How I view movies after studying issues of Sustainability.
Name: Makeda Smith| Week: Term 2, Week 7| Theme: Sustainability & Film
As a student at university its easy to see how your studies affect your practical skills and abilities. However, before I didn’t think about the impacts that weren’t professional or educational as university and academia have grades or jobs as the end goal and focus. When sitting on social media or having conversations with my peers I have noticed that from studying sustainability I have started to disengage with many things including movies which seem almost too surface level now.
Recently, I was told by a friend to watch the movie ‘Sex and the City” (2008) and it was quite enjoyable. It was glamourous and full of designer brands and luxury living. It’s classed as a romance, comedy, and a drama. I think it’s different to other (western) popular culture movies of these genres because it luxury living. The movie really plays into narratives of love and making it through adult life simply with fun and friends. Of course, I appreciate the fact that movies, especially those in popular culture are supposed to contribute to escapism and almost be a distraction. Generally, people want to indulge and enjoy. I think that the illusions we have been conditioned to believe surrounding life seemed greatly amplified during ‘Sex and the City’ because of all the money and wealth that filled the montage. Watching endless shopping sprees and expensive dinners does have some effect on the audience and it inspired feelings of wanting to participate in the characters’ level of consumption activities etc.
It made me think about the “non-fiction fiction” that we constantly see in mainstream media and have been seeing for a while, being that the movie was released in 2008. Movies like ‘Sex and the City’ may not have magic, supernatural creatures, or take place on another planet but the movies are targeted and made to be unrealistically relatable, and that’s where the “non-fiction” comes in. The world is presented in a pseudo-reality where people never pay for their food and everything works out in the end. We see these ideas play out in the media frequently and as I watched the movie, I was able to be lost in the glitz and glamour. For a moment I wanted to be in that world but as I watched I did start to think about how these notions and the images we see affect how society views topics such as love, relationships, and finances etc. How does the pseudo-reality transfer onto our perception of real life? Although I can appreciate the fact that it has been discussed before, I don’t think that socially we delve deep enough into what this means.
It’s difficult to fully engage with certain genres and types of movies since being at university and this stems from starting to unpack things and be more critical. These distorted views of life can be detrimental for the problems of overconsumption and production which are not sustainable. The love of things and the push towards endless consumption is a product of wider capitalist systems which are disproportionately damaging. Of course, indulging in movies and shows can be innocent and not all instances of enjoyment need to be brought down to a serious or pessimistic tone. I think its interesting to think about how we engage with the media we are presented and what impact this may have on how we live our lives. Movies such as ‘Sex and the City’ practically sell a specific lifestyle that is almost intangible for many. With social media and the rise of influencers in recent years I think being bombarded with media that serves to promote wasteful practices, activities, and attitudes has dissuaded a lot of people from engaging with these smaller things that perpetuate the negatives of the wider system.
As social consciousness increases, I think we are slowly moving towards a want for better representation of ideas and different groups. “Non-fiction fiction” elements in movies make them somewhat more enjoyable and exciting however, it feeds into the selling of dreams or people thinking that money will make them happier and lead the opulent life. This certainly isn’t a review of the movie, but the movie was quite good despite my realisations. As my academic life has developed it has changed how I consume media and information because it has real life consequences. Individually I enjoy movies and I don’t see the act of engaging as a negative thing. I think it made me realised that through my own personal growth and education I have detached from media instead of blindly indulging and accepting what is presented to me. Perhaps it’s all a part of growing up and realising that movies aren’t real life, but I think it’s an interesting space to be in and maybe more of this can lead to more progressive dialogues about media.
