Understanding the Cultural Impact of Hollywood

Hollywood is one of the biggest and oldest movie industry in the world. Movies from this industry are watched in every part of the world and they are widely enjoyed. From comedy to horror, adventures to thrillers, these movies have become a part of our daily lives.

This industry is having a stronger grip on media and our society because of the abundance of output devices available these days. The different movies influence our lives in so many ways. In this post, we look at how Hollywood has impacted our media culturally.

The Power of Movies

Audiovisuals are very powerful and have been used economically, socially, and politically for several decades. A typical example is how Adolf Hitler used movies to promote his agenda during the Second World War. Movies possess so much power that they can cause and have caused revolutions.

With the growth of technology, Hollywood is constantly affecting the outlook of the media. This is mostly because movies are extremely affordable and readily available these days. As such, filmmakers can now reach their audiences with far more ease regardless of their location around the globe. 

The availability of translation services means that reaching such audiences in their native language is more possible now than ever. This brings us to the cultural impact of Hollywood in the media. In the next section, we take a look at how Hollywood has affected our media culturally and the ripple effects on society.

How Hollywood has Impacted the Media

Movies mirror culture

Every movie created in Hollywood is developed and set on a specific culture. As such, they portray certain beliefs, languages, and ways of life. It is way easier to view our attitudes, strengths, flaws, and concerns through movies than from daily interactions.

When movies challenge these ideologies and beliefs, it becomes easier to embrace change after self-interrogation. Since these movies are aired over several media channels across the world, they can reach a wide range of audiences. Because of translation, people understand the messages of different cultures. 

What is the ripple effect of this on society? Through the impact on media, people in the society can co-exist peacefully because they understand each other better. We are now more united despite having diverse beliefs from different cultural backgrounds.

Shed more light on history

Without movies from Hollywood, many historical facts would have been long forgotten. These movies help us to revisit such stories in a clearer light. While most times, the stories are adulterated, they still pass the message across in clear terms.

This has helped the media to provide its audience with more historical content. It also makes it possible to depict fantastic and realistic pictures of the state of the world before media existed. In essence, it connects the world today to the ages before through the movies created in Hollywood. 

One example is how the Vietnam War-themed movies tell us what happened during those wars. Such movies help the media pass across the significance of wars and their negative and positive effects. In the end, audiences around the world can connect to the subject matter and not lose the context.

Reshapes cultures

While it has been a gradual process, Hollywood has steadily affected cultures all over the world. This wouldn’t have been made possible without the relationship that exists between Hollywood and the media. The stories in the movies are designed to bring entertainment to the viewers. As a result, they may depict some aspects of one culture that may not be acceptable to another.

Through the power of media, these movies are carried to the ends of the earth. By so doing, as people are exposed to this content, they unknowingly start to adopt foreign habits.

Soon, they lose aspects of their culture and pick up other aspects that never existed before the movies came. In the end, language, music, dressing, and values are reshaped over a period of time.

Makes us aware of different facets of life

The job of the media is to make people aware of happenings in their world. While formal education gives us access to structured knowledge, the media gives unstructured but all-round education. 

Media gives people access to movies and other content from Hollywood. As such, we get educated based on the content that is drawn from this industry. It exposes us to different facets of life such as art, sports, drugs, abuse, crime, etc.

This exposure has ripple effects on the lives of different people around the world because of the media. For some people, they draw the positives which help to shape their lives into useful elements in society. In other cases, the exposure results in negative effects and delinquency. Overall, the awareness has fueled growth in different facets of life across the globe.

Inspiration

Good movies don’t just entertain, they also inspire the audience in several ways. When you listen to a good song, it makes you think and brings you to compassion. It also inspires you to do well and help others.

If it was a romantic movie, it shows you why you should fall in love and why relationships are worth fighting for. These movies expose our romantic flaws and make us laugh or cry. May never have access to these movies without the impact of Hollywood on the media. This inspiration is transmitted through the media to the viewers at home. In the end, it transforms our culture and disposition to life.

Challenges with Parenting

The cultural impact of Hollywood on the media hasn’t been all good. One major challenge has been the way it has made parenting difficult. Many of these movies make premarital sex, crime, and abuse look good. 

Due to access to different channels, teenagers can easily access pornographic content. They can also listen to misleading songs and messages. Parents have a difficult time finding foolproof, reliable methods of protecting their kids from such content.

Conclusion

The cultural impact of Hollywood on the media cannot be overemphasized. It is both positive and negative even though the former outweighs the latter. We must decide to stick to good content and protect young ones from bad content.