During this quarter, I have had the benefit of studying ten movies each of which left their own impact on society. As we wrap this semester up, we are asked, “How have movies changed since 1965?”. In my attempt to answer this question and upon reviewing my own work it is very clear to me that I focused on how society reacted to movies which forced changes in perception. Each movie I studied provided solid examples of how movies have left an impact on society but four stood out above the others. First, Rocky the story of the underdog from Philadelphia who rose from a do-nothing nobody to the World Heavyweight Champion. I was utterly taken by the restored hope and excitement of this movie and I think that was also the resounding opinion of folks leaving the theaters during its initial release. Another movie that stood out to me was Blazing Saddles which confronted some of society’s ugliest prejudices. I admit that I had to watch this film twice: once as a viewer for entertainment and secondly from an academic perspective because frankly, it was difficult to watch. At the time though, these were not taboo things though the movie took the day to day standard and added a hefty scoop for embellishment. Another film I studied that changed the way society behaved was A Hard Day’s Night. Not only did this movie make me toss The Beatles into my normal rotation, back in the 60s this movie sent people flocking to the market to purchase Beatles memorabilia and easily made them a household name. The last movie I will compare today is Hard Boiled which changed my perception of what it means to be an action film and changed society’s view of violence and made it art. In my reflections, I will try to answer the question of how movies have changed people through the scope of hope, social significance, commercial significance, and aesthetic significance.

HOPE

To start, I will talk about Rocky. This movie was written and directed by the great Sylvester Stallone. In my paper, I discuss the political climate which birthed a movie like Rocky. This movie is a prime example of how a hungry audience can be satiated of spirit through a film with promises of hope. Rocky is a towering, terrifying and mighty man who is actually quite scared of his own potential. I compared Rocky to the United States and positioned history right when Rocky came out; during the fallout of the Vietnam War. Though this man stood tall, he also stood defeated. In many ways, the post-Vietnam war in America stood the same. Still a large and powerful yet defeated on the world stage. I argued that Rocky was the hero America needed. The reason this film made a lasting impression and is still beloved today by audiences from around the world. It is widely referenced and its spirit comes in handy when a person needs to be inspired to be their own unlikely hero. Additionally, Rocky left a lasting impression because his character was so real and that sense of authenticity came from struggles experienced by Stallone himself who says, “Every day I truly miss that character so much, I tell you I could just cry. Because I’ll never have a voice like that again — where I can just speak whatever I feel in my heart. That’s the one thing I will always cherish about that character… because if I say it you won’t believe it but when rocky said it, it was the truth”. Rocky just commanded this sense of honesty that people wanted to relate to and it didn’t help that he forced his dream to come true “the American way” – through hard work and grit. It communicates so much about the American values, that some second rate loan shark could be naïve enough to think he had a shot and strong enough to give it his all. Unfortunately for the New York Times, they were behind the curve. The highbrow publication seems to refuse to indulge the fantasy and instead use their review of Rocky to criticize Sylvester Stallone’s acting skills and plot line. Rocky, of course, was well received by audiences who needed this underdog hero to show them what it means to pick back up and make something out of nothing. Rocky made a lasting impression because these values are timeless in America.

 

SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

The next film I studied was Blazing Saddles. In retrospect, I find my first viewing of this film to have been of a more closed mind than the second viewing. Though I resisted watching this movie again, I believed that the context was important to analyze and understand thoroughly. The number of slurs and racism throughout this film made me uncomfortable, to say the least – but that was the point. During this time in American history, as I explained, American was exiting the Civil Rights Movements and entering a world unknown. This movie provided content for people to discuss how exactly we as a country were going to move forward into this new and more equal world we created together. Richard Pryor understood that humor was the foundation for conversations about this and he was no stranger to forcing these uncomfortable topics onto the public. The reason this move maintains a lasting impression in the film is that it pressed boundaries. This film did not just imitate reality, it spiced it up toward absurdity and poked fun at all walks of life. When everyone is on the comedic block it is a little bit easier to laugh about ourselves and those who are a little bit different. In a way, exploring this obtuse version of everyday racism broke down the barriers and allowed for conversation, because at least the general public wasn’t as bad as the townspeople of Rock Ridge.

Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor put a great deal of effort into pressing the envelope while remaining funny. One of my favorite things Brooks recounts in my research he says, “The film is punctuated with racial epithets, including multiple appearances of the n-word. For guidance, he relied on Richard Pryor, who co-wrote the script. “Every time I said to Richard, ‘Can I use the n-word here?’ he said, ‘Yes,’” says Brooks. “I said, ‘Richard, it’s a little dangerous here.’ He said, ‘Yes’”. This danger that Brooks talks about perfectly mirrors the dissonance between races at the time. In many ways, these question arose and remained a problem because there was a definite disconnect between the post-Civil-Rights-Movement black community and the white community. Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks coming together to create a comedy that antagonized this dissonance is what is remembered about the film and what remains a lasting impact in the film. It is what opened the door to conversations ranging from racism to homophobia.

COMMERCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

A Hard Day’s Night was a delight of a film to watch and analyze. This film follows the 1960’s pop sensation, The Beatles as they voyage to perform on a television program with their mischievous friend. In doing my research for this film, it was apparent that no one at Paramount was aware of the smashing sensation The Beatles were destined to become. Somewhere between the signing of the deal for this film and its release, the world came to know who The Beatles were. Their success ushered in a new kind of public participation. The Beatles memorabilia is to this day treasured by many across the world. In addition to the items that were branded with The Beatles designs, their music remains an everlasting joy transcending generation after generation. There is something truly magical about the film, the boys, and the music. I wrote, “My Dad has always described that first chord of “A Hard Day’s Night” as the beginning of rock and roll. So many things about this movie felt like that as well.” In a lot of ways, I believe that to be true. Not just as a genre of music though, The Beatles changed the Rock n’ Roll attitude and disposition The rock n’ roll of the 1950s was fit for smoothie sipping and sure, it made people dance but it was extremely tame and wildly controlled. As Andrew Cabri writes, “A Hard Day’s Night is a great pop culture film that I believe it has paved the way for many other artists that bring their fans into their lives to feel relatable”. The Beatles, on the other hand, made people excited and refused to be controlled.

Everything about the film seems to have made an impact. In my blog, I referenced the Can’t Buy Me Love Scene: “One scene that stands out, in particular, is the “Can’t Buy Me Love” scene. They seemed carefree, joyous and without responsibility. This is one of the most recognizable scenes in the movie”. I later went on to read that this is considered the first ever music video of sorts since each scene features a song accompanied by its own storyline and narrative. This sort of creative innovation granted Richard Lester credit to MTV’s recognition as “The Father of the Music Video” (Love For Sale, page 186). This is yet another incredible impact on consumerism made by this film. Andrew Cabri noted a similar observation in his blog as well stating, “Many artists today use social media and music videos to bring their fans into their lives.  I feel like this movie was a precursor to this style of fame”.

 

AESTHETIC SIGNIFICANCE – Framing and Editings

The importance of aesthetics could perhaps be best explored using action films. In Jon Woo’s Hard Boiled, we see a completely different style of action than what is available at today’s multiplex theaters. In today’s action films, there are fast cutting scenes, which move so quickly that audiences cannot appreciate the true embellishment of the choreography if there is any at all. In many cases, audiences may not even be aware of what is going on but can glean from the quick shots the gist of the action and put the rest together in their own minds. John Woo comes from another era and in addition to that, he used Hard Boiled as his way into the American action film market. Hui Zhong wrote a brilliant piece which talks about the depiction of violence in movies such as Bonnie and Clyde which pre-dates Hard Boiled by 25 years.

John Woo’s style is slow, methodical, it embellishes possibilities while still allowing the audience to indulge in the impossible. The camera angles are wide and show full body shots which is a stark contrast to today’s action shots. Take this scene from Columbiana, for instance, and compare it to the Tea House Shootout scene in Hard Boiled. Rewatching that after writing my blog, I wondered: “How long was this shootout in real time?” In real time, it was probably two or three minutes but the scene drags on for 5 minutes total emphasizing critical gunshots, panic, and chaos. While I do not deny that Columbiana is an awesomely entertaining film, the only take away I have from its action sequences is that there was a fight, chaos, struggle, and a survivor. The depiction of fights scenes “in real time” removes the detail in each scene. John Woo’s style however only cuts to emphasize the impact of blows and while cutting, the action is usually slowed down to enhance the effect. This creates more drama and appreciation for the choreography of each move. Woo’s style perfectly balances between reality and fantasy without focusing on reality or fantasy.

Though audiences accept the new style of action films because of Woo’s Hard Boiled the nondescript action sequences of today are like the differences between a Diet Coke and a Coke – there is something missing. There always will be and that is why audiences crave the strongholds of this style like the John Wick series. In a way, Hard Boiled created a love affair with violence and that changed the pallet of American viewers making series like The Bourne Identity a little lacking.