Thomas T
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2001
- Messages
- 10,303
To say that "Films don't make people racist" is to say that films cannot change the people watching them. Of course films can make people racist. And films can help people overcome their racism.
I respectfully disagree. I've seen The Birth Of A Nation and it didn't make me racist. I've seen Triumph Of The Will and it didn't make me pro-Hitler. I've seen The Green Berets and it didn't make me pro the Viet Nam war. I've seen The Lost Weekend and it didn't stop me from drinking. I think films such as these most likely only confirm the beliefs that are already there in people. It doesn't make them change their innate values. I would hate to think that people let cinema do their thinking for them. I've been watching movies on a regular basis since I was 10 years old and I've rejected a film's values or morality (even in films I admire like Straw Dogs) as much as I've been in agreement with them (even in films I dislike like Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?).