Perhaps the title of this page is misleading. Perhaps I should have used the term 'IDIOCY' or some such phrase. It's just that sometimes idiocy and advertising and hollywood seem to be synonyms.

OK, I have probably confused you enough. Let me explain. In recent years there have been a number of court cases where the defendants have admitted to having committed some criminal action BUT, their defense is predicated upon the fact that they were influenced by some movie they had seen. Similarly, there are civil cases where people have sued movie makers because they have suffered injury through the action of another and the plaintiff is contending that the respondent's actions were a direct result of the influence of the movie maker's product.

Naturally, the movie industry huffs and puffs and disclaims any responsibility for the respondent's actions, stating that all they did was produce a movie and movies have no power to influence a person to take action. If this is the case, then I am forced to wonder why these same movie makers spend such enormous amounts of money on 30 second and 60 second spots on television and radio, and purchase columns in newspapers and magazines to extol their product and induce the public to see the movie? If a two hour movie can't influence anyone, then how does a few seconds or inches do it? Does anyone else detect the hypocrisy in these mutually exclusive situations?