Movies’ and series’ scripts often follow the current social, behavioural patterns, challenges and fear. They are a sort of reflections fo our daily life and, in some cases, taking things further in the sense of “what it could be”. Naturally, not all of the scripts, but those aiming for a larger box office run.
A simple run through the titles carried by the online subscription services (like Netflix and Amazon Prime) and the action thrillers coming out of Hollywood is a mirror image of any major newspaper’s front page. Intrigue in the political system, a terrorist plot, immigrants, a band of Russian “polite soldiers”, you name it…
As of this moment in Germany, I can choose to watch “Berlin Station”, “Dogs of Berlin”, “Beat”, “Wanted” and “4 Blocks”. All of them are local productions or aiming at the German audience, playing on her fears, paranoia and current social mood. They are shot expertly and are prone to be binge-watched.
Excited by the thriller and suspense, the perceived close to reality narrative and the good versus bad guys plot, thousands, if not millions, of people badge in front of their flatscreens and feast on their own fears. They probably do not realise that, or maybe they make a clear distinction between fiction and reality.
Nonetheless, if they show it on TV, it must be, right, right? I wonder how much of this pumped-up reality we see every day in the news and papers, or in the form of entertainment, actually makes our own lives even worse. Do we see beyond the story makers’ narrative? Or do we trust logic and facts only?
In today’s world, when the information is in abundance and literally flowing from all directions, it is elementary to take someone else opinion and make it your own. But in our majority, are we making everything possible to think on our own? Or even more, are we subconsciously allowing our minds to be shaped by the fiction we watch?
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