What’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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
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<\/em>), nor a cheerful one (how about Grave of the Fireflies<\/em>), but it’s always going to be part of a film-viewing experience. And I think we all secretly love it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What’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 … Continue reading