First Blog

I believe modern filmmakers have no obligation, socially speaking, to what they present on screen. Movies have always been an art form, an arena for expression. No one that goes to the movies is forced to go, and furthermore, told what to believe. There is almost always a perspective in movies and the moviegoer either identifies or does not identify with that perspective. If anything, a movie can open audiences’ eyes to something they might not have been aware of before. This does not mean, however, that the producer, director, and screenwriters have a moral obligation to educate and inform. Films such as Passion of the Christ and Apacalypto are made in a socially conscious way. Directors such as Mel Gibson try to promote an understanding about the subject. Whether these movies are in contradiction of history or not, it is his artistic expression of the events that may have taken place. Other directors may take the same event and put a whole new twist on it. This does not make one director socially “right” and the other “wrong.” More sides of the story are illuminated and therefore more people are open to the different possibilities. If, by some chance, the viewer takes action on a movie, it is not the responsibility of the production company or filmmakers for that action. Are you forced to buy your ticket to a movie and soda and popcorn? In any culture, art plays a role in forming us, but it is the individual who must choose what is right and wrong and what motivates and what does not.