> but i believe there is such a thing as 'just a movie'. i disagree that the medium has as much power as you say. (and i realize most people don't agree with me) but i see movies, tv., music, etc. as a form of entertainment.

Sure -- much of the time they're intended to be entertainment. But they do have power -- great power. Television is cited with being the single most influential development of the 20th century, and with good reason. I don't think whatever's second even comes close.

On the other hand, I don't think "The Phantom Menace" is going to make racist scum out of anybody. Not because it's "just a movie" and not because it was intended to be entertainment, but because the message just isn't there. If it were, it would indeed have some sort of impact, even if it were just the subconscious reinforcement of a negative stereotype, which is what Zarkon is arguing.

> and they don't really have 'power'. for example, we've all seen cases on the news about people who did things 'because they saw it on a movie or tv.' i think that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard.

I do, too. Acknowledging that movies and TV don't have power doesn't mean accepting this. The vast majority of the time, movies reflect society, not shape it.

> i mean, come on, those people have a mind of their own, and to blame entertainment is just ludicrious.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

> people should stop letting themselves be so affected by entertainment.

No. No, no, no, no. Well, actually I think I agree with what you were trying to say, but I think people *should* let themselves be affected -- but just be judicious and discerning about what to accept and what not to. Movies aren't just entertainment. The best movies have something to say and say it in a novel, artistic way. If you come out of "Schindler's List" unaffected, you've completely missed the point. Even escapism, like "The Matrix" and "The Negotiator" and dark thrillers like "Dark City" and "A Simple Plan" contain a kind of thoughtful visual eloquence that is more than worth deliberating upon. One of the most valuable powers of movies is that they allow experiences we would never otherwise experience to become totally real to us. "Saving Private Ryan" did that for what it must have been like to fight in World War II. It's a poor substitute for actually fighting in it, but can you think of a way to experience that more accurately and more accessibly if you hadn't? That's an important thing for Americans to understand as best as we possibly can.

It all comes down to how the medium is used -- I don't think TPM has any particular noteworthy influence at all. But the medium *can* be used in life-changing ways, for better and for worse. What's important to keep in mind, as you do, is that we still have the responsibility for our own actions and for the way we think and to discern which movie experiences are genuine and good and which are not.