10 Films That Shaped The Course Of History
From wars and epidemics to scandals and culture wars... Movies shape our world.
Art imitates life. Or so we're told.
It could be said that world events are ‘actions’ and that films are their ‘reactions’: after all, generally speaking, a film is a product of real events. Whether it’s an educational biopic, or a forecast-intended science fiction utopia, the fact is they are mostly shaped by their contexts and not the other way around.
Once in a while, however, the opposite is true. A film is so original, influential, and perhaps controversial that it influences not just the masses, but sometimes important decision-makers in the upper echelons of society.
This is the value of watching "old" movies. You may look at them and wonder why anyone would bother when there's no CGI, no epic fantasy, so salaciousness in modern terms... why would anyone waste their time? Well, because films weren’t created in a vacuum. These films are living monuments to their time and historical pieces thanks to their real world implications.
Hopefully, by the end of this article, you will realise that when sold as a package (film+ historical impact), the latter becomes all the more appealing…
10. The Battle Of The Somme (1916)
“If the exhibition of this Picture all over the world does not end War, God help civilisation!”, declared Prime Minister David Lloyd George, upon watching this film that premiered on 10th August 1916, following the start of one of the longest and bloodiest battles in modern history.
Filmed in the early weeks of this battle in which the horrors of trench warfare and wounded soldiers are shown, this was certainly the first of the en masse war propaganda film genre, promoting the bravery of allied soldiers to rally a home-front war effort, whilst also showing disturbing images when they needed to convey sympathy.
It was a huge hit, watched by 20 million people in Britain alone and reaching cinemas as far as New Zealand. That its far reaching legacy that would last for decades to come should not be taken for granted, for it is here where the idea of ‘televised warfare’ that would be used by TV networks in Operation Desert Storm was born but paradoxically, also where the art of battle scenes in ‘anti-war’ Hollywood film began, inspiring pictures such as Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan.
Within the Great War, it by no means brought about a swift Allied victory, but the film would be a precursor for many more within the next few months, all of which would contribute to an Allied victory 2 years later.