Message picture

Short description: Motion picture

A message picture (or message movie)^[1] is a motion picture that, in addition to or instead of being for entertainment, intends to communicate a certain message or ideal about society.

Characteristics

Message pictures usually present the message they want to deliver in the form of a morality play, and are usually serious (often somber) works. However, not all message pictures are entirely serious, and there are also films spoofing the genre (Sullivan's Travels, for example).^[2]

History

Dore Schary was famous for his message pictures at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during the late 1940s and early to mid-1950s. Among these were Tea and Sympathy, Bad Day at Black Rock, and Blackboard Jungle.^[3] Other famous message pictures by other parties include Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night^[4] (the former directed by Stanley Kramer, who was also well known for numerous message films).^[5]

In Indian cinema, B.R. Chopra was known for message pictures. Examples include Kanoon (against capital punishment), Naya Daur (importance of labour), Waqt (importance of time and destiny), Nikaah (against triple talaq (divorce) among Muslims), etc.^[6]

Examples

Pre-1970

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Salt of the Earth (1954)
Paths of Glory (1957)
I Want to Live! (1958)
On the Beach (1959)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
The Connection (1961)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The Intruder (1962)
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
Fail Safe (1964)
Seconds (1966)

Post-1970

Billy Jack (1971)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Gandhi (1982)
White Dog (1982)
The Color Purple (1985)
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Philadelphia (1993)
Schindler's List (1993)
Amistad (1997)
American History X (1998)
American Beauty (1999)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
Music of the Heart (1999)
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Pay It Forward (2000)
Remember the Titans (2000)
I Am Sam (2001)
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
The Sea Inside (2004)
Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
American Gun (2005)
Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
Babel (2006)
Crash (2005)
Blood Diamond (2006)
Coach Carter (2006)
Wall-E (2008)
Avatar (2009)
Courageous (2011)
Where to Invade Next (2015)
Don't Look Up (2021)

Sources:^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] ^[15]^[16]^[17]

Notable directors

Spike Lee^[18]
Stanley Kramer^[19]
Tom Laughlin^[20]
Elia Kazan^[21]
Oliver Stone^[22]
Abel Gance^[23]
Norman Jewison^[24]
Frank Capra^[25]
Richard Attenborough^[26]
Edward Dmytryk^[27]

References

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Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message picture. Read more

[1] Teaching History with Message Movie - Google Books

[2] "Sullivan's Travels" (in en). https://www.criterion.com/films/657-sullivan-s-travels.

[3] Film Producer Dore Schary, 74, Dies - The Washington Post

[4] "In the Heat of the Night" (in en). https://www.criterion.com/films/29459-in-the-heat-of-the-night.

[5] Bergan, Ronald (2001-02-21). "Obituary: Stanley Kramer" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/feb/21/guardianobituaries.filmnews.

[6] BR Chopra – Upperstall.com

[7] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[8] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[9] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[10] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[11] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[12] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[13] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[14] Top 10 Classic Films With a Social Message - ThoughtCo.

[15] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[16] The 10 Most Heavy-Handed Message Movies|Complex

[17] 6 Things You Might Not Have Known About Billy Jack|Mental Floss

[18] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[19] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[20] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[21] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[22] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[23] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[24] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[25] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[26] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

[27] The Best Message Movies of All Time - Flickchart

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