Social And Moral Responsibility In Films: A Discussion On The Classic Film “M”

The Importance of Films in Society

Discuss about the Representation of Justice,Morality and Responsibility.

Films are the best exhibition of motion picture. It cannot be denied that there is huge amount of money and expectations attached with the making of a film. There are number of people who are attached with the making of a film and hence it becomes one the ways to feed these people. Since the inception of movie making concept people have been largely interested in going to the cinema houses because it provides them with the opportunity to get an escape route from the normal uninteresting daily life and get into the world of extraordinary life (Shaw, 2012). Films are so largely embraced and loved because it provides the viewers with a perfect enjoyment for a particular period of time which again helps them to rejuvenate the lives of the people and helps the common people to go back to the society again leading their daily lives. Over the decades with the development of technology filmmakers have found new avenues to express themselves in a new way and through different themes (Gunning, 2016). Every film is made with the focus of establishing a particular idea in the minds of the viewers but some of them have strong and valid agenda to go about discussing certain things. One of the classic movies of the early 30s during the period when sounds in films just entered was “M”. The movie was a revolution in film market in Germany because of its complex and volatile subject. “M” is a horror thriller film written and directed by Fritz Lang a German filmmaker in Post First World War era (Tester, 2013).

Over the years different filmmakers have taken up difficult and complicated concepts to convey to the audience and this has created significant obligation in the society. Films undoubtedly have social responsibility and as they drive masses towards taking up lifestyle practices. The actors and actresses are tremendously followed by the common mass that basically involves passion and berserk excitement. “M” was controversial because it showed the brutal nature of the society and what could happen when law and order is not in place and justice acts like the migratory bird gone in hibernation (Flisfeder, 2016). Controversial topics of films have brought criticisms but have also influenced people to a large extent (Ingram, 2013). Hence it cannot be denied that the films they do have social obligations and it is important that the filmmakers understand their limitations while making films. This statement is clearly contrasting to the art of filmmaking because filmmaking is considered as the medium that creates the true picture of an issue with the best possible resources available to it in order to promote or convey a message and hence working under limitation is just not the right idea for a filmmaker (Gunning, 2016).

The Social Responsibility of Films

Most of the filmmakers like Asghar Farhadi, Majid Majidi, Wong Kar Wai et cetera have spoken against censorship in the contemporary film environment which clearly shackles their film making and information conveying abilities. The main focus of censorship has been to make the filmmakers to understand that the films have social responsibility, morality and justice directly related to films and hence it is extremely important for the directors to ensure that films reflect responsibility, morality and justice effectively (Mazur, 2013).  There are number of different films and filmmakers who have been criticised for their honest filmmaking showing the clear picture of the society and this has fueled the critics to a large extent.

The movie has been hugely criticised for its brutal concept which was back then was absolutely new to the viewers. There was power and presence of truthfulness in the concept which made the film cult and it’s still watched by many people all across the world. “M” is a simple horror drama thriller that conceptualises a character so brutal that people even in the 21^st century count bear. The story simply moves with a man who kills small girls in the society and against the pressure of the ministers the police makes the lives of the other criminals in the market difficult (Gunning, 2016). This triggers the need of getting the real man behind the serial murders and all the criminals come together to find the man. The concept is extremely relevant in the common world because it cannot be denied that the political power of the ministers is due to theses criminals who move freely in a market (Falzon, 2014). Hence, a person with a different idea is considered unfit. The present movie questions a number of things for instance, the existence of a man and the relative problems, the impact of mental health issues and the biggest question is of morality, responsibility and justice given.

The movie mirrors the thought of the different clans of people in the society and highlights the existent fear of the common people against an unknown force. The very first thing that the movie highlights is how people get afraid in the society and what does it need to frighten people. It’s a trail blazing classic because it highlights the imbalance of justice in the system (Evans, 2016). One of the major issues that the present movie poses is the responsibility that society has towards the common people. It is important to discuss the key aspects of responsibility, justice and morality.  The present study will discuss these key aspects with reference to the movie “M” which would help to understand the social and moral responsibilities which would help to discuss the key objectives of the present study. Morality and responsibility has been one of the aspects of movies and there have been numerous movies which have emphasised on them and hence this movie is extremely valid in the discussion (Tester, 2013).

The Concept of Morality in Films

Representation is an extremely important aspect in movies. How a movie represents its ideas is an extremely important aspect which needs to be looked after. In the present movie “M” the director has been able to create an environment of chaos in a society which has just experienced a world war and there are number of aspects that create misrepresentation of law and order. The movie is known for its unconventional approach to morality, law and justice and hence is still considered a classic. “M” has taken certain key aspects which clearly show the instable state of the society (Falzon, 2014). The movie shows the society as a chaotic environment which is being affected by complete antisocial activities. The movie has a role to play in the lives of every individual and hence it is important to be aesthetically sensitive about projecting things. In “M” the brutality of the main character has been effectively portrayed through the scenes. For instance in one of the scenes the main character is shown through the mirror which helps to see the layers of his characters and is extremely pertinent in the society because in society there are number of people who are clearly masqueraded (Mazur, 2013).

Morality has always been one of the key aspects that have shackled movie making and the filmmakers have been often been rebuked for their style of movie making and concepts. It is important to understand that movie making during the initial days were just for money and during the initial years of cinema people used to watch them just for fun. Over years with the advancement of technology and globalisation filmmakers used motion picture to convey information and protest and this is where social responsibility came into the picture (Edwards, 2012). The movie “M” takes up an extremely important concept to convey which is the impact of mental health on man and through the main character of the movie “Hans Beckert” played by peter Lorre it has been effectively conveyed (Souillés-Debats, 2016). The character exhibited different layers especially of anger and fear. The movie showed deeper interest in displaying the two different characters of the main character mentioned above who was actually a schizophrenic personality. The social responsibility related to the movie was to let know the parents that the society is still not completely civilised and hence children could be on the line of fire being slaughtered repeatedly which has been showed in the movie. It is important to note that the movie had displayed violence and gore which was not acceptable for many audiences and hence its social responsibility might be questioned but it cannot be denied that it still remains to be relevant even in the modern world. Later in the 60s and 70s directors like Stanley Kubrick had taken up complicated subjects and showed them in a manner that they like. The question of responsibility that stands in this case is to make the audiences aware of the different facts and issues that society is facing and “M” has effectively done (McGilligan , 2013).

The Unconventional Approach of “M”

In both ways it has been able to convey its message and hence it can be stated that “M” clearly contains significant social message. The filmmaker took the responsibility to digging deep into the psychological behavior of a man who is disturbed in nature and showed that threat that he can pose on the society. In a way director Fritz Lang focused on showing the world what could happen to a person if he or she remains unattended right from the formative ages. Given the story a moral could be deduced (Gellen, 2015). The film has a different take on the true nature of the society which is dark and full with resentment. Morality of the movie also reflects upon the loss of innocence of the children because during the opening the children sing songs about a monster that’s going to make children mincemeat. He reflected on the true picture of violence through the movie where even children are aware of the brutality that world could bring upon them where the society remains oblivious of it. The movie “M” talks of morality and social responsibility in a different way to be precise through the actions of violence. Lack of compassion in the world is showed through the killing of children and lack of trust because the citizens seem to blame each other for these mishaps have been perfectly framed and displayed (Solovieva, 2012).

There are certain key scenes where the central character of the story reveals him showing the dichotomous self. The moral issues faced by common man in his or her daily life have been perfectly exhibited through the movie (Edwards, 2012). The constant dilemma of right wrong was seen in the character’s dual presence where one is constantly overpowering the other. The core idea of the movie that could be assumed was behind the curtains of war man is becoming more violent and could go to any extent to establish his or her views and ideologies which has been clearly reflected through this movie. The excellent directorial approach and lighting combination the director has been able to show the constant dilemma that a man lives and what it could actually do to him and to the society (Wunrow, 2012).

A significant part of the movie is related with the major criminals of the area where the movie takes place. They come into the picture where the police are not able to track down the original felon (Edwards, 2012). The criminals are largely affected by this and their livelihood almost wraps up when they feel it is the time they should convene and track down the person behind all this which would make their lives easier.  At the end of the movie the central character “Beckert” is caught and is placed in criminal rendezvous where he is accused and punished. This is where the justice system has strongly been questioned. What makes the criminals the ultimate judges of the society? The question that remains is who gave them right to convict or acquit a person? What is the role of the law and what is the position of the Government in this scenario. The last scene where the central character starts sobbing accepting all the crimes and the criminals act as the lone justice is slap on the face of legal system of the society (Mazur, 2013). The movie “M” is responsible to highlight the weaker sides of the law and order in the society as in the last scene the murderer is taken to the court where the criminals are making decisions on justice. It shows that the society hasn’t yet come out of their primitive thought process regarding justice and this is why criminals are taking over to create balance in the society. The concept of justice has been shown in a different manner especially to reveal the complex nature of the justice system where getting true justice is extremely tough. Justice is a vast aspect and the movie conveyed the message of strengthening the justice system effectively through that scene that helped to provide the best of the epilogue to the film (Evans, 2016).

References

Edwards, T.J., 2012. The Man In Black: A Sequence Analysis from Fritz Lang’s M (1931). Kino: The Western Undergraduate Journal of Film Studies, 3(1), p.4.

Evans, S., 2016. M for Murderer: Fritz Lang’s Exploration of the Meaning of Justice.

Falzon, C., 2014. Philosophy goes to the movies: An introduction to philosophy. Routledge.

Flisfeder, M., 2016. Ideology Critique and Film Criticism in the New Media Ecology.

Gellen, K., 2015. Indexing Identity: Fritz Lang’s M. Modernism/modernity, 22(3), pp.425-448.

Gunning, T., 2016. Film Criticism: the Challenge of the Specific. Film Criticism, 40(1), p.Q1.

Ingram, D., 2013. The aesthetics and ethics of eco-film criticism. Ecocinema Theory and Practice, pp.43-61.

Mazur, E.M., 2013. William D. Romanowski, Reforming Hollywood. How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies. Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York 2012, xv+ 298 pp. ISBN 978-01-95-38784-1.£ 18.99; US $29.95. Church History and Religious Culture, 93(4), pp.641-643.

McGilligan, P., 2013. Fritz Lang: the nature of the beast. University of Minnesota Press.

Shaw, D., 2012. Morality and the movies: Reading ethics through film. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Solovieva, O., 2012. The Portrayal of a Murderer in Fritz Lang’s M: Toward an Effect of Three-Dimensionality in the Classical Cinema. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 29(1), pp.50-63.

Souillés-Debats, L., 2016. When Movies are a Source of Concern. Esprit, (6), pp.60-67.

Tester, K., 2013. Media Culture & Morality. Routledge.

Wunrow, Z.B., 2013. Power and Presence in Fritz Lang’s” M”(1931). Inquiries Journal, 5(06).