It’s “new year, new me” catchphrase season again. Another 365 days have come and gone, complete with booming successes of music, literature, art, and film. The last few months of 2017 were especially exciting for the silver screen. In December alone: Jumanji, The Greatest Showman, Ferdinand, Pitch Perfect 3, and Star Wars; all national favorites that had crowds reeling. Of course, with modernized times come modernized movies, and enhanced motion picture is definitely at its peak. However, like in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the media continues to highlight cultural and societal trouble. One of our most recent films sheds light on our fastest growing issue: social media and its power. In a humorous, charismatic fashion, this movie represents the dictation social media has on our lives. Jumanji made its first appearance on December 15, 1995. Twenty-two years later, with actors just as loved as the ones used then, the story comes to life with a completely new world to it.
Set in a jungle, with mismatched characters, and a heavy emphasis on comedy, Jumanji comes to us in a completely technological form. The infamous board game is picked up where it was left off in the original film. When it comes into the hands of a teenage boy, it’s quickly discarded with Alex saying, “Who plays board games anymore?” Jumanji morphs into a video game, setting off a new set of drums. In the first ten minutes of the movie, we see the obvious signs of influence technology has on our society. Technology in itself has become a priceless tool for the world. It has allowed for advancements that have helped thousands. However, we’re quickly falling over the line of what technology we need, and what we want. Desire for a better world and an easier one are completely different from each other, and yet their lines blur like the colors of a kaleidoscope. Jumanji shows us this with self-absorbed, but surprisingly likeable Bethany. Our very first impression of her comes from a cringe-worthy selfie she takes to post on Instagram. She adjusts the curtains and turns a mug on the table next to her to augment the scene she supposedly woke up in. In theatres, people laugh at the scene and comment on the absurdity of the action. What they don’t seem to realize, or maybe do and don’t care, is that these kinds of actions are very real. Right away, we know she’s the superficial popular girl who can never be without her phone. The film uses humorous satire to display the effects social media has on teenagers, and more specifically females.
Usage of social gateways is heavy amongst males and females, that’s a whole issue in itself. The film focuses on Bethany and her addiction, but in all reality, the influence of a phone screen is heavy on everyone. The story goes back to this influence repeatedly in the movie. Bethany exclaiming over the fact that she isn’t instagramming her newest development, or updating her status to “stuck in a frickin video game.” She starts to lose her composure and cries, “…and I can’t find my phone, I’m allowed to be upset!” At one point, long lost character Alex asks, “Does phone mean something different in the future?” Right here, we’re able to see how in a few short years, social media has warped our society. In the presence of others, instead of talking to each other and holding a conversation, people draw up their feed and poke around to see what people are doing with their lives. Being right there with friends, or family, the compulsive need to check on what the world is up to is too great to resist. We have so much at our fingertips, and yet we get trapped in our digital 3×6” screens. Are we really incapable of eating a meal without checking our phones? Or hanging out with friends without having to snapchat the occasion?
New year new you right? How about, along with changing your hair, your style, your goals, you strive to show these things to people you physically interact with? You don’t post a new selfie every week. You don’t have a photoshoot everytime you leave the house. You abandon the phrase “snap it or it didn’t happen” and soak up the moment you’re trying so desperately to capture. Social media is phenomenal. Photography is exquisite. News is powerful. All of which is soul food for the human psyche. But the life in between the next tweet, status update, and news article, is something we’re letting slip away.