Reading and Writing About Movies

This week’s readings were about analyzing movies, and taking time to discuss them instead of just watching them for leisure. I liked the part where they talked about movie genres and how people expect certain things from certain movies. For example, you go to comedies prepared to laugh and to horror films prepared to be scared, and if we don’t get those things from the movies we are generally disappointed. The article talked about how even though we pay attention to genre, the critics don’t, and I thought that was interesting. When reviewing a movie, I would think that genre would be a big part of the discussion. But many critics look at the movie as a whole and tend to compare then to such classics like Casablanca. I also like the part about movies being a powerful cultural tool. I definitely believe that many more people today are comparing their lives to what they see in the movies. I agree with the part in the essay that talks about movies guiding our behavior. People these days want to dress and act like many of the movie stars they see on the big screen. Even when it comes to dating, many people are getting ideas from what they see in romantic films. Being a girl, I think it also gives us false hope of the perfect guy entering our lives and courting us away on extravagant dream dates. I think that as the years go by, many more people are using what they see in the movies in their everyday lives. The way they talk, dress, and act are all influenced by what they see, and I don’t know if that’s such a good thing. Depending on the movie, it could cause children to act in ways they shouldn’t be, but I guess that would be the parent’s job to monitor what they are watching.