The role of mass media such as movies or television is on a heated debate in this global world. Some might think that movies or televisions are hollow and they merely convey meaningless entertainment to the public. On meanwhile, some people focus on the positive part of of movies or television, on influencing one people's behavior. I personally think there are three different ways how movies or television influence people's behavior.
To begin with, movies and television influence people's behavior by conveying an amazing story to people. Television soap operas and movies are an anecdote of the main character. The stories usually contain some recent social issues that many people regard as important. For instance, a renowned director named Bong jun ho made a movie 'Parasite' in 2019. This movie is about one family who relies on other family just like parasites do. At first site, the movie looks like a comedy but it ends as a tragedy. The director implied a message about the gap between rich and poor, and how the gap should be evened. The impact of this movie in Korean society is humongous; according to a survey done in Seoul, 80% of youngsters agreed on acting out for social equality and helping the poor.
Second of all, people imitate the behaviors of the celebrities shown in movies or television. Majority of celebrities on movies or television have distinctive lifestyle compared to the ordinary people. Hairstyle, fashion, food taste, and even small habits of celebrities become a social trend and people tend to imitate. To illustrate, Taylor swift was a trend in my highschool. Girls admired Taylor swift so much that they shared albums and magazines about her. The silver-colored frill dress she wore on a high teen movie amazed so many girls that majority of our classmates wore the same dress for the prom. Idols and celebrities have great power that influences the public to imitate their lifestyles.
Lastly, movies and television influences people's behavior by evoking sympathy. Stories about global issues such as global warming, famine, hungry children of the third world drives pitiful emotion from people. These issues evoke some sort of guilt from individuals, and make them behave for the right thing. For example, nature documentary depicts sad moments such as polar bears losing their habitat, or whale massacre held by immoral hunters. People deeply feel sympathy and at the same time, these sorrow facilitate them to raise fund for the animals.
In conclusion, I think movies and television influence people's behavior by conveying amazing story, sad story, and showing beautiful celebrities on programs. The emotions of content, sympathy, empathy, and admiring brings out the power of changing the public's behavior