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ENG 303

Dr. Gary Konas


Xiaoqian Zeng
Nov. 16 2015
The Influence of the Movie
The movie is one of the most poplar visual media in America
because Hollywood is the biggest place where many film companies
congregate and massive movies are produced. Before people can
get in touch with different persons or experience diverse events in
various cultural situations, they actually learn and understand those
differences through the movies. Therefore, movies play a significant
role in the processes of disseminating information, because a good
movie can resonate with the public, inspiring the audiences or even
shaping their ideologies, whereas it may hurts peoples perspectives
to view the society. I will analyze three readings that demonstrate
how movies can influence their audiences in various ways.
As Jessica Hagedorn points out at the end of the chapter: Asian
Women in Film: No Joy, No Luck a movie is never just a move
(395). In other words, people would never forget the contents after
watching the movies and they will more or less generate some
consciousness or opinions toward what they have seen from the
movies. For example, when I first came to America and shared a
room with two other American roommates, I usually was asked some
questions like do Chinese women really live a miserable life? or
why are Chinese women too afraid to get rid of an abusive
relationship? They asked that because they found out most of the
time Asian women are the victims of the domestic violence in the

movies. I did not know whether to weep or laugh when I was faced
with questions like that, due to that fact that they did not even know
what the reality is in China but already have their own opinions.
More surprising, some Asian women who are the tragic victims in
the films are not even played by real Asian women. For instance, as
the example from the book, Kwans counterpart is the Good
Chinese Girl, played by Miyoshi Umeki (388), but Miyoshi Umeko is
Japanese rather than Chinese. Even though the cultures in Asia are
similar, there are still differences among different countries. For me,
it is disrespectful behavior to mix different cultures because it will
misguide the public impression of two different cultures.
Personally, I think Hollywood film makers just create those Asian
characters according to their own active imaginations because their
main purpose is to mold a distinctive Asian character which seldom
appears in American society. Thus, the unusual characters can
generate the public attention and people will be interested in
watching the movies. The goal of the movie producing companies is
to earn money without thinking whether or not they created the
correct image of other cultures and what the potential influences
could be after people watch a movie.
Movies should not only portray the veridical qualities of other
cultures, but also disseminate positive values. For example, in his
chapter, Forrest Gump: A Subversive Movie, Aeon J. Skoble says that
[Forrest Gump] won six Academy Awards (including Best Picture
and Best Actor for Tom Hanks)-so the film is clearly an influential

social and cultural item (410). It is not only popular in America but
also famous in China. I watched this movie when I was in high
school with all my classmates. I have to admit that it is a good
movie for some reasons, such as the plot is dynamic and the actors
performed well. I was encouraged by this movie at first because I
felt it was so unbelievable and exciting that a person with a
disability achieves huge success. Nevertheless, when I discussed
the reasons why Forrest Gump could become a national hero and a
millionaire with my friends, we could only conclude one reasonhe
is nice and just lucky, or I should say he is really lucky. I agree with
Skobles opinions. Would Forrest still succeed if he did not have
divine fiat () when he is running or if his shrimp boat did not
survive from the hurricane? I do admire Forrests courage that he
did not abandon his friends in the war. In reality, many soldiers did
not leave their friends behind during the war either, but how many
of them won the Medal of Honor or even met with the president?
How many of them eventually achieved the same success as Forrest
did in the movie?
Forrest Gump is like a fairy tale movie that totally ignores social
dynamics. I am still confused why our high teachers asked us learn
from this movie. What can I learn from it except being nice or
waiting for the fortune come to me? I studied more than 15 hours a
day when I was in high school just to go to college, and there were
many students who studied harder than me but only few of them
got through the college entrance examination. However, it is

impossible for students who want to go to college but only rely on


fortune instead of making an effort. I am not denying that a
situation like Forrests would never happen, but I have to admit that
there is only an infinitesimal possibility that someone can succeed
just like Forrest. The problem is the movie magnifies and publicizes
Forrests success to the public without considering what kinds of
influence it would engender for the younger generation, who should
realize they have to create their own futures.
Worse, today movies do not publicize appropriate values but
increase violence on the screen, which Vivian C. Sobchack mentions
in The Postmorbid Condition, there are very few attempts to confer
order or perform a benediction upon the random and senseless
death, the body riddled with bullets, the laying waste of human
flesh (414). It is understandable that fighting is a means of
reflecting the courage of the characters or emphasizing the topic of
a movie, but if the movies transmute fighting to exaggerated
violence, which might affect peoples perspectives on society and
the ways to solve problems. Especially for kids, that is the reason
why the government puts age limits in place for some movies
because they know some movies will generate negative ideals for
teenagers. Even though there are age limits for some movies,
teenagers can more or less find the sources online. It might shape
teenagers ideologies after they watch the movies that include
violence, because they are too young to realize or establish an
appropriate perspective on how to behave in society.

In short, since movies are one of the most popular digital


platforms for disseminating information, and they also have multiple
and massive audiences, the contents and the means of artistic
expression become extremely important. Movies are a media that
people can use to learn about diverse cultures; they can also
become an opportunity for inspiring the audiences to rethink
something which they had already known or enlighten them to
something that is unknown. Therefore, the movie producers should
pay attention to the movie itself, such as whether or not it is display
the correct images of other cultures and positive values for its
audiences, rather than only thinking about how much they can
monetarily benefit from the movie.

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