Flip the script

    

 Fifty Shades of Cinema

     It is needless to say that movies are a cherished part of society. In class there was no doubt that cinema had countless advantages that have allowed it to survive and thrive as it has. It's a social experience, a cultural phenomenon, and provides an immersive environment. Overall, it's been painted in tints of greatness and benefits. However, that led me to delve into what the darker shades of the popularity of cinema are. It can't be all good, can it?

   For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. To find the drawbacks of cinema, all I had to do was flip the script. The very factors that I viewed in a more positive light during class, I could also shed in a negative light.

   When given the label of a new technology so immersive and ingrained in society as cinema, I found some obvious drawbacks. Society could be impacted by a film on levels unbeknownst to other mediums of communication. Nazism actually gained popularity through elaborate propaganda using technology such as cinema. 

   No, I'm not suggesting that we should dispose of cinema for the "greater good" or whatnot. Rather, through finding out the negative effects of cinema, I learned to truly comprehended the full extent of it's influence. It isn't all good and it isn't all bad, but it has the ability to shape society. For everyone to go to the cinema and be so engulfed by a movie or series of movies with the same message (particularly because it's a cultural, social experience) is destined to leave its mark.