The cinema is one of the most powerful media of mass communication. It’s appeal is much more pervasive than that of the press, the Radio and other mass media. The influence of the cinema is for good or evil according to circumstances. We can make use of the cinema just like a dynamite, which may be used to excavate a well as well as to blow up a town.
Cinema is primarily regarded a source of entertainment, an escape from the harsh realities of life. It transports us into a World of fancy where we can forget our worries and cast away fatigue and boredom. They also help us to understand the magic, the mystery and the meaning of life.
Cinema can be exploited as a powerful cultural force. It can be used as a forceful medium for the depiction and dissemination of the cultural values on a country. The culture of a country is enshrined in its ancient monuments, in its tradition and schools of music and dance and in the wealth of its spiritual heritage. All these find their best and most life like representation on the silver screen. ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ are the finest repositories of India’s cultural tradition and values and several films have been made on them.
The Cinema is also an educative medium. Educational films on Science, Geography, History, Engineering etc can be very useful to students. Works of great men, Scientists, Writers adopted to the screen enable us to remember in three hours.
Movies also help in moulding public opinion. Their mobility, popularity , emotional appeal, vividness and straight forward presentation of facts make for more intimate contact with a large audience.
But the films being produced today are mostly useless and harmful. They hardly impart any education to students, otherwise are making then wayward. They are full of evils plans of murder, rubbery, extreme sexual feelings etc. So, the present day influence of the cinema upon our life and character is mostly bad.
Although the Cinema has been taking us towards the way of destruction but the good influence of the cinema contributes to the growth of unity, culture, morality and also helps the integration of the diversified sections of the Indian people. Only the degraded movies are like poison. Hence, we should not be a spectator of the films provoking horror, antisocial activities, sex and other evils.The government should ban these films so that we all can enjoy the movies with all positive aspects.