Selling Ideas in Film

This semester I am in a class called Media Criticism, where we are diving into the topic of all things media. This has to do with not just movies, but also music, news, and literature. A big topic that we are focused on when it comes to analyzing movies, is whether or not they tell the truth about the world or in other words what is their worldview. We have talked a lot about the movie “selling” an idea, belief, or point of view. All media has a purpose, and the purpose of a lot of movies are focused on pushing a belief on its viewers, whether or not we know it.

When it comes to selling in movies, one very obvious example is product placement. Some productions earn extra revenue if they place certain products in their films. For example, some movies have certain drink brands throughout the film, or one type of car brand that is shown for the entire movie. This is not the main point that I am getting to in this post.

My main point is that movies or media in general sell a way of thinking or an ideal. This can be seen by the tone movies have on a certain topic, or what the characters say or do pertaining to the topic. One clear example of this that we have talked about in class is that the main theme of the movie Shawshank Redemption is hope. The main characters maintain hope throughout the entirety of the movie and is seen as the climax at the end of the film. The movie is trying to sell the idea of the importance of hope and what true freedom is.

There are countless other examples in media of “selling” an idea or view on the world, some for the good others for the bad and we must be aware of what we are consuming in order to be “sold” the right ideas.