Hollywood - Lies and Misrepresentations

Hollywood - Lies and Misrepresentations

In Hollywood, many filmmakers portray a distorted view of the Internet. Filmmakers do this by giving out misinformation on topics (i.e. Sharks-Jaws, Internet-The Net) that the public knows little about. When people know little about a specific topic, they begin to fear that issue. People fear the movie because they shut down their brain and tune into their senses, completely letting go of common knowledge. The public does not like to think about the movie. Not only does the filmmaker present the public with deceitful lies but they also capitalize on the net as a central problem, which is another regard to the misrepresentation of the Internet.

The Internet is fraudulently represented in movies, such as The Net. Movie producers tap into the emotional fears of the public and stretch the fears of the viewers as far as they will go, stopping just before they access the peoples more rational train of thought. The Net, a popular movie in 1995, compels people to think that what is happening in this movie, could just as well happen to them. When the movie The Net came out in 1995, the public was just receiving the basic e-mail accounts. The common person had little to no knowledge of the Internet. As soon as filmmakers found this piece of information, they seized the idea of the Internet, a dangerous place for all. The producers gave the idea that if people type out where they live, what their telephone number is, etc., just to get their e-mail account, the government will track them and quite possibly, be running for their life. The public felt this way because of the misconceptions of where their info is going. They thought that while they were typing it out, it would be presented for many other people to see.

Another example of this would be the movie Jaws. Before the movie came out most of the population had little facts about sharks. So naturally, when people do not know much about a certain object, movie producers have plenty of room to play with peoples emotions.

Filmmakers love to capitalize upon the Net, however the Internet is not the central problem. The Net is not one thing. Its like asking: Are women comfortable in bars? Thats a silly question. Which women? Which bar? (Bruckman-171) I believe in Bruckmans statement about how that is a silly question.