Exploring the Influence of Action Movies on National Anxieties

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This chapter dives into the impact of action and geopolitical movies on public perceptions and national anxieties over time. It discusses the concept of 'competence porn' in films depicting highly capable individuals and how police shows shape public opinion of law enforcement, especially in the context of real-world events like the George Floyd incident.

What we see on screen has this way of influencing our perception of the world, which makes sense because the average American spends 2 hours and 51 minutes watching movies and TV each day. That’s a whopping 19 percent of our waking hours. Walt Hickey is a data journalist and author of a new book called You Are What You Watch. In it, Walt makes a case for how much film and television shapes us as individuals and as a society, far beyond what we give it credit for.

You Are What You Watch