Film has become a major part of society over the last 100 years, being seen on the big screen to the tiny screens in our pockets, used to tell stories or promote the next best iPhone. Film is being used all around us. The influence of film is so large that throughout time it has shaped our culture and has created thoughts, ideas and dreams that will affect the world for the rest of eternity. With filmmaking being such a wide part of culture whatever is said or displayed on the big screen can have serious impact on the way that people think and act within society. With this power filmmakers from all different cultures, beliefs, ethnicities and diversities have to use this power to tell there own stories while also shaping the way they want society to view them. As seen in shows from the late 80s to early 90s such as ‘Seinfeld’, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ and ‘Friends’ (ARBEITER, 2019). During this time, society was still seen as ‘racist’ and pushing native Americans to the side was a norm, this is clearly seen during these shows which for a younger audience watching this would also accept it as a norm. However, it is not only racism that is seen in films but also all different norms such as gender, disability and religion, all which over the years has been misrepresented and seen as outcasts within films.
The 2017 hit film ‘Wonder’ features the main star Auggie (Jacob Tremblay), a young boy who was born with a birth defect affecting the way he sees, breathes and hears. Over his previous schooling years he was home schooled while having over 15 surgeries to try and fix the deformities as best as possible. After being home schooled for the previous 5 years, his parents make the decision for him to attend a standard elementary school. The story follows Auggie as he struggles to fit in, being bullied and the struggle that a child who is ‘different’ has to go through to fit in. The film accurately represents what students have to go through and the struggle that they have to go through to fit in with other students. The director of the film Stephen Chbosky gives the message across through the film about how students should treat each other, no matter how different they are. It shows that no matter how you look or how different you are, everyone is still the same deep down and you should accept people for who they are.
In 2017 director Brian Yorkey released his brand new Netflix original show ‘13 Reasons Why’. The show follows Clay after dealing with the tragic death of his close friend and love interest Hannah. Within the first season of the show there are many different serious topics that are faced that Yorkey decided to take on, this includes rape, bullying, sexism, oppression and suicide. All of this becomes a serious part of the show where each character has to face one or more of these hurdles to which even eventually ends up to the suicide of Hannah. The director represents each of these topics extremely well and allows the audience to be emotionally connected with each character as they face these challenges throughout the show. The director also brings up many different controversial topics such as rape culture and victim shaming which allows the audience to experience these in a darker fashion.
Although it may not be bringing awareness to marginalised groups, ethnicities or religions, bringing awareness to society about certain topics or facts is still very important for society. The documentary ‘Supersize Me’ (2002)directed by Morgan Spurlock did exactly that, bringing awareness to society (specifically Americans) about the effects of fast food. The film shows Spurlock only eat McDonalds for 30 days and would supersize meals if offered and the results it had on his body. Over the 30 day period he gained over 10kg of weight whilst also getting his body checked out every few days to the effect it was having on the inside of his body. The end results showed that his blood pressure, cholesterol and liver function all took a massive impact whilst also affecting his overall mood and attitude towards life. After this film being released there was many different results that came out of it, ranging from extremely negative to extremely positive. With press releases from McDonald’s, defending their multi-billion dollar company, to the documentary still be playing today in health and physical education classes. Overall, Spurlock was able to make a film that brought awareness to the health risks and the detriment it can have on one’s body to which it is still being used to do to continue to bring awareness too.
Being a filmmaker is a massive responsibility and the repercussions of what you make can affect society and even the world for the rest of time. So, as a filmmaker I find it to be my responsibility that every piece of work I put out should derive from my own film philosophy. I want the audience to feel as if they can walk away with a message (whether it’s cold or bad), be able to relate themselves to one of the characters and learn something from them and most importantly I want the audience to have fun. If the audience can walk away from one of my films and be able to have one of these taken away from it I feel like my job is done. Throughout my life I have had many different life experiences which have shaped the way that I have my outlook on the world. I common theme that has always arisen is a sense of belonging, being able to belong to a group like they are family is more important than friends (in my opinion). With my films, I wish for when the audience walks away if they can see themselves as a member of the ‘character group’ or have learnt a new outlook/way to view their friends, I believe this makes the world a better place.
Overall, being a filmmaker is a responsibility that can have a massive effect on the world being either good or bad. It it is the responsibility of the filmmaker to decide how they use that power and what message they would like to spread to the world.
“With great power, comes great responsibility”
-Uncle Ben
References
ARBEITER, M. (2019). 9 Times ‘Fresh Prince’ Expertly Handled The Issues. Retrieved 12 December 2019, from https://www.bustle.com/articles/68925-9-times-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-took-a-serious-look-at-important-issues-the-world
Chbosky, S. (2017). Wonder [DVD].
Spurlock, M. (2002). Super Size Me [DVD].
Super Size Me. (2019). Retrieved 12 December 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me
Yorkey, B. (2016). 13 Reasons Why [DVD]. Netflix.
Alex Stafford - Student Blog 