The Blurred Lines: Distinguishing Reality From Fiction

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In my opinion, movies can be unrealistic and misleading. Although there is no doubt that they play an important role in our social lives, they can also be deceptive. The truth is, life is different, and many people fail to distinguish between real life and fiction. Instead of focusing on real life, they raise their expectations and want to replicate what they see in movies. The main of of movies is to entertain us, and producers will use any means necessary to fill their pockets; generate revenue, and attract viewers. As far as the movie industry is concerned, one genre that seems to pique the interest of the audience is crime thrillers; when criminal activities are made to look cool in movies and TV shows. There's been a long-lasting debate on this issue; Have movies helped increase the rate of criminal activities in society? While some people support this motion, others oppose it.

A few years ago, I watched one of the best Spanish series ever produced; Money Heist. Money Heist was the talk of the year. The plot, characters, and actions made everyone fall in love with it. The series tells the story of a group of thieves who pull off a badass mission; robbing the biggest bank in Spain. As today’s Hive Learners topic suggests; movies make criminals look cool. Money Heist made the criminals look cool. If cool was at its vertex, it would be Money Heist. Not only did they downplay the police and make them look dumb (inefficient), but they (the thieves) also successfully robbed the bank not once, but twice and escaped unpunished.

Money Heist raised so many debates; “should movies have an ending as such” “Should movies glorify criminals” “Does that mean if people robbed a bank, they would get away scot-free? Is that the didactic idea behind Money Heist?” These questions flooded the internet. Last year, I had a conversation with a friend who concluded that Money Heist is not a good series. When I asked her why, she said it was because it glorified criminals. No doubt, Money Heist is one of the best series in the 21st century. Yet, it made the criminals look cool. Isn't that concerning?

Similarly, another series that glorifies criminals is YOU. You is a series that started in 2021. It revolves around Joe Goldberg, a psychopath who enjoys killing. Summarily, he is a serial killer. Despite being a serial killer, there's something about his character that makes you want to love him. There are so many Joe Goldberg’s lovers out there. Why is this? Because the movie presents his character in a “cool” way. Although the last part of the series is not yet out, Joe Goldberg gets away with his killings every time. Many YOU fans admire Joe Goldberg some ever cosplay and try to emulate his character.

Based on my observations from TV shows and Movies and also articles I have read on the internet, I have concluded that Movies and TV shows will always be like this; make criminals look cool. Sadly (or not), there is nothing anyone can do about it. Movies are unrealistic. Their main aim is to entertain, they don’t provide realistic depictions. Don’t be silly enough to get carried away. Unfortunately, there are so many “unwise” people out there who still fail to see the difference. Recently, I read a thread on Twitter of a guy who killed his girlfriend because he wanted to “awake his Magyeko Sharingan.” Mangekyo Sharingan is a “magical eye” in Naruto that can be awakened by killing a loved one. Also, a man tried to dig up his grandmother’s grave because he wanted to perform the reanimation Jutsu on her.

Pablo Escobar, the big time drug lord, has a movie made about him. Although I haven't seen this movie, I'm pretty sure they made him “cool.” A long time ago, I saw a Yoruba Movie, Oyenusi by Odunlade Adekola, about a real life criminal who terrorized Nigeria in the 90’s. In my opinion, I don’t think making movies about real life criminals is entirely bad as it tells the new generation tales about what happened in the past. I mean, I wouldn't have known the full details of Oyenusi if I hadn’t watched the movie.

The simple answer is No. That would ruin the movie industry beyond repair. The movie industry will keep slamming our doors with crime thrillers movies. I mean, we can't all go Barbie and Dora the last explorer all the time. It all comes down to the audience to be wise and be able to differentiate between fiction and real life.

Thanks for reading.