Herbert Blumer: Movies and Conduct

Blumer conducted a study that investigated the reactions of people when watching movies, using observational methodology and a “biographical method”. Data was collected from nearly two hundred thousand students, using questionnaires, “motion picture autobiographies” and interviews of students (National Humanities Center: America in Class 2012). During this data collection, the students provided information on their impressions of the movies’ influence through writing these “motion picture autobiographies”, which detailed the impact that the movies had on their attitudes and actions. It was found that many of the students learnt things, from how to kiss, to attitudes about life and how to pickpocket, from the movies that they watched (Peters and Simonson 2004).

Overall, Blumer found that movies influence the stereotypes that we associate with different characters, as well as how we conduct ourselves within society. People are provided with ideas on how they should act, notions of their rights and privileges, as well as the difference conceptions that are held within society. These ideas influence people's behavior by encouraging them to act/think certain ways in certain situations.

I found the results of this study to be quite interesting, as straightforward and as obvious as they are. For as long as I can remember, I've watched movies that have influenced my outlook on life, my attitudes towards certain things and my behavior in certain situations. Movies like Grease and Coyote Ugly have, without me being consciously aware of it, been some of these influences. Another movie, which I see as being something that would strongly influence people's attitudes, is Thirteen (2003), starring Evan Rachel Wood, Holy Hunter and Ashley Greene. The movie tells the story of two thirteen-year-old girls and the difficulties that they face with being a teenager in today's society. The main character gets involved with the wrong people and ends up behaving extremely out of character, as a result of peer pressure and the want to fit in.

Although this movie aims to portray the difficulties of being a teenager, starting high school and wanting to fit in, with Blumer's study in mind, it would also be fair to assume that it may lead people to believe that the behavior that is depicted is normal and that all teenagers act like this. Obviously, this is not the case as not all teenagers behave like this when becoming a teenager. However, I do believe that it would sway people's opinions and attitudes on teenagers and the activities that they are involved in.

I also think that the movie may encourage teenagers/people to adjust their behavior or do whatever they can in order to fit into where they want, whether it is at school, work or within society in general. Blumer’s study was based on data gathered from adolescents, providing even more justification for me to believe that this movie would have an influence on teenager’s attitudes and behavior.

An example of this influence would be: during the movie, the girls take to getting piercings that their guardians do not approve of. At one point, one of the girls pierces the other girl's belly button. As you can see from the photo, both girls have their tongues pierced. The other half of the photo shows someone piercing their own tongue, due to the behavioral influence that the movie has had on them.

Obviously, some generalization has gone into assuming that the movie influenced people’s attitudes and behavior, however it has only been used as an example of something that I have found to link to the results that Blumer presented in his study.

References:

National Humanities Center: America in Class. 2012. “Herbert Blumer: Movies and Conduct, 1933, excerpts.” Becoming Modern: American in the 1920s. Retrieved December 2, 2012 (http://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/machine/text6/moviesconduct.pdf)

Peters, John D. and Peter Simonson. 2004. Mass Communication and American Social Thought: Key Texts, 1919-1968. Maryland: Rowman &Littlefield Publishers, Inc.