We all know how entertaining cinema can be, but we often forget just how important and powerful it has the potential to be as well. If we take a step back from gorging ourselves on Hollywood blockbusters, one can observe film's capacity to change the world, to foretell social trends and challenging the way people think. Ever since cinema's inception, it has brought about social change and affected the way we live, from our attitudes to race, gender and health, to the way in which we consume media. Though it might not happen too often, occasionally a film will abound with the right mix of an incisive social commentary and humour, managing to entertain as it informs. Granted, not all entries on this list are entertaining - some are merely frightening social documents - but each has left an indelible mark on the world in its wake nevertheless. Here are 10 movies that changed the world forever...
10. Jaws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucMLFO6TsFM Granted, Steven Spielberg's suspense masterpiece didn't exactly enact social change or help anyone (other than the studio's shareholders), but it
did change the world in one way - the nature of cinema, and how we consume it. Indeed, Jaws was the inaugural blockbuster, the film that changed everything in popularising the big-budget cinematic spectacle. The film was a box office colossus, and defined the model that films of this type continue to follow today. It was Jaws that helped to emphasise the feeling that if you weren't seeing the big movie of the moment, then you were probably missing something. Just look at how Avatar managed to make almost $3bn - it's because if you didn't see it at the cinema, it was like you were missing a once in a lifetime event.