Understanding So-cinema-ty.

Someone asked me a question,

“What affects significantly the way society thinks?”

And I wondered until I realized that the stories of people affect everyone in a very significant way. Such stories affect the masses more than we think. People get inspired by listening to the stories of other people. Visuals are a more effective way of communication than stories. Cinemas are the form of audio-visual presentation of one’s story, and one’s life through their eyes. The viewers can experience everything the main character experiences, the viewers can feel whatever the character from the cinema feels. What could be a more beautiful experience than this? This deep experience throughout the movie gives the viewers a whole new perspective and a whole new angle to look at a particular topic or say life. And yeah, this experience of putting yourself in the main character’s shoes shapes our thinking. This gives us perspectives and builds our opinions knowingly or unknowingly. Maybe how they shape our lives and understanding is basically because of how we idealize what we see in movies and believe life will be like that for real. But being a sensible viewer of the film, you should be aware enough to know the difference between reel life and real life. Therefore, the storytelling should be done very carefully by the filmmakers. Because whatever has been shown in the movie becomes the new norm of the society. Most of the part of our society ultimately accepts whatever is shown in the movies. In countries where there is a low level of literacy, cinema can be a powerful way to communicate.

Also, there is another point to be highlighted in the storytelling of the Military Men and their families is that the storytelling of Army personnel should be done very seriously, there should not be any commercial compulsions like dance sequences in the movie. The soldier’s emotional strength has to be understood, he is staying away from his family, his wife is managing the household, the children’s upbringing, looking after his old parents, looking after the property all by herself. And him being aware of all these issues still giving his 200% on the up front. This man’s contribution must be acknowledged, understood, and appreciated. And such families after hearing the news of the death of their husband or son hold themselves together and show as if it’s okay so that the morale of the families of the rest of the military men does not fall. We can just imagine the strength these families have. And such sacrifices of a soldier and his family’s life must be honored.

A film portrays the reality of society and effectively delivers a message in the form of images.

Films mirror what society is, and society is a mirror to cinema.

It serves the interests of the audience. Cinema reflects society and the changes occurring in society. There is a give-and-take relationship between cinema and society. Many times, people dictate what should be shown in movies. After all, movies are just the interpretation of peoples’ lives. There are times when the wrong things shown in the films are resisted by society, and also there are times when society resists the ideas in the movie for the sole reason of not being open-minded. In the first case, we can observe the change in society and the resistance to change in the second one. Films address real-life social issues that cannot be delivered neatly through storytelling or books. Cinema is the art of converting thoughts/words to images.

I met a person who does not like to watch movies. She said that she might as well pursue her hobbies in that time instead of wasting her time watching movies. I think that it is fine if you are not a fan of cinema but that was her opinion because she might not have watched some very beautiful movies that provoked a thought. According to me, a film can inspire the need to do something in life. Art is not just for entertainment; it is meant to add some value to one's life. I personally rarely watch movies just for entertainment purposes. If I am investing amount of time into watching a movie I expect to take something with me. Knowledge, values, or any positive trait the movie can give me. I think movies are just like books. There can be times when you feel exhausted and you just want to rest but you are unable to sleep. A perfect movie will help you through your way to feeling good. And there can be times when you need a fresh perspective to look at life overall then some of the great storytellers can help you to gain a fresh perspective to look at everything.

The beauty of cinema is seen in some of the best cinematographers and directors who present unique perspectives and unique storytelling. Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, and also Indian Directors like Yash Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Imtiaz Ali, Neeraj Pandey and many other directors who do a very good job. Most of the Imtiaz Ali movies have notable character development and a unique storyline. We can understand why the character thinks the way he thinks. Movies like “Lakshya”, “Wake up Sid!”, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, “Yeh Jawaani Hy Deewani”, “Rang de Basanti”, and "3-Idiots” are some of my favorite Bollywood movies. Whereas if we talk about Hollywood movies then the complete Nolan Filmography, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Good Will Hunting”, “The Pursuit of Happyness”, "Dead Poet's Society", “A Beautiful Mind”, “La la Land”, “Se7en”, The Butterfly Effect Trilogy, Before Trilogy, "The Truman Show", “The Notebook” are some handpicked movies which are a must watch according to me. Also some special mentions, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons”, “The Bucket List” and “The Intern” are wonderful presentations of growing old like a fine wine. There are some phenomenal Anime movies as well like "Kimi Na Kawa", and "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" and so many more like them. I've made a playlist of movies namely "ThePlaylist" which has my handpicked movies from both Hollywood and Bollywood and some Anime as well If you want the list ask in the comments and I will share it with y'all.

The entire mindset of the viewers behind going to the theatres and watching a movie has changed due to services like OTT. Mobile cinema has become a great way to reach smaller communities. The lives of this generation have become so busy that there is no time for people to go and enjoy movies in Theatres. People prefer watching a movie sitting on the sofa at home rather than going to a Cinema Hall. This all comes down to the combined experience and the attention span of today’s generation. People prefer to watch episodes of a series of smaller duration than watching longer duration films. Nowadays because of the emergence of shorts and reels, people spend most of their time watching and scrolling on their mobile phones. Social media has now redefined the society. Everyone is the main character of their own lives. Everyone is busy making their videos and sharing their own stories. Vloggers have been emerging and budding artists now have the opportunity to express themselves on a highly recognized platform of social media.

Knowing all this, I still feel that nothing can replace cinemas and Films. The overall experience that is gained through movies is unmatchable. Also, people should keep an open mind while watching a movie and also seek to find values that can be added to his/her personality taken from the cinema. We being animals possess the ability to think and process the information that we take in should exercise that ability and think over every different idea, thought, or theory that we might watch on the big screen, read in a book, newspaper, magazine, or listen it on some podcast or radio show but just keep thinking. Because,

Thinking is good, we should do that more often.