spaghetti, 3/29

"To be entertained means to be in agreement." Upon reflection of this quote form Adorno, I began tho think about my praxis project regarding 9/11 and its affect on the film industry. In my group, we researched not only the fascination with terror but also the common fixation with destruction as entertainment. To a certain extent, this quote applies to the concept at hand. In oder for a film to be truly "successful" (meaning it generates a lot of profit), audience members not only have to subscribe to the ideas expressed in the film, but they also have to enjoy them to a certain extent. I remember one time asking my mother how she liked a movie she told me she had gone to see. She told me she and her friend found the film so offensive and sexist that they left. Therefore, audience members have to agree somewhat with the ideas expressed in the film in order for the film to make any money. In terms of the movies that have come out since the 9/11 attacks, audience members have to agree with the notion that the United States is an innocent victim and that the terrorists are the unprovoked aggressors; because this is the sentiment expressed in the majority of mainstream and conventionally successful films regarding the subject. But what makes people subscribe to this particular ideology? I blame the media, and more specifically news networks. Opposing viewpoints exist, but are very rarely publicly broadcast. The reality of it is its ties into a political agenda. The hegemonic ideology is that which is expressed in these films, and people absent-mindedly subscribe to it. It they didn't these films would not make as much money and wouldn't be as well received by the general public.