The purpose of this essay was to discover whether or not cinema has the power to garner true empathy and motivate audiences to enact it upon the real world. From what we have learned over four years, and especially during this course, it made sense to begin the essay by explaining the potential power film holds on a macro-level from a socio-political angle. Then, I delved into the psychoanalytical for a perspective on how media affects the individual. With that context, I lastly expanded into real-world studies, some pop culture, and other fields. I anticipated for this piece to end in a polemic. Our world is lacking in empathy, and that bleakness is seeping into my schoolwork; however, I found through further analysis that if the methodology of spurring empathy in audiences was modified to shock, compel, create vulnerability, and teach of a new side to life through film, then empathy en masse may not be lost just yet.
