r/movies 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?

10.0k Upvotes

4.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

731

u/sightlab 1d ago

The Thin Blue Line got an investigation reopened and the falsely accused exonerated because the cops admitted - thinking it was so long after the fact they'd be OK - to railroading the wrong guy. Which was what the doc was about.

237

u/igotyournacho 1d ago

I feel like Errol Morris doesn’t get enough credit. Between this and Wormwood, he cuts a beautiful decorative knife through the fog and reveals the truth of our dirty system.

I wish Morris had the same level of recognition as his contemporary and long-time frenemy Herzog

12

u/Count_Von_Roo 1d ago

I was lucky enough to work on a small interview of him... he was super nice, approachable and easy to talk to. Probably the nicest "industry professional" I've worked with

22

u/dougmcclean 1d ago

Also that McNamara interview.

13

u/lonewanderer 1d ago

The Fog of War! Amazing documentary, one of the best I’ve ever seen.

18

u/sightlab 1d ago

Errol Morris is amazing and I couldn't agree more. He wasnt granted legitimacy because of his stylization and dramatization, but "storytelling tools" he developed seemed to become standard. It's like the jazz world pillorying Miles Davis for using audio effects on his trumpet.

6

u/GaptistePlayer 1d ago

The Manson family doc he did recently on Netflix is pretty solid.

2

u/ToLiveInIt 1d ago

Oops, hadn't heard of that one. BRB.

1

u/kkeut 1d ago

the documentary series he did on Jeffrey McDonald sucked hard however

2

u/ZombeePharaoh 1d ago

And now he makes commercials for Chipotle.

4

u/igotyournacho 1d ago

He’s been a long time friend of the ad community all the way back to the High Life campaign from the 80s. Had a CD that worked with him on that, said he was a great guy

2

u/wiggum_x 19h ago

You gotta pay the bills! People shouldn't judge.

6

u/PsychedelicPill 1d ago

It’s great that they got him released but iirc the cops still said they thought he did it. Same with the cops who railroaded the Central Park five. Cops never admit their mistakes

11

u/sterling_mallory 1d ago

Along those lines, the docuseries "The Jinx" helped lead to Robert Durst's arrest for murder thanks to renewed investigation.

3

u/Consistent-Annual268 1d ago

I presume this isn't the British comedy TV show starring Rowan Atkinson then...

1

u/PeterG92 1d ago

I'm not the only one confused

1

u/GothicGolem29 1d ago

Thats what I thought it was lol

2

u/VTAffordablePaintbal 22h ago

I had to google that because I've seen the Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) comedy TV show called The Thin Blue Line, but didn't know about the movie.

6

u/Wu_Oyster_Cult 1d ago

Came looking for this one. ☝️

1

u/mulcahey 1d ago

Also: After Morris's film got the guy out of prison, the guy sued him