Argo And Zero Dark Thirty: A Case Study
What do Argo and Zero Dark Thirty have in common, other than being Oscar nominees? They are both movies based on real life events and real life institutions, and they were both chosen as subjects of a case study designed to determine whether films have any influence on audience opinions about the government and the focal events.
Participants in this study were undergraduates from a private Midwestern university who self-selected which of the two movies they would like to watch. They were then asked to complete both pre-viewing and post-viewing questionnaires in order to discern any changes in their opinions after watching the film. The overall trend shows an improvement in their assessment of government institutions as well as in the direction of the nation. In particular, the CIA receives the highest increase of 14% in favorable view, followed by the White House with 7% and the US State Department with 4%. One exception is the 5% decline in the military’s approval ratings. These respective changes correspond …show more content…
Both of them placed more emphasis on the role of the intelligence agency in the ultimate success of the missions over other departments. The films also seemed to have been helpful sources of information regarding their subject events, as many viewers reported to have more knowledge and awareness of the events’ significance.
This quite notable change after just a few hours raises the question of how films can influence people’s view on governmental authorities. It is evident that such change does not come from a favorable portrayal of government. On the contrary, both Argo and Zero Dark Thirty depicted the government as lackluster and incompetent while highlighting the work of individual civil servants such as Tony Mendez and his plan to get the US State Department employees out of Iran or Maya and her success in the search for Osama bin Laden. It is possible that
Participants in this study were undergraduates from a private Midwestern university who self-selected which of the two movies they would like to watch. They were then asked to complete both pre-viewing and post-viewing questionnaires in order to discern any changes in their opinions after watching the film. The overall trend shows an improvement in their assessment of government institutions as well as in the direction of the nation. In particular, the CIA receives the highest increase of 14% in favorable view, followed by the White House with 7% and the US State Department with 4%. One exception is the 5% decline in the military’s approval ratings. These respective changes correspond …show more content…
Both of them placed more emphasis on the role of the intelligence agency in the ultimate success of the missions over other departments. The films also seemed to have been helpful sources of information regarding their subject events, as many viewers reported to have more knowledge and awareness of the events’ significance.
This quite notable change after just a few hours raises the question of how films can influence people’s view on governmental authorities. It is evident that such change does not come from a favorable portrayal of government. On the contrary, both Argo and Zero Dark Thirty depicted the government as lackluster and incompetent while highlighting the work of individual civil servants such as Tony Mendez and his plan to get the US State Department employees out of Iran or Maya and her success in the search for Osama bin Laden. It is possible that