The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

We've all heard the anecdote that a picture is worth a thousand words, well then maybe a moving picture is worth a million words.   

Reflecting on the history of the 20th Century made me think a lot about different movies I've seen.  I posted before about the movie "The Untouchables."  It has caused be to start thinking about other movies and television shows that have molded my perception of the 20th Century such as "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Godfather" series, "Mary Poppins,"  "MASH," "The Simpsons," etc.

The effect these shows have had on me caused me to think about this powerful medium that has emerged out of the 20th Century.

Cinematography can be used for good and bad.  It can be a great learning tool, a good form of entertainment, a waste of time, or a great instrument of hate.  It can be used to free the audience from ignorance, make them laugh, make them bored, or trap them in a ball of propaganda and injustice.

The NYTimes reported that the NYPD has used an anti-Muslim video for about 1,500 police officers in training.

In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims - NYTimes

This movie is messed up.

It implies that all Muslims are fighting a war to destroy Western Civilization.  Here's the trailer:

The power of film can mold our opinions on many issues and this propaganda is definitely not what police officers should see in training.   

It is human nature to fear what we don't know or only have a little negative exposure to.  Someone who has friends who are Muslim understands that Islam is great and has many practicing members who are hard-working, honest people.  People who lack this exposure can have their views skewed easily. That is why I think it's so wrong that they showed this to police officers. Your average cop is not going to go home and study up on Islam or make friends with a Muslim neighbor especially after seeing this film.

I hope we can realize the power of this tool and use it for learning and not too promote prejudices and hate.

This has made me think that doing a YouTube channel or some type of video would be a great idea for a class project.  I only worry a little about logistics and the necessary time.