Thesis+Based+Research+Assignment


 * //__*Rationale for Research/Introduction*:__//**

__**Why did you go down this research path?**__ I spent the summer watching all of the Bond films, not only did I learn about Bond lore but i also noticed some pretty interesting things. Each Bond film seemed to correspond with what was a major event at the time the movie was made or it was related to a popular movie that had been released prior to a bond film, one that also followed a major event in society. I also took notice to how Hollywood seems to have placed Middle Eastern people as the "bad guy" in many new movies, especially ones dealing with bombings and terrorism. Hollywood knows how to make money, and playing off people's fears is one of their biggest cash cows. Exploring how Hollywood reflects society in order to draw in movie goers and how this effects movie goers into being fearful or changing their attitudes is what started my thesis.

__**What driving question guided your research?**__ Is there a connection between Society and Movies shown by the plots, characters, and messages in movies and change in human behavior in society? How so?

__**What more specific questions had to be answered before finally answering this driving question?**__ What events were big during the release of big hit movies? What were the trends of the decades, were they tied to movies or to other media? What epidemics (fears) were big during certain decades and were they caused/influenced by movies? (Jaws, violent film influence, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) What movies in the National Film Registry were put there due to their effect on society?

__**Research**__

A. LaSalle, Mick. "MOVIES AS MIRROR ON SOCIETY." //SFGate//. San Fransisco Chronicle, 9 May 2004. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[] article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/05/09/PKG486DU451.DTL>.

1. Early 1930s movies center on individualism and make good guys out of the bad guy (gangsters). (LaSalle, Para 6) 2. Out of World War II came the genre of "Noir", movies about dark characters on their own in an evil world trying to find what's right, much like the soldiers over in foreign nations.(LaSalle, Para 8) 3. 1950s rebellious era brought about films of anti-heroes and bikers with the likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando representing the youth.(Lasalle, Para 9) 4. This generation's movies are all comedies and dramas that are long lasting. The Comedies are mainly about the main character trying to make themselves feel worthy and higher than others while others compete/stay the same as they were in the movie. Drama movies all play on our fears and scare tactics employed by using real events as a basis. (Phone Booth - DC Sniper case) (LaSalle, Para 10) MY OPINION: Mick LaSalle seems to offer a good insight into the subject, though he bases it off his own inferences instead of others. His guesses do seem agreeable enough though to be checked our atleast.

"And so we have "comedies" -- even good ones like "The Girl Next Door" -- that define triumph as nothing but the ability to glorify one's own worthlessness over other people's worthlessness. And we have dramas that are about nothing but paranoia and fear: "Spartan," "Phone Booth," "In the Cut," "Dawn of the Dead."

B. Felipe. "Movies and Their Impact on Society." //Cinemaroll//. N.p., 22 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[] movies-and-their-impact-on-society/>.

1. Movies seem to have worked with the smoking industry in convincing viewers to smoke, making many title/popular characters ones who smoke. (Felipe, Para 3) 2. Horror movies losing less of an effect on audience due to the new genres and over the top gore effects. (Felipe, Para 4) 3. Drug movies (pot comedies, drug dealer bio pics) can distort teen views on illegal substances. Some feel it to be okay and cool for them to be smoking due to the characters using the substances, while other more realistic movies that show the dark part of drugs can scare teens away too. (Felipa, Para 6) 4. Not only movies themselves effect society, but movie technology does as well. People are further and further impressed with the movie industry as better quality picture and screens are developed, drawing audiences out to see the summer's biggest block busters in big screen high definition. (Felipa, Para 8) MY OPINION: B. Felipe seems rather liberal in his views on movies and how they affected society, but one thing i do appreciate is that Felipe uses quotes from other sources too, showing that his opinion is supporter in one form or another by others.

"War movies usually had big physically fit men as sergeants and they would sometimes if not always be smoking cigarettes when depicted in these movies. When tobacco companies realized the rise in there product sells they were happy because they had found the biggest form of advertisement. No later had movie produces put more smoking actors in there films that the audience asked for more."

C. Freedman, Jonathan. "No real evidence for TV violence causing real violence ." //First Amendment Center//. N.p., 27 Apr. 2007. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

1. Freedman argues that there is no definitive proof that violence effects kids, especially violence with no consequences. The FCC on the other hand thinks that it's to be true, thought they have no evidence to cite for it. (Freedman, Para 3) 2. The FCC's test did not measure the actual character of the person, only how they responded to movies. (Freedman Para 5) 3. Movie violence may be accused of early violent increase (everything pre 90s) but in the 90s, crime went down, but movies got more violent. Cease to a connection? (Freedman, Para 9) MY OPINION: Freedman doesn't so much prove his point as he does just disprove the FCC's point. The FCC uses statistics but of ten censors the parts that don't benefit them; Freedman points that out. "  The rate of violent crime in the United States increased sharply from 1965 to 1980, and some people blamed that increase on television. The rate of violent crime leveled off until about 1992. Since that time, television continued to have violent programs, and many films contained vivid scenes of extreme violence."

D. Schmidt, Rob. "The influence of movies." //Newspaper Rock//. Blue Corn Comics, 6 Aug. 2008. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[] influence-of-movies.html>.

1. Opinions on Indians have been affected by movies almost as much as religion has. (Schmidt, Para 1) 2. Movies enforce stereotypes created by popular trends in the media (All mobsters are fat Italian guys) (Schmidt, Para 2) 3. Movies support racist myths found in society/religion. (Schmidt, Para 3) 4. Indian stereotypes have become so widely accepted that they are even used as mascots/symbols and displayed as early as kid's movies.(Schmidt, Para 22) MY OPINION: Rob makes very good points in his article. He also quotes outside opinions and expands on them/uses them for his own argument. Schmidt's article has made me really think about stereotypes in film. "Second to religion, I think [|movies] have been the most damaging thing to Indians."

E. Gauntlett, David. "Ten things wrong with the ‘effects model’." //Theory//. N.p., 1998. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

1. The affects movies have shouldn't be viewed interpersonal, they should be viewed as society as a whole. People may claim to be affected, but only the whole society's stats will prove a permanent effect. (Gauntlett, Para 6) 2. Many studies on the effects of kids are only tested on kids, not ran parallel with adults, so it is hard to tell if the findings are truly only for kids. (Gauntlett, Para 8) 3. Many "affects" that have been noted seem to be considered only violent when against conservative views of authority. (Gauntlette, Para 12) 4. Studiers seem to be more interested in if their is a consequence to the violence rather than the violence itself; is violence affecting kids or the supposedly disobedience towards authority. (Gauntlette, Para 13) 5. Aggression is also logged as violence in some studies, like throwing objects or hitting objects instead of people. (Gauntlette, Para 15) 6. Many studies ignore the reverse effect of Society on movies, instead of the opposite. (Gauntlette, Para 18) 7. Movies are condemned for not showing consequences while the news can show murder suspects but never them beign apprehended and not be criticized. (Gauntlette, PAra 20) MY OPINION: Gauntlett makes many good opposing view points to if movies and society are related. He points out many flaws but unlike Schmidt, he also has proof/stats for it

"In more general terms, the 'backwards' approach involves the mistake of looking at individuals, rather than society, in relation to the mass media."

F."Media's Effect On Girls: Body Image And Gender Identity." //National Insitute on// //Media + The Family//. N.p., 3 Apr. 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[]>.

1. As early as a child, a child notices whether or not it's body looks different than those depicted in film. (Para 1) 2. Movies make teens/kids (mainly girls) more self conscious of their body. Women are shown as thin with an hourglass figure and men are sleak but muscular. (Para 2) 3. Movies support stereotypical gender roles in their placements of male action oriented characters and female drama oriented characters (Para 3) 4. Genre stereotypes also make it seem like Women are only interested in romance and drama while Men are into action and adventure, supporting more gender roles (Para 4) MY OPINION: This website uses only statistics, making it's information very factual. Though it only focuses on gender effects, it is very knowledgable in the subject. "The popular media (television, movies, magazines, etc.) have, since World War II, increasingly held up a thinner and thinner body (and now ever more physically fit) image as the ideal for women. The ideal man is also presented as trim, but muscular. "

G. Anderson, Craig A., and Brad J. Bushman. "The Effects of Media Violence on Society." //Science Mag//. N.p., 29 Mar. 2003. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. <[] 02AB2.PDF>.

1. Claims that more viewing of violence //does// have a violent reaction. (Craig Para 1) 2. Believes that the dwindling belief in the effect of media violence is only due to the extensiveness of the research and it's recent loss in attraction (Craig Para 2) 3. All research done for media violence has shown at least a mild influence, so there must be at least a small influence on society. (Craig Para 3) 4. A Longitudinal study over 17 years from a male's teen years to adult life showed that he had increased aggression levels since his viewings of violent media (Craig Para 4) 5. The effects have been seen as either desensitization to the violence and shock in media or fear/influence caused by the media. (Craig Para 5) MY OPINION: Craig manages to use other studies done by researches such as him to back his opinions. Due to his factual standing, this source presents itself to be believable. "Aggression researchers have adopted a triangulation strategy to examine the effects of violence in the media. Specifically, divergent research methods have been applied in the belief that using several unique methodological approaches yields a clearer picture than would be possible with any single method."

H. D, Kathy. "The effects of media on American society ." //Helium//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2009. <[] 573945-the-effects-of-media-on-american-society>.

1. Sexual imagery is now being used so often for movies and ads that it has become even acceptable in child's viewings. (Kathy Para 2) 2. Movies/the media focus only on a single sect of society, like with women, showing only skinny women and rarely putting a large women in a leading roll. (Kathy Para 3) 3. Fashion has been changed by movies/media too, many teens dressing like their favorite movie characters (Risky Business sunglasses, Chow Yun Fat's jacket, Leather Jackets) (Kathy Para 4) 4. Sex has been presented much more casually in movies than it previously has, making it seem okay for teens to engage in such activity leisurely (Kathy Para 5) 5. A positive effect from the media/movies are uplifting titles that show team work and personal determination lead to great outcomes and can positively influence mind sets (Kathy Para 6) 6. Though movies may effect kids, it's only partially due to the film. It's up to parents to channel into a positive or negative influence. (Kathy Para 7) MY OPINION: Kathy does not have any statistics, but her opinions seem well grounded. She shares the feminist opinions presented earlier and focuses more on teens, but her assumptions seem to be knowledgeably based. "Casual sex is seen as very normal in movies and tv. It's cool..."everybody's doing it" - not much different than in society. Sex has become recreational for many and the media's influence doesn't help to think otherwise."

I. "Does the Horror and Violence of Films Influence Society?" //Associated Conent//. N.p., 17 May 2006. Web. 22 Sept. 2009. <[] article/32728/does_the_horror_and_violence_of_films.html>.

1. Movies do have an effect on kids, but it is only enhanced to dangerous levels due to the child's mindset set by his real life. (Para 3) 2. Children are only negatively effected by the media if they are not told which parts to absorb and which parts are fiction. If not told, children will take what they think is acceptable/cool and go off of that basis. (Para 4) 3. Though some movies are very violent and people claim they effect society, it should be known that it violates manufacturers rights to try and make a profit by acting on it's market. (Para 5) MY OPINION: The Associated Content does not delve deeply into the topic but they do enough to start a general basic idea to expand upon. "A child or teenager who has been brought up in an abusive family and has been hit as a child is more likely to lash out at other people especially if they have just seen a very violent film like the "Chainsaw massacre."

Though some of my sources offer counter points to how movie effect society, using statistics and flaws in data to try and disprove some effects, my stance still remains the same. Their are simply too many similarities between movies and society and trends in people related to movies for their to be no correlation. Though they offer some good points, I shall simply have to delve deeper into my topic to find well planned and tested experiments and studies on the effects movies have on people/society. My thesis remains that movies have had direct affect on society by changing the population's perspective on life, including fears, opinions, and popular culture while society has influenced movies shown by movie plots, characters, messages, and settings changed to to take advantage of current events to draw in movie goers.
 * __Thesis:__**


 * __Findings:__**

A. Drug movies (pot comedies, drug dealer bio pics) can distort teen views on illegal substances. Some feel it to be okay and cool for them to be smoking due to the characters using the substances, while other more realistic movies that show the dark part of drugs can scare teens away too. (Felipa, Para 6) B. Opinions on Indians have been affected by movies almost as much as religion has. (Schmidt, Para 1) C. Movies enforce stereotypes created by popular trends in the media (All mobsters are fat Italian guys) (Schmidt, Para 2) D. Movies support racist myths found in society/religion. (Schmidt, Para 3) E. Indian stereotypes have become so widely accepted that they are even used as mascots/symbols and displayed as early as kid's movies.(Schmidt, Para 22) F. Movies support stereotypical gender roles in their placements of male action oriented characters and female drama oriented characters (Para 3) G. Movies/the media focus only on a single sect of society, like with women, showing only skinny women and rarely putting a large women in a leading roll. (Kathy Para 3)
 * Finding #1: Movies support stereotypes**

A. The affects movies have shouldn't be viewed interpersonal, they should be viewed as society as a whole. People may claim to be affected, but only the whole society's stats will prove a permanent effect. (Gauntlett, Para 6) B. Movie violence may be accused of early violent increase (everything pre 90s) but in the 90s, crime went down, but movies got more violent. Cease to a connection? (Freedman, Para 9) C. Though some movies are very violent and people claim they effect society, it should be known that it violates manufacturers rights to try and make a profit by acting on it's market. (Para 5)
 * Finding #2: Movies may not influence violence in kids**


 * Finding #3: Movies/media effects girls tremendously**

A. As early as a child, a child notices whether or not it's body looks different than those depicted in film. (Para 1) B. Movies make teens/kids (mainly girls) more self conscious of their body. Women are shown as thin with an hourglass.... (Para 2) C. Sexual imagery is now being used so often for movies and ads that it has become even acceptable in child's viewings. (Kathy Para 2) D. Movies/the media focus only on a single sect of society, like with women, showing only skinny women and rarely putting a large women in a leading roll. (Kathy Para 3) E. Sex has been presented much more casually in movies than it previously has, making it seem okay for teens to engage in such activity leisurely (Kathy Para 5)


 * Finding #4: Parents are part of the reason for a movie's effect on a child**

A. Though movies may effect kids, it's only partially due to the film. It's up to parents to channel into a positive or negative influence. (Kathy Para 7) B. As early as a child, a child notices whether or not it's body looks different than those depicted in film. (Para 1) C. Children are only negatively effected by the media if they are not told which parts to absorb and which parts are fiction. If not told, children will take what they think is acceptable/cool and go off of that basis. (Para 4)


 * Finding #5: There seems to be a general consensus if what type of genre of movie was representative of a time period.**

A. Early 1930s movies center on individualism and make good guys out of the bad guy (gangsters). (LaSalle, Para 6) B. Out of World War II came the genre of "Noir", movies about dark characters on their own in an evil world trying to find what's right, much like the soldiers over in foreign nations.(LaSalle, Para 8) C. 1950s rebellious era brought about films of anti-heroes and bikers with the likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando representing the youth.(Lasalle, Para 9) D. This generation's movies are all comedies and dramas that are long lasting. The Comedies are mainly about the main character trying to make themselves feel worthy and higher than others while others compete/stay the same as they were in the movie. Drama movies all play on our fears and scare tactics employed by using real events as a basis. (Phone Booth - DC Sniper case) (LaSalle, Para 10)

- From conducting this research I have found that movies do indeed help support stereotypes for the most part. Growing up as a kid and seeing the Jim Crow scarecrow and the Indians with big red noses and face paint to even now with Transformers 2's characters Mudflap and Skids. I do however think that larger ladies are getting better reception in movies like Jennifer Hudson, the girl in Hairspray, and the new actress in Tyler Perry's "Precious".
 * __Process Reflection:__**

-In my research, I employed analytical and critical thinking skills. I was made to analyze the sources to see if they passed both MLA standards and my standards on what information would help me the most. Critical thinking was also employed in order to decide which websites were the best used and which statistics had groundings.

- Research skills that i need to improve on are time management and quality of information. It takes me a bit too long to find information, in my opinion, and a few of my source were not as good as i had originally thought they were, leading to difficulties getting 40 //good// facts from them.

- I had never quite realized how much movies enforced stereotypes until I did my research. It really does seem that movies enforce stereotypical gender roles, though lately main characters have been less "perfect" and their is a bit more racial equality. None the less, archetypal villains and gender roles still live on in movies, influencing those who watch them

__**Connections to the Overall Project:**__ This research has given me my first few ideas of how movies can effect society and topics to explore further. I started out with the general idea that I knew it effected society some how, but this research has given me a few idea with specific sects, like kids and teenage girls. This is a step in the right direction for me, finally getting some factual information isntead of my own opinion, but I still have much more to go in terms of my own information.