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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 that 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

Sources:^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][better source needed][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

Notable directors

• Spike Lee^[15]
• Stanley Kramer^[9]
• Tom Laughlin^[13]
• Elia Kazan^[7]
• Oliver Stone^[12]
• Abel Gance^[29]
• Norman Jewison^[7]
• Frank Capra^[11]
• Richard Attenborough^[11]
• Edward Dmytryk^[8]
• Jordan Peele^[24]

See also

• After-school special
• Christian film
• Just-world hypothesis
• Melodrama
• Oscar bait
• Public service announcement
• Social guidance film
• Social issues
• Social parasitism (offense)
• Social problem film
• Social thriller
• Very special episode
• Virtue signaling

References