Manipulation
6 04 2007What’s at the root of this whole manipulation thing? Do we view everything sentimental as manipulative? In that case, how do you account for the popularity of movies like “It’s A Wonderful Life”? Or perhaps we forgive films like these because of other redeeming characteristics.
Or maybe we want to be manipulated occasionally. Remember, to some degree you have to allow yourself to be manipulated by a film. You have to allow yourself to be sucked in by it. Manipulation demands a greater degree of audience involvement. So could it follow that successfully manipulative films are, in fact, great? They handle their audiences more skillfully, which isn’t an easy feat.
Do we resent the obviously manipulative films more than the subtly manipulative ones because we can spot it more easily? Or do we resent the subtle movies for their quiet deception?
Maybe I’m just a sucker, but I kind-of enjoy being manipulated by films if it’s done well. Isn’t that the point of watching a movie? We rarely watch anything without some kind of emotional response, whether it’s sadness, revulsion, amusement, happiness, sympathy, or fear. The emotional response is not always a comfortable one (see Queen Margot), nor a cheerful one (how about Grave of the Fireflies), but it’s always going to be part of a film-viewing experience. And I think we all secretly love it.
I’ll come out and say it-I know I’m being manipulated and I don’t mind-because I know it. Manipulation may not be the best word to describe the dynamic that occurs when one watches a movie. Maybe provocation is a better term. Whatever you want to call it, it’s just semantics. The important thing is that a successful movie will provoke a response from the viewer. Why would you go to a movie otherwise? I posit that the inherent expectation is to be manipulated, provoked, traumatized, whatever. You need to feel something. The online version of the OED has some interesting definitions of manipulate (some of which I was not aware of):
1b. To handle, esp. with skill or dexterity; to turn, reposition, reshape, etc., manually or by means of a tool or machine.
1c. To stimulate sexually with the hand (in quot. 1991, with the tongue). Also refl.: to masturbate.
2c. Computing. To carry out operations on (data) automatically or with the aid of a machine.
There are others but these are the most poignant to me. Serena, I think you’re onto something with this manipulation thing.
But what about the two most important definitions?
2a. To process, organize, or operate on mentally or logically; to handle with mental or intellectual skill.
3a. To manage, control, or influence in a subtle, devious, or underhand manner.
[...] Now to the blogs: Serena, in her blog post about manipulation, support the idea that the viewer is in fact manipulated by the movies. She says that it is “part of the film-viewing experience”. If we know that we are always being manipulated and prodded towards some emotional response, then we may always be aware of the elements that make us feel a certain way. I am unsure if that is always the case and I think ideas and emotions need to be taken into consideration, especially when watching a movie that is concerned with the construction and destruction of the truth like The Thin Blue Line. [...]