# What movies have been the most influential outside of movideom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280 "2004-04-05T01:46:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/1 "2004-04-05T01:46:32Z")
Some of the more radical critics of _The Passion_ claimed it would cause a new cycle of anti-Semitism and numerous other movies have been decried for their likelihood to make kids turn violent or casualize sex (probably with more justiifcation). What movies have historically had the most impact on American culture/current events (i.e. how people thought or acted, not influence on other films)? What murders or acts of violence can be most validly linked to a motion picture? Has any motion picture ever influenced politics? What would you consider the most politically powerful movie ever made? Please feel free to answer any, all, none, or pose some of your own. (I have some of my own opinions but not the time to post them at the nonce.) ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/2 "2004-04-05T03:52:59Z")
Henry Brocjon shot Edward Manson three times and killed him on Apr 23, 1916 after watching “Birth of a Nation.” As you might have guessed Brocjon was white and Manson black. It was tough to pin down too many details of the case but the biggest impact of the movie was on the recently formed NAACP. The movie was a real motivation factor for the organization and did have a strong impact on its future. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/3 "2004-04-05T03:58:01Z")
Well, _The Manchurian Candidate_ has been cited by folks as inspiration for many of the JFK assassination theories. Not completely a movie, but _Star Trek_ inspired the CD, 3.5 floppy, and a number of other inventions/designs. ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/4 "2004-04-05T04:02:17Z")
What about Taxi Driver. Hinkley shot Reagan after watching it a bunch of times. Of course he’s crazy, but he did do it to impress Jody Foster. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/5 "2004-04-05T05:26:02Z")
I don’t know the history of it’s influence, but if [Triumph of the Will](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/plotsummary) can in any way be blamed for what happened in Germany under Hitler, then I think it wins the “most influential outside of moviedom” title. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/6 "2004-04-05T08:17:16Z")
> [@coven](#): > > I don’t know the history of it’s influence, but if [Triumph of the Will](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/plotsummary) can in any way be blamed for what happened in Germany under Hitler, then I think it wins the “most influential outside of moviedom” title. I would argue that it didn’t have much influence. Hitler and the Nazi Party had already consolidated their power into a dictatorship by the time _Triumph of the Will_ was released. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/7 "2004-04-05T12:51:21Z")
**Gentleman’s Agreement** was highly influential film that helped in the fight against antisemitism. **The Best Years of Our Lives** influenced how veterans were treated. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/8 "2004-04-05T13:50:43Z")
Didn’t \*The Thin Blue Line \* get a man off of death row? ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/9 "2004-04-05T14:55:19Z")
I would point to **Battleship Potemkin** (sp). It had an incredible effect in and outside the Soviet Union arguing the reasons for the Russian Revolution. I would also suggest **Easy Rider**. It gave the counter culture of the time something of a focus. I might also put forward **Mrs. Miniver** and the original **Mr. Chips…** for really galvanizing pro-British feeling among Americans about WWII. TV ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/10 "2004-04-05T15:10:44Z")
_Silence of the Lambs_ and _Basic instinct_ and the attendant protests from the gay community had an effect on the way LGB people are portrayed in Hollywood films. I leave it to the membership to decide whether that was for good or ill. I think _Longtime Companion_ also did a lot of work toward the “normalization” for lack of a better term off the top of my head of people with AIDS. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/11 "2004-04-05T16:33:58Z")
_Star Wars_ is credited with the idea of the “summer blockbuster film” and the way its owners handled its merchandising totally rearranged the way marketing and merchandising are handled today, re: popular fictional figures. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/12 "2004-04-05T17:16:04Z")
**It Happened One Night** is credited with knocking the bottom out of the undershirt industry and putting thousands of people out of work because of that. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/13 "2004-04-05T17:28:28Z")
In my lifetime, _Jaws_ is easily the one movie that had the greatest impact - people stayed away from the beaches in droves that summer. ---
**Author:** ![bookbuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9bd4f/32.png) [@bookbuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bookbuster)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/14 "2004-04-05T17:30:30Z")
Did “Woodstock: The Movie” have any cultural influence when it came out in theatres? ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/15 "2004-04-05T17:37:51Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > **It Happened One Night** is credited with knocking the bottom out of the undershirt industry and putting thousands of people out of work because of that. [The evidence is lacking.](http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/gable.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/16 "2004-04-05T17:42:02Z")
> [@bookbuster](#): > > Did “Woodstock: The Movie” have any cultural influence when it came out in theatres? No. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/17 "2004-04-05T19:29:27Z")
> [@Fern Forest](#): > > Henry Brocjon shot Edward Manson three times and killed him on Apr 23, 1916 after watching “Birth of a Nation.” As you might have guessed Brocjon was white and Manson black. It was tough to pin down too many details of the case but the biggest impact of the movie was on the recently formed NAACP. The movie was a real motivation factor for the organization and did have a strong impact on its future. More importantly, \* Birth of a Nation \* was directly responsible for the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan between the world wars. I understand Klan factions still sometimes use the film as a recruiting tool. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-been-the-most-influential-outside-of-movideom/238280/18 "2004-04-05T19:52:34Z")
> [@Master Wang-Ka](#): > > _Star Wars_ is credited with the idea of the “summer blockbuster film” and the way its owners handled its merchandising totally rearranged the way marketing and merchandising are handled today, re: popular fictional figures. I disagree! Sort of. You’re right about the marketing and merchandising but it is **Jaws** (1975), not **Star Wars** (1977), that can claim the title of First Summer Blockbuster. After '75 every studio released their big-hitters in the summer months.