Film, History and Society
How the Movies Help to Define Time and Place in the World
How does one define an era of time foreign to them? Some may read books, a few may listen to stories while others may simply just imagine. But for a truly accurate representation of a time period, many may turn to the powerful and influential medium known as film.
Films or ‘movies’ hold many special and fond memories for individuals. The medium invokes an emotional connection through the visual and moving image and has entertained generations for more then a hundred years now.
Though, film is capable of much more. One may not be familiar with a certain era of time (especially within the 20th century) and may look to particular films themselves to aid them in better understanding certain moments from the past.
Films not only strive to entertain but as well educate about the times, practices and social codes deemed appropriate by society at any given moment. Films from a certain time period have the ability to mirror society and truly provide a historically accurate account of what events unfolded and how they tended to alter society in many crucial ways.
The Importance of Film History
There are many that don’t have the desire to be educated through the means of celluloid. A certain few may merely want to escape from the day to day routines of their lives and be simply entertained. There is nothing wrong with this behavior. Films are meant to be escapist in form.
However, film’s ability to provide even more is truly what is at the heart of this piece. If one were to study films from a certain time period, many would be shocked as to how they became a model for a certain era of time. For instance, in the 1960s, American society was facing many upheavals. According to the Time Life Book “The Turbulent Years: The 1960s” (1998), the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement were all commencing simultaneously and were truly opening the eyes of many individuals to the control being orchestrated by government institutions. Frustrated and torn, society began to crumble at the seams. As a result, the 1960s became a decade best remembered for protests, marches and rallies rather then for any sort of Utopian ideals or beliefs. This turmoil resulted in one of the darkest and most challenging decades in recent memory.
In regards to the film industry, society became indifferent to the films being released by Hollywood studios as they did not honestly reflect the mood of the times. In reaction, films began to take on greater political overtones. They began to resemble the feelings and emotions of a society undergoing great change. Films such as The Graduate (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Easy Rider (1969) stood as solid testaments indicating the changing tides of culture.
These were stories about the individual forced to take their lives (and sometimes the law) into their own hands. They were powerless to rely on the powers that be because they had been duped and manipulated by them. The films began to identify with the individual and how they struggled to realign themselves into a (now) foreign culture that they had once believed they understood (and had taken for granted).
In the 1970s, society continued to suffer at the hands of political and social tension. The Vietnam War was continuing to endure and (if things could not get any worse) there now was great change affecting the White House in the form of the Watergate scandal. The scandal rose to such a level that it eventually cost the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, his job, his dignity and the respect of millions of Americans. In reaction, a feeling of disillusioned bewilderment began to set in for society. Society had not recovered from the 1960s but rather had fallen deeper into the abyss. Consequently, film quickly picked up on these emotional upheavals of the times and embraced them fully.
Films such as Five Easy Pieces (1970) and Taxi Driver (1976) were films entirely dedicated to emphasizing the disillusioned, isolated individual and as a result were far bleaker in tone and narrative then 1960s cinema. These protagonists of 1970s film were unable to immediately bounce back from the hardships inflicted upon them. They remained lost and, as a result, continued to search for a solution to the misery they were enduring.
The 1970s film thus became more about the character rather then the situation. Consequently, this decade of cinema is now understood as one of the most important eras in film history. Not because character development became more important then narrative but rather because these were films that accurately represented (and captured) the mood and change felt by individuals present during these years.
One can read as many history books as one wants but words can never truly capture a moment in time. They are merely passive representations of the past. Only film has the ability to truly relate and highlight a particular moment in history. In retrospect, the visual image is much more powerful then the mere written word.
As a result, film can now be classified as the most important historical document in existence today.
