Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Captivation of Film

Something that has been on my mind lately is how movies pull in the viewer. What is it about movies that pull you away from reality and into a world created by the minds of others? Don't get me wrong, I love watching movies as much as the next person, but what is it about them that gets viewers completely enthralled? In my opinion there are many factors that contribute to the total captivation of an audience. I think that story is a big part of it. Without a story all a movie is, is just a bunch of moving pictures with sound. An example of a good story would be in the movie The Princess Bride. It is a typical example of Hollywood cinema with a little twist. Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets engaged to a snooty prince, boy gets taken by pirates, boy breaks free of the pirates and sets off to save girl who gets abducted by evil men. A few differences are that it is set up in the early renaissance, there is a fire swamp, a pit of torture, a giant, and a crazy little man who doesn't know the meaning of the word inconceivable. I'll bet you are intrigued already. The point is that the story is a huge part of what makes that movie amazing. That and the really good music that is put with it.
Another reason why people get so hooked on movies is because of a part of the brain. There is a part of the brain that is stimulated by going through a situation or by watching a similar situation take place. That is the reason why a lot of people cry during movies. The movie stimulates the same part of the brain that is stimulated by sadness thus causing you to cry. The theory is kind of like monkey see monkey do.
As I stated before it is really easy to get sucked into a movie. Everybody has their own reason for being glued onto the screen, but it is a fact nonetheless that movies can absorb your mind.

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