How do movies or TV influence people's behavior?

Answer 1

Television is a huge socializing agent (in the sociological sense of the term). Without it, you wouldn't know how to act in certain situations, and you wouldn't understand the way people think as well. Before you actually interact with people, you know about them from television.

Answer 2

In more ways than one would imagine.
Television has become a substitute for families interacting with each other.
Instead of being exposed to familiar and well-meaning peers, a young person (or any age person) is now exposed to cleverly designed advertising that is geared to create an ROI - Return on Investment. For this purpose, in order to make every second of TV advertising (which is quite expensive) count, companies hire the BEST con artists available. No cost is spared for subliminal suggestion, appeal to the senses, in order to drive home
* brand awareness (e.g. McDonald's)
* social status awareness (e.g. keeping up with the Jones' house, car, furniture)
* body awareness (sweat, a healthy and natural product of the body, is TABOO - buy XYZ brand! Drink Diet "X" - ever notice that THIN people don't drink diet drinks - unless they get paid for advertising them? BUY this exercise equipment - it'll make you look like the model (did anyone consider that maybe they don't want the LIFESTYLE that this model has to live in order to look like that?)
Moreover, since Television has become the 'voice' not only for children but for parents alike, there IS no other voice. The only "guidance" most people receive is delivered by others who have no personal interest in their well-being but rather a profit motive. It's THERE, and it SPEAKS and SHOWS, so it influences.
YES, TV does influence a broad number of people's behavior!
Movies?
Yes, of course they do, too. The average couch potatoe hungers to be a hero. Humans were born to be heroes.
Show anybody a movie with a 'white hat/black hat' set of characters, and you can influence behavior.
HOW does this all happen? Because the human mind "thinks" in pictures rather than words, most of the time. Especially when pictures are coupled with words, like in tv shows or movies, you have a double whammie for 'influence'.
Hope that gave some insight to your question.

Answer 3

TV has become a substitute for good parenting. Many parents seem to put their kids in front of the TV while they do the house work or whatever. The kids are content to sit there and be entertained. They copy what they see.
Many of our children come home to an empty house because both parents work so they spend their time in front of the tube. Children tend to imitate what they see.
You see the influence of MTV and BET everyday in our schools or just at the mall.
We are letting TV raise our children and then wonder what's wrong with them.

Answer 4

Many ways. I'll toss this out as an example:

--By showing them a way of living that is appealing to them initially but ultimately unhealthy or unbalanced.

Parents and friends influence people's behaviors far more than TV, movies or video games though, in my opinion.

Answer 5

People seem to entertain their moods and whims with television and music and movies. At times this gives them role models. I think some people develop alternative personalities by entertainment which are negative. People need to learn to be more individualistic than all that. In reality you create yourself a role model when it is good influence. When it is bad influence I think people have lost touch with the point that it is just entertainment. There is no reason to act on anything you see in entertainment media. Doing that is immature, would you say? Ultimately, everyone one is who he is.

Answer 6

Sometimes when people watch T.V. or movies they really enjoy they want to act like the charcters. They think what the people are doing is cool or something, so they try to act like them. If it is a sex movie, sometimes people who watch it may want to go and have sex, or maybe it will make them feel horny, or something. T.V. and movies influence people to do stuff.

Answer 7

My children now 15 and 20 were not allowed to watch Ninja Turtles when ever they did (@ grandmas) they went to school fighting with swords etc. All my children 21, 7,3,2 and the two above were baned from watching Simpson's when it had itchie and scratchie on it they all had night mares and bad behaviour after watching this.

Answer 8

I don't think it does. I think that people have had bad lives or SOMETHING is going on mentally ... Tv and all that is just an excuse.
Children are a different story though... they need to be watched as their minds are sponges and can effect them...but you still have to wonder if there is anything else going on there that you don't hear about....

Answer 9

The media contributes greatly to the shaping of ones conceptual frame work. Our behaviour can be 'taught' to us, and the shaping of our ideas has a lot to do with that. The conceptual frame work of the larger society influences the individuals notion of reality.......'as above, so below' lol

Answer 10

OKay, personally for me, if I sit and wacth, I get glued to it so in turn no housework gets done along with anything else...So one day i turned it off and I got more things done. Tv makes people lazy and fat. Don't anyone be offended, I got lazy and fat.