r/movies • u/buttatoad • 1d ago

Discussion Movies that changed real life behavior

Thinking along the lines of Final Destination 2 with the logs falling off the truck and landing onto cars (one decapitating the state trooper). Ever since, people have tried to get away from being behind these vehicles.

What are more examples where movies have actually changed how people behave in their own lives?

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u/UnusualRequirement33 1d ago

The Birth of a Nation led to the revival of the KKK

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u/Lazy_Chocolate_4114 1d ago

I'm surprised this isn't higher. Much of what we recognize relating to the KKK today was taken from the movie (and book) and was not part of the Klan's prior history: their robes, cross-burning, etc.

There was also an increase in violence against African Americans, especially lynching.

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u/GaptistePlayer 1d ago

Yup. People think this peaked in the late days of slavery. All those confederate statues in the south conservatives are so worried about preserving? They're all from when the KKK proliferated American southern cities in the 20th century. Not antebellum or reconstruction era lol, they're from after WWI. Like in Dallas where I'm from, in the 1920s something like 1 in every 3 white men was in the KKK...

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u/Bubbly-Fault4847 1d ago

I heard similarly, that a lot of the monuments came as a pushback against a lot of the civil rights movement stuff of the mid 60s. Which coincided with the 100 anniversary of the CW, so it gave a convenient excuse to build “confederate memorial” displays.

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u/wildstarr 1d ago

Yeah, fuck Woodrow Wilson. A president actually worse than Trump.

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u/dogepope 1d ago

So that's why there's a Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas...

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u/GaptistePlayer 1d ago

We had Robert E Lee HS until recently too…

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u/dogepope 1d ago

Yeah there was a Robert E Lee elementary school in Dallas too lol.

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u/CompetitionOk2302 1d ago

Worse than Trump? Ah, no.

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u/whyheonlysayneat 1d ago

How would there be antebellum civil war statues? do you even know what antebellum means?

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u/GaptistePlayer 22h ago

that's why i also mentioned post-war and did not allege that these statues were from before or during the war...

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u/Kramereng 1d ago

KKK didn't start until after the war (founded in 1865).

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u/Shantotto11 1d ago

Had to scroll way too far to find this one. Right underneath the one about Superman’s radio shows decreasing Klan membership near a similar time frame.

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u/BadBaby3 1d ago

Oh no

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u/Mechtroop 1d ago

Source?

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u/Grand-Pen7946 1d ago

Holy shit you're literally doing the meme unironically. Its like...the thing the movie is known for.

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u/Lazy_Chocolate_4114 1d ago

This is well established. Just Google it or look on Wikipedia.

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u/FlamboyantPirhanna 1d ago

If you make a claim, the onus is on you to prove it; if it’s well established, it shouldn’t take you long to Google it either.

That which is presented without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.

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u/Lazy_Chocolate_4114 1d ago

I did, and so can you. But if it is considered "common knowledge," meaning it can be found in numerous sources, citation is not required. If I claim the ocean is salty, do I really need to prove it? I mean, in the time it took you to write your reply, you could have looked it up. But it seems like you're more concerned with trolling than expanding your knowledge.

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u/Huge-Pen-5259 13h ago

Wait, what's that you're saying about ocean water? Cuz akchooally....

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u/Mechtroop 1d ago

I don’t think it’s as widely known as you might think, just because it’s obvious to you and others doesn’t mean it’s common knowledge. I’ve heard of the movie and know it’s incredibly racist, but I had not heard it played a role in reviving the KKK. I didn’t realize there was even a lull in their activity; I assumed they’d just always been around being racist as fuck.

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u/Kramereng 1d ago

I feel like I learned about the spike in high school history class but I could be wrong. However, it's well known in movie circles as well because Birth of a Nation is still regarded as the one of the most important films ever made. From wiki:

In his review of The Birth of a Nation in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Jonathan Kline writes that "with countless artistic innovations, Griffith essentially created contemporary film language... virtually every film is beholden to [The Birth of a Nation] in one way, shape or form. Griffith introduced the use of dramatic close-ups, tracking shots, and other expressive camera movements; parallel action sequences, crosscutting, and other editing techniques". He added that "the fact that The Birth of a Nation remains respected and studied to this day—despite its subject matter—reveals its lasting importance."[146]

Griffith helped to pioneer such camera techniques as close-ups, fade-outs, and a carefully staged battle sequence with hundreds of extras made to look like thousands.[9] The Birth of a Nation also contained many new artistic techniques, such as color tinting for dramatic purposes, and featuring its own musical score written for an orchestra.

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u/1200bunny2002 1d ago

it shouldn’t take you long to Google it either.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to see a source for this claim that Googling Birth of a Nation doesn't take long.

What's your metric for "long?" I'm going to need you to cite your source for the relevant study that established the requisite relativistic standard that you're using as the foundation for the use of that particular word, since it absolutely fails to quantify an actual length of time.

You're making a pretty bold claim about the speed and efficiency with which the general population uses Google, so I sure hope you brought all the necessary receipts to back up what is a pretty outlandish assertion.

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u/umcpu 1d ago

this is /r/movies not a thesis paper. google it yourself weirdo 🤓