The modern film industry has grown stultified, and no one would argue with that. Endless blockbusters have convinced viewers that movies are just entertainment for the evening. In fact, movies are capable of changing the world and history, turning society’s attitude to a whole range of issues upside down.
It is about such films that influenced the course of history, and we will talk in this article. Some of the pictures listed are long forgotten, others are hard to call great, but they all had a huge impact on the world.
“Bambi”
The 1942 cartoon is a Hollywood classic. Millions of children around the world grew up on this film. However, few people know about the “Bambi effect.” The fact is that after the release of the picture, the attitude towards animals and the world around them in society changed. People suddenly realized that animals are creatures with feelings, capable of experiencing pain and affection.
All this led to a significant decrease in the number of hunters. After all, after the scene with Bambi’s mother, only a man without a heart could pick up a gun. Western analysts estimate that after the release of the cartoon, the number of hunters in the United States decreased by almost 40%.
The little deer Bambi himself became a kind of symbol of the struggle for animal rights. So the impact of the cartoon on the world was purely positive.
“Taxi Driver”
“Taxi Driver” is Martin Scorsese’s best film, which became a milestone in the history of cinema. But the picture had a negative impact on society. The main character Travis became a symbol of protest for many fanatics ready to make any sacrifices to achieve their goals. Many criminals have admitted that they were inspired by the hero of Robert De Niro.
But the most egregious crime that occurred because of the film happened in 1981. Then a man named John Hinckley attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The fact is that Hinckley was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster. He wrote her messages, tried to make appointments, but never got his attention. Then Hinckley decided to commit an assassination attempt on the president, just like Travis in the movie “Taxi Driver”.
During the interrogation John confessed that he had watched Scorsese’s masterpiece at least 15 times. After this incident, the film gained notoriety.
“Birth of a Nation”
Now let’s go back in time to the distant past, namely 1915. At that time, there was no equality in American society. Slavery had been abolished, but stereotypes about black people flourished. The movie “The Birth of a Nation” became the embodiment of all the racist beliefs of the elite of that time.
In the story, there is a revolution in the U.S. that brings African Americans to power. They immediately begin to humiliate whites, causing the country to plunge into total darkness. At the end of the three-hour painting, Ku Klux Klan members come to the aid of the oppressed whites and overthrow the dictators.
The picture was a resounding success and became one of the most talked about films of its time. The film also revived the Ku Klux Klan movement, which had ceased to exist back in the 1870s. Of course, racist stereotypes in society only grew stronger.
Just imagine: one movie had the effect of shaping social problems in a country that ripped society apart for decades to come. The effect is simply terrifying.
“Jaws”
Let’s stipulate right off the bat that the story is going to be long. The fact is that the movie “Jaws” had an impact not only on society, but on the film industry as a whole. It used to be that summer was considered the most unprofitable time for filmmakers. It was generally believed that in the hot months paintings simply can not collect a big box office. That’s why filmmakers tried to postpone their releases until the fall.
But Steven Spielberg went the other way: he released the film in the middle of the vacation season and took a huge hit. “Jaws” became the biggest box office hit of its time. In addition, the film spawned the fashion for summer blockbusters. Now it is in the hot months are the most discussed premieres.
But not everything is so rosy. After the release of the film, people suddenly realized that sharks are dangerous predators to be feared. This led to the sea creatures being exterminated in huge numbers. At one point, the shark population was on the brink of extinction. Just think: the number of individuals of some shark species has decreased by almost 80%!
Peter Benchley, the creator of the novel on which Steven Spielberg made his cult movie, repeatedly admitted that he regretted the publication of this book. The author was convinced that he was largely responsible for the destruction of the sharks.
“John F. Kennedy. Shots in Dallas”
One of the most scandalous political films in history. Oliver Stone’s film speculated about the secret motives behind JFK’s assassination, which again led to a public debate on the subject.
Back in December 1991, Stone showed his creation to members of Congress at the Capitol. Of course, politicians realized that it was impossible to ignore the film. The public would have too many questions about what had happened in Dallas. That is why, in 1992, key documents from the Kennedy affair were declassified.
Do you understand what happened? One filmmaker forced the government to reveal one of the biggest secrets in U.S. history with his movie. But it didn’t do much good. There are still people who are convinced that JFK was not killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, but by the shadow government, the Communists or anyone else.
“Servant of the People”
Back in 2015, Vladimir Zelensky and his team produced the TV series “Servant of the People,” in which he plays the president of Ukraine. The first season received high marks from both viewers and critics. At that time, no one imagined that Zelensky would go into politics.
First Zelensky played the president, and then he became one
This became obvious later, when in 2016 the party “Servant of the People” was created. The third season of the project was at all like a political agitator. But how genius was this PR! In the final episodes of the show Zelensky and his friends showed what Ukraine could become with a good ruler. Coupled with an excellent election campaign we got the sensation that you all know about: yesterday’s actor turned into the current president. Thus, the show, an ordinary soap opera, turned out to have an impact on the life of a huge country.