The Message of Twilight
Movies are dangerous things. They send us messages which we are strangely unable to resist, thus moulding our behaviour and forcing us to see the world in ways we might not have noticed by ourselves. Movies bite! Little wonder, in a country, like the United States, that makes so many movies in which the gun solves almost any problem, there is so much gun violence. We, the audience, are passive receptors of whatever message the movie throws our way. Or, so some would have you think. The argument over just how much we are influenced by the media is an old one. It is, nonetheless, one that we should take seriously. Quite how movies affect us, and the extent, may be open to debate. That they do, is not. If you don’t leave the cinema – or the TV - feeling all warm and fuzzy inside after watching Field of Dreams (1989), there’s probably something wrong with you. Likewise, who isn’t aware of the audience response to The Exorcist (1973) upon its initial release? Simply put, you can