I love movies but…

Three years ago I arrived at LAX sat in the taxi and took my first ride through Los Angeles. I was caught by shock of how wrong my idea of America was. Watching Hollywood movies and shows back home about US built up a stereotypical image of what America is and how it supposedly looks like. With all the expectations I had, I was totally confused when I actually got to see and live in Los Angeles. I was expecting high rises and streets packed with rushing people and shining billboards all over the city. Instead it was one or two high rises that would fall into my view and barely any people walking on the streets. Nobody was walking but everybody was driving and then I thought about the famous Subway that I have seen so many times in the movies, and obviously it was not there, besides the one that makes sandwiches. Sadly enough, I never got the sandwich from the Subway and never got to get on one. 

After all, I have realized how much we trust mass media and the information that it is providing us with. I was watching movies and never thought that America would look any differently. All that TV was showing about US was images of Wall Street, Manhattan, Pamela Anderson lifeguarding the beach or small forgotten towns with farms full of ghosts and horses. In that way Movies and TV shows such as Sex and the City lead people to learn and think certain way. I think that Movies is a very strong and powerful tool of mass media shaping the way the society view the world different countries and cultures. For example, lets take my grandmother and see what she thinks about US. She has never been in America and all the information that she has is from Mass Media. The last day before I left she told me that I should be careful with black people and be more cautious when they are around and you would be shocked if I tell how many old woman back home would say the same thing. What does that say? It obviously shows how influential the media is. Nevertheless, the information that my grandmother and millions of people have back home is completely biased and misrepresented they will still think that way unless they face the truth with their own eyes. I happened to be one of this people who got to check everything with my own eyes.

First month of  living in US brought new acquaintances new experiences and knowledge. I have become good friends with a lot of people who were all of different races and ethnicities including African American people and people from Africa and all of them never made me feel uncomfortable or scared, on the contrary the showed respect and kindness. I could not wait to get home and tell my family how much of a biased information we get and how negatively it affects us. Not everybody would listen to me but they would still listen to the reporters and actors portraying the stereotypes that were easier to believe. Movies and all the TV programs including commercials have such a huge impact and influence on people. We might say it is bad but on the other hand if I did not see those movies, Sex and the City in particular, I might have never went to US and would not have the lifetime experience.