Running Head: The Purpose of Movies

The Purpose of Movies

Wendy Zhou

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

The Purpose of Movies 2

The Purpose of Movies

Pollack is an experienced filmmaker who has made over 16 films and has over 50 years

of experience in the film industry. In The Way We Were, a document about popular media and

American values, Pollack claims American movies are consumable products made purely to earn

profit. He also posits movies should reflect modern day values. To influence an older audience,

the author appeals to pathos to stir the audiences feelings of anger, and appeals to ethos to build

credibility; he also appeals to logos by introducing an analogy that compares the Medicis, a

banking family who funded the Sistine Chapel, to the financiers of the modern fine arts industry.

Pollack argues movies are commodities that should reflect modern day values because these

movies are the ones that financiers are willing to invest in.

In Pollacks conference, he argues movies are purely consumable products in an industry

devoted to entertainment. The production and making of movies is expensive, so financiers will,

without doubt, expect a profit in return. Pollack claims that a movies success may be measured

by their ability to attract and engage moviegoers, and what attracts moviegoers are films that

challenge peoples ideas. Therefore movies produced will likely mirror audience demand for

progressive themes. However, the more conservative audience at his conference believes movies

should reflect traditional values such as less sexually involved love and idealized marriages.

Pollack argues the purpose of movies is to entertain rather than to reinforce old values because

moviegoers are rarely engaged by an emphasis on traditional values.

Pollack introduces an appeal to logos to allow his audience to understand why movies

need financiers. He uses an analogy to show how arts were sponsored centuries ago, as compared

to how it is financed today. Pollack emphasizes, We have no Medicis here. It takes two distinct

entities, the financiers and the makers, to produce movies Financiers are not in the business of
The Purpose of Movies 3

philanthropy (Pollack, n.d. Para.12). The Medicis was a banking family during the Renaissance

period who financed the Sistine Chapel without expecting a profit in return. They were not

market driven as compared to the film industry today. Although the Medicis and the financiers of

movies are in similar positions as patrons of fine arts, it is ultimately a financiers job to bring

movies to the film market, whereas the Medicis funded fine art because they appreciated its

inherent value. Pollack brings up the Medicis to argue that no one in the modern era will sponsor

creativity without expecting financial returns. If there were not financiers in the film industry,

then movies would not be able to be marketed to the public.

Pollack appeals to ethos by citing his experience as a filmmaker, and argues movies

should reflect contemporary values instead of trying to install old values into the audience.

Pollacks audience believes American values are disappearing from American entertainment

(Para. 2). For example, Dances With Wolves, which is a movie from the 90s is about Western

soldiers invading and taking Native American land. This movie reflects old Westerner values,

but Pollack argues that inserting such ideology into peoples lives will not necessarily improve

society. Todays film business works as a system of supply and demand; moviegoers are not

demanding movies that reflect traditional values, therefore financiers will not invest in them. As

an experienced filmmaker who made 16 films, Pollack argues that the purpose of movies is not

to teach, or better the world, but to challenge the ideas of the audiences ideas of truth (Para.25).

With over 50 years of experience in the film industry and being surrounded with common peers,

he asserts that their, ...obligation is not to bore people; it isnt to teach (Para.25). Pollack also

points out that he tries, to discover and describe things like the motives that are hidden in day-

to-day life (Para.24). The audiences values are shaped over decades, therefore movies made
The Purpose of Movies 4

today should allow the general audience to be able to relate to them instead of forcing traditional

values that modern audiences may not relate to.

Pollack appeals to pathos by provoking his audiences distaste towards Russians, thus

making his argument more memorable. Pollack elaborates his claim that movies do not

necessarily need to teach by citing Russian filmmaking. He explains, Most of Russian films

made under communism were soporific because their intent to do good as it was perceived

by an all-knowing party was too transparent (Para. 26). By referencing Russians and

Communism in front of his audience of conservative Americans, Pollack effectively triggers

his audiences emotions of dislike toward Russians. Utilizing their feelings of disapproval

towards the Russians, Pollack emphasizes that the reason Russian films are boring is because

their movies are made with the intent of teaching moral lessons (Para. 26), therefore American

movies should not be made to serve educational purposes. Following Pollacks reference to

Russian filmmaking, the audience begins to feel aversion towards movie making that reflect

traditional values because this is a Russian practice. Pollack successfully utilizes his credibility

in the film industry and his audiences distaste to reason why American movies should not be

made to reflect traditional values or educate the audience.

Throughout the conference, he asserts movies are mainly profitable products of the

entertainment industry and should not be educational in their form because these types of movies

do not attract moviegoers. Pollacks argument opposes his conservative audiences views in that

he believes movies should reflect modern day values rather than traditional ones. Pollacks claim

about how movies are profit driven commodities that attract moviegoers can widely affect the

type of future movies made.

The Purpose of Movies 5

References

Pollack, S. (n.d). Movie Making and Criticism. The Way We Were. Retrieved from bCourses.