Cinema both entertains and educates the masses. Express your views either for or against this statement.
Debate on Cinema Both Entertains and Educates the Masses
For the Statement
Cinema today has come a long way from the early days of ‘silent pictures’. The truths of life sets, dramatic screenplays, photographic techniques, acting histrionics, and their portrayal on a 70 mm screen, with digital sound effect, have made cinema an ideal medium for entertainment and education. Because of its close affinity to the people, it mirrors their social values and ethos. The evils of society are vividly portrayed on screen, making it a powerful medium for social change.
There is no disputing in the fact that cinema offers an easy, and affordable means of entertainment to the masses. After a day of hard work, they help us to escape from tension and worries of life. It provokes our emotions, moving us to tears; laughter, thrill or even shock. They, thus, cater to variety of tastes, interest, and moods.
Cinema is a very powerful tool for social change as it effectively reflects the evil prevailing in the society-social malpractices like, unsociability, dowry, child labour and corruption, pricks our conscience. It is also an excellent medium of propaganda. The advertisements and endorsements help in promoting the sale of goods and services.
Realizing the significant role of cinema in entertainment and education, the government has setup a separate unit under the ministry of information and broadcasting. This, in itself is an ample proof to the significant role played by cinema in entertainment and education.
Against the Statement
‘Cinema Only Entertains; But Does not Educate the Masses’
Cinema is one of the major upcoming entertainments in this global village. There are prodigious number of films released worldwide every year. It was in those days that cinema, both, entertained and educated the masses; but in these days it is only meant for entertainment and does not teach moral values to the people.
There is no doubt that cinema from Hollywood to Kollywood entertains the masses; but it does not educate them. Today, people do not like taking advices and films based on giving pieces of advice to the audience, fails miserably. Hence, the director whose sole aim is to gain a profit from these films gives all such kind of non-sense in order to gain people’s interest and money.
Today’s films can be broadly classified into two categories– films for the teenagers and films for the children. A film of teen often consists of love, friendship and thrilling action which most probably do not occur in real life. These sorts of films often suggest that family and relations can be regretted for the sake of love. This can generally be right for that moment; but this relationship disappears as life progresses. Secondly, there are films for the children. These type of films generally consist of unreal and imaginative things. There have been cases of young children, losing their lives while attempting in the attempt to fly like their superhero. And such things do not educate the children in any manner. .