The Emergence of a New Era in Film

Since the birth of Hollywood, audiences have been fascinated by how directors bring stories told by men through film. Hollywood has been the birthplace of many famous films, and they quite certainly cover most of the genres of film.

The persuasive power of film through stellar performance by actors and actresses are able to bring audience into a journey together with them. Actors and actresses have an important role to play in the sending of the ideological message of the film. Other than fine acting, a good film always use key strategies such as its structure, Mise-En-Scene and editing of sound and lights to help provide a stronger ideological message across to the audience.

Ultimately, the makings of a good film is its ability to capture the attention of the audience the entire time during its airtime, and it leaves the audience thinking (active audience) or feeling good.

Since the beginning of the century, there has been a rise in such films. Films are moving towards those which can tease the audiences’ mind, making them think beyond their imagination, for example, Inception. The final scene of Inception made audience ponder if the main character was yet in another dream. The entire scene also touched on how people could infiltrate others dreams to search for their deepest secrets. This kind of films, though categorized as Science Fiction and action, has been becoming popular in Hollywood. Perhaps this is a sign which indicates that the general intellect level of the audience is getting higher as compared to a decade ago.

Films which portray a savior in its film has also been steadily increasing, almost every year, there would be such a film. From Lord of The Rings to Harry Potter, these films depict a world in peril and its crying need for a savior. Although this sounds really new and fresh to the world, it really isn’t. On the contrary, the oldest book in history has that content in itself. The bible talked about how the world was dirty in sin and how Jesus was sent to die for everyone’s sins. This probably became the inspiration for many Hollywood directors. Granted, the audience has the power to choose whether to reject it, the fact that these films won accolades prove that they still have persuasive power even though the directors probably drew inspiration from the bible.

Call it a subtle invasion of christian values into the world if you want, but such films leave the audience feeling good, making them feel like hope still exists in a world where there is no faith. That is the appeal of films and the mass media. That is the power of persuasive communication.