INTRODUCTION
The world of film has become one of the leading sources of entertainment for the American public throughout the last century. People primarily watch movies to be entertained through catharsis—through laughter, passion, fear, among other emotions (Baumann 3). Also, through film, people can be transported to a reality that is not their own. This escape from reality, appropriately termed escapism, is important because it allows people to feel that they are not trapped in an undesirable reality (Allen and Lincoln 5). Though movies entertain primarily through catharsis and escapism, I will explore the underlying messages that reflect and shape our society.
Film has become one of the staple crops of entertainment by: sending inspiring messages that inform on the pressing issues that are either blatantly or surreptitiously harming society, allowing viewers to find a community into which they can integrate, and by encouraging people to morally emulate the characters they see on screen. However, many films are made yearly that convey important messages but disregard all artistic qualities, or display impressive artistic qualities but disregard important messages. This is fine if one holds an ‘art-for-art’s-sake’ perspective, and many professionals do argue that film is only meant to entertain (Hicks and Petrova 3). However, as the general public looks to the Oscars as the arbiter of film quality (Pimentel 1), I will use this prestigious award ceremony to show that the role of film is in the process of changing from simply entertaining to impacting the lives of the audience and society.
The Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, which runs the Oscars, claims that its goal is to reward artistic achievement. Perhaps unknowingly, the Academy has become a representative voice that recognizes much more than only cinematic merit. This is because film has evolved into something more than pure entertainment—it has become critic and informant regarding the issues that confront our society (Ginsburgh 1). Therefore, I now look upon the Oscars as more than an arbiter of artistic merit. The Oscars inspire people to watch films that have impactful, at times “under the radar,” messages.
Specifically, I seek to find the impacts that Oscar-nominated movies have on our perceptions of mental health and disability, on racism in a segregated society, and on sexism in a patriarchal society. I am interested in the predicaments Oscar-nominated movies bring to life and the messages that they send to the public about which issues matter. I will argue that the Oscars impact society by rewarding films that deliver commendable performances while at the same time sending powerful messages about existing society and the society we should aspire to create.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FILM
There are large gaps in scholarly literature on the societal impacts of film. Films, nonetheless, are critiqued before their arrival in theaters, and their messages can affect a wide range of audiences.
The Oscars send messages about not only what films should be consecrated but also what art should represent. When a movie wins “Best Picture,” it does not simply mean that this movie had the best story or best actors. It also means that it managed to put together a powerful message that made viewers recognize the negatives and positives of the reality which exists in the film. Film inspires the best characteristics of humanity in us. We wish to emulate the bravery, humor, kindness and other admirable characteristics we see on screen.
Film is powerful as it sends important messages, but also as it has positive mental health effects on people. A 2005 sociological study found that the visual stimulation of watching a film could provoke “an emotive response holding therapeutic properties” (Uhrig 4). The study found that the sensory stimulation resulting from watching a film had a strong positive correlation with happiness and decreased levels of anxiety and depression. Though the participants watched a wide selection of genres of film, the study ultimately found that the positive mental health effects of watching films outweigh any negative effect.
While film has plenty of positive impacts that include stress relief and therapeutic properties, there are claims that film has more negative than positive impacts on people. Some groups have sought to demonstrate that films have a bad impact on society by claiming that people, especially children, could pick up behaviors like smoking, and ultimately adopt the debauched lifestyle seen on the big screen. Not surprisingly, a study found that there was a strong correlation between what kids saw in films and what they thought could help them more feasibly integrate with their peers (Pechmann and Shih 6). This initially seems like an obvious reason why people should not watch a lot of movies, and why parents should cut down on the time their children spend watching movies and television shows. However, the study also found that children’s views were highly malleable if a message about how smoking was bad was shown at the beginning of the film. This meant that the attractiveness of something like smoking could be negated with a message on why smoking is bad for one’s health.
Movie viewers should also consider how the genre and style of films send messages about society. Moonlight, for example, takes a very direct approach to the dangers that African Americans deal with when surrounded by a brutal police force. This could easily impact Blacks as well as other minorities, including Muslims and Latinos, because they have witnessed or been in the shoes of the person being mistreated. Also, this film, as well as other films, can impact individuals of any race as these people can identify with the protagonist through empathy. Though people might not have gone through the same experiences as the characters on screen, they have the ability to understand and sympathize with what the characters are going through.
Movies that take a magical perspective stimulate the audience’s imagination in a slightly different way, focusing on how the audience would live and what they would do in that different reality. In the Shape of Water, when the magical sea-creature survives, the audience deeply feels the courage and loyalty of the people who took care of the creature.
FINDINGS
Film has infiltrated a society that stigmatizes cognitive deficiency and mental illness. In the United States, it was not until the latter half of the 20th century that the salience of mental health and illness were recognized by science and society. Before this time, the general public held mental health and illness as matters of little importance. As people did not believe these issues were legitimate, the government and other large players put them aside. Slowly, as psychology and medicine began to understand the complexities of how the mind works, film also took a role in presenting the gravity of this issue to the public. Since then, film has played a large role in examining how mental health and illness are serious issues, even though society often treats them like a joke. Many films released in the last fifty years have demonstrated the real-life struggles faced by individuals with mental illness, specifically mental retardation.
An interesting way film-makers have shown the importance behind mental health is by depicting the mentally challenged and geniuses. Though films tend not to compare the two side-by-side, plenty of films have shown the lives of individuals whose mental capacities fall outside the parameters of what society considers ‘normal’. These films not only teach about expectations society holds for people based on their mental abilities, but also sparks conversations and spread awareness of the difficult circumstances that befall people with mental differences.
Films that deal with mental disability and genius that were nominated for Oscars include Forrest Gumpand Good Will Hunting. Even though both films portray the extremes of what mentally retarded people and geniuses can do, these films were groundbreaking because they changed the audience’s perceptions of acceptable behavior. Furthermore, these films illustrate how mental intelligence is not the best way to determine a person’s capabilities as mental intelligence and character are often better predictors of a person’s success.
Forrest Gump follows the life ofa man whose compassionate nature and resilient character define his success more effectively than his low I.Q. While few people with such a low I.Q. are truly capable of being successful war veterans, businessmen, and college football players, Forrest exemplifies a tenacious and optimistic attitude that viewers can then recognize in real-life mentally challenged individuals. By showing people like this instead of people who are considered deficient, films reveal the humanity of these people to individuals who would otherwise not know anything about the mentally challenged community (Riles 9). This community benefited when the Oscars decided to consecrate movies like this one that spread awareness of mental disability and illness by showing a person who goes above and beyond his call of duty.
The notion of going beyond the call of duty was not explored for most of Good Will Hunting, which is depicted through the lens of a young, law-breaking, genius janitor from Boston. The message behind this film is that people from all backgrounds should be seen as equals, especially in an endlessly diverse culture. In this film, inequality is manifest through the tangible differences of power status in a society that treats the upper-class Harvard students as natural superiors to working-class individuals. By showing what a low-class individual is able to do, this film demonstrates the importance of equality in a broken society. This demonstration is important to mental health and illness because it not only sends the message that people are different, but also that it is those differences that make people unique. Every individual’s’ search for uniqueness is what leads to the glorification of diversity, which allows people to feel comfortable being themselves.
As individuals in society discover what makes them unique, the issues in films that bring awareness to mentally ill people’s circumstances help reduce the stigma that surrounds mental illness. When films positively portray mentally handicapped characters, they send the message to society that these people should not be isolated. By incorporating them into the fictional societies of film, we help ignorant individuals to understand that mentally ill people are not ills to society.
By contrast, a real ill to society is the lack of equal opportunity and representation. Women have often been under-represented in the film industry, as shown by their lesser salaries in comparison to those of men. A study found that just under three-quarters of the films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture from 1990 to 2006 were led by men (S. Smith 2). It was not until 2017 that the #MeToo wave of feminist views led to the upbringing of women in Hollywood. The 90thand 91stOscars each, for example, had three nominated best picture films that were led by women; this is the most women-led films the Academy has nominated in the last twenty years. This change in the status of women was contagious and quickly spread from the film industry to other lines of work, including government and corporate jobs (Schultz 4). This change is important because it sends the message to women that if they continue fighting for their rights, they will someday live in a world with true equality.
For a long time, the Academy has been dominated by older White men. As a result, the people that voted for the Oscars have been older White men. Until recently, it appeared this would continue to be the case. However, the increase of new female artists who came to prominence led —with the help of established female artists and influential men— to a new voice that had a lot of critiques about the film entertainment industry.
The reason why the Oscars have recognized a more diverse group of talent is because of these people who have stood up for equality. As more artists come out to speak about the egregious things that have happened to them in the industry, there has been a fuller disclosure of the sexism that exists in American patriarchal society. Films have done a great job in exposing the misogynistic traits of our society, and each time the Oscars reward one of these films with an achievement nomination, they consecrate the message that misogynistic behavior is no longer acceptable (Cattani et. al 12).
Many feminist films have been made, especially in the last decade, that demonstrate our sexist culture. These films have stopped depicting women as delicate flowers who depend on their male family and friends for any sort of important matter. Particularly interesting is the film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which a distraught mother does everything possible to effect revenge on the man who raped and killed her daughter. This mother single-handedly raises a child while sometimes dealing with a physically abusive ex-husband and a police force of men who either do not care about the case or cannot find the man who committed the murder. She is ostracized by much of society that believes she is being unreasonable when she purchases large posters that reprimand the authorities. Despite these challenges, she perseveres and scoffs at the people who tell her she is incapable of doing what she sets out to do. This speaks to women, as it sends a message about the world women should expect to live in and the people who will attempt to bring them down.
This movie and others like it spread the message that sexism exists in the U.S. and is blatantly harming women. The Oscars not only awarded a best-actress statuette to Frances McDormand because of her chilling performance as a mother who stands up to the pressures of society, but also because her character takes matters into her own hands—just as more women around the world are encouraged to do.
Just as sexism is an ill to society, racism has negatively affected people of all races, especially Blacks, since the beginning of the United States. Racism has also been a malevolent structure in Hollywood as one study found that only 16.7 percent of Oscar nominees from 1976-2006 were non-white persons (S. Smith 4). This is a problem because it shows that the film industry and the Oscars favor White actors. Lack of representation in this major entertainment platform could make minorities feel that they do not have a community representing them in Hollywood (Lee 3).
On the other hand, movies can have positive impacts on people categorized as minorities when they feel represented. Representation leads to a decrease in stereotypes as well as a sense of belonging (Tukachinsky 2). This is evident in Black Panther, which is the first Marvel movie with a predominantly African American cast, and which enjoyed extraordinary box office success. This movie was so groundbreaking that it has already become a classic in the Black community, giving African Americans viewers a comfortable home in the film industry (J. Smith, 2018). The Oscars’ changing role in society is best shown by this film winning “Best Original Music Score”, “Best Costume Design”, and “Best Production Design”, prizes it would not have garnered nominations for fifty years ago.
The Oscars are a leading force of change in American society because they directly represent the changing values held by most of the American people. Several movies have been made in the last decade that demonstrate the harsh realities of African American life. Oscar-winning films like Moonlightseek to inform the general population of the problems that persist in the Black community. Other films like Get Out demonstrate the ridiculous nature of the oppression that Blacks face in a White-majority nation. 2019 “Best Picture” winner Green Bookpresents a slightly obvious but nonetheless necessary message about the complex nature of racial relations with the hope that people will understand America’s need of perpetual change for the better.
Films are accelerating societal values without always receiving the appropriate credit. Many movies illustrate issues with more than one of the topics discussed, as well as other topics such as physical health, education, bullying, global warming, politics, sciences, and space exploration. Hidden Figures, for example, covers several areas of particular intent here. The film depicts three Black women who work for NASA at a time when only white males were considered intelligent enough to do superior scientific work. The messages this film sends to the Black and feminist communities are obvious. Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman also has clear messages about racism and its impacts on people, with women’s rights messages not as blatantly depicted. The film has an undeniable message about the problems America faces in ongoing racial violence as it depicts vicious images from The Birth of a Nationwhich eventually inspired the David Duke-affiliated white supremacist riots in Charlottesville that left a woman dead. Furthermore, as a man asks a woman to no longer state her opinions, this film demonstrates how women’s suppression of speech has existed for hundreds of years in America.
In summary, film has an enormous presence as is helps to create a deeply integrated community. In terms of assimilation, by depicting and informing of a society that fails to integrate its minorities, the larger community can understand the evils that are occurring (Bielby and Kersten 9). Only by integrating people of different cultures, races, nationalities, ethnicities, sexes, and beliefs will we ever attain a united community.
Also, it might be worth noting that superhero films are examples of films that do not connect deeply with one specific group but instead have messages about the values that society should hold on to (Basuroy 3). Some of these values include bravery, kindness, ambition, and tenacity. Though leading scholars might argue that these films are only supposed to entertain, the reality is that they often connect with people who feel out of place. This does not necessarily mean people who do not have friendships, but also people who feel disconnected from or disappointed by their society. Children who enjoy superhero films might also feel a desire to be more like their heroes are, even if they have a shy nature. These films might also encourage people to socialize even when they might not have an easy time doing so.
CONCLUSION
Seeing the unremarkable state of how society treats people who are mentally challenged, women, or Black, there is plenty of room for change. Film, through time, has begun to tackle these plagues of American society, and plays an important role in giving the public insight into the problems that society faces. Once again, I believe that the Oscars recognize the movies that artistically engage the audience to recognize that these issues exist and affect a great number of people. Even though it has not always been this way, it is becoming the role of the Oscars to consecrate a message. While the Academy may claim that it is only condoning artistic achievement, the members are also consecrating the messages of the movies they nominate. Films and the Oscars have powerful impacts on minorities because films inform of the issues that minorities live with, give people heroes to emulate, and help people find a community.
Artists should further learn how to use the Oscars to create positive change and break barriers between people. This endeavor could be accomplished by simple tasks like giving meaningful speeches about one’s experience. Minority and non-minority celebrities could also use the prestige that accompanies the title “Academy Award Nominee” and “Academy Award Winner” to make larger films that illustrate the issues of society. While the artists who are nominated and those who win have no requirement to make a change, they have started doing so and should continue doing so to create a truly remarkable society.