships. This fosters empathy and helps us understand different perspectives. People react differently to movies. Life experiences and personality play a role.

Ruben Östlund was interviewed last week by The Guardian about film and society. He thinks everyone needs a license to use a camera. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/apr/12/triangle-of-sadness-directo...

Tanveer Pial well put. i know in my life, movies have changed the way i think about much of the world and provide a crucial lens into worlds and experience i could never have on my own.