Spanier, guests discuss cinema

University President Graham Spanier took his monthly radio show in a new direction last night with a discussion of how movies influence society.

Spanier's show, "To the Best of My Knowledge," aired at 7 p.m. yesterday on WPSU-FM (90.1, 91.5 and 106.7) and dealt with the ability of movies to shape and change the individual. The topic was a departure from past shows, which featured educational issues.

Two guests joined Spanier on his show, Michael Marcus, a 1967 graduate of the University and former president of MGM Pictures, and William Kelly, an associate professor of theatre and integrative arts at the University.

Spanier and his guests agreed movies have changed the way they view the world. Marcus pointed to Saturday Night Fever for the influence it had on music and fashion, War Games for its political implications, and Fatal Attraction for its social statement.

Spanier said seeing Amistad has changed the way he "sees the African-American experience."

Altering the way he sees the world is one of the results of watching films, Kelly said. The professor, who watches more than 70 movies a year, added that he enjoys the educational aspect of movies.

"We're always learning something about people who aren't us," he said.

However, several callers to the show pointed to the potentially negative influence of movies on audiences. Marcus, who is currently involved in several film projects, explained that films are "not documentaries, but entertainment." Filmmakers should be allowed a degree of poetic license, he said, and should not be used as scapegoats.

Marcus added that movies are a direct reflection of audiences. The movie formula that makes the most revenue will be repeated, he said, as seen in the appearance of a sequel to Scream. Filmmakers would be more comfortable making a cutting edge movie if they knew it would make money, he said.

"The more they make, the more they're willing to roll the dice and take a chance," he said. "The market reflects what people want to see."

Although movies have changed quite a bit from the days of silent films, Spanier and his guests agreed cinema has been one of the largest and most influential parts of the media.

"The expansion (of cinema) since the 1950s has given us a lot of lousy movies, but on the other hand," Kelly said, "it's given us a lot of valuable and needed movies."