Cinema can serve either as a mirror that brings people together from different cultures or as a mirage used for political propaganda. While some films are used to shape public opinion for political gain, cinema also introduces audiences to different cultures and art forms from around the world. By making films accessible with subtitles and dubbing, streaming platforms like Netflix allow people globally to enjoy popular shows from various countries and cultures. This helps bring divided people together through shared viewing experiences and online discussions of film plots and theories. Ultimately, cinema reflects our society depending on the content and perspective one chooses to consume.

1. Cinema today: A mirror or a mirage
A warm welcome to everyone present. In my speech on cinema today A mirror or a mirage,
I’ll talk about how Cinema can be what you want it to be, Good or Bad completely depends
on one’s choice of content and perspective.
Cinema is a visual medium that helps in telling a story. Cinema is the most collaborative and
the most expensive expression of art where millions spent to show a story to the audience.
Cinema could be anything ranging from a movie, television series, or even small commercial
advertising the product. Cinema through many years has had a huge impact on the majority
of the population and we surely cannot imagine our lives without it.
The power of cinemas has been manifested and exploited politically, socially, and
economically throughout history. Leaders such as Adolf Hitler, for example, successfully
used films as propaganda tools during World War II. Unfortunate facts like these show the
raw power of cinema — an immense power that has even caused revolutions.
As technology keeps growing, political and economic leaders have utilized cinema in changing
and shaping people’s outlooks either for their own benefit or for the benefit of the people
Take for example in India where BJP launched a so called biography titles ‘ PM Narendra
Modi’which was releasedin theatres when the election seasonwas just starting or the movie
‘Thackeray’which showed BalasahebThackerayin a positive and pro Maharastrian light,both
of these movies were released to create Good PR and show the people how the should vote
for the great leaders
In the above case Cinema was used as a medium to create Mirage in the minds of audience
and drive a political propaganda
But on the flipside cinema brings to us different cultures of the world. It introduces us to various
art forms and helps us in gaining knowledge about how different people lead their lives, take
Netflix, for example ( a popular streaming platform) according to it’s viewing data nine out of
every ten people who watched the German TV series Dark lived outside of Germany. Also,
further studies reveal that the top shows watched by people in India include Narcos, Stranger
Things, 13 Reasons Why, Money Heist,. Black Mirror and Chef’s Table,among others. Because
of the effective localization strategies implemented by Netflix, audiences from different parts
of the world are able to stream any movie they like with subtitles in a language of their choice
or they can choose a dubbed version of the show or movie.
These shows are discussed by many people all over the world. Strangers from various
countries discuss the stories and the theories related to plot lines on various social media
platforms likeYouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Cinema plays ahuge role in bringing people
together which makes a huge impact on society., ‘Divided by culture and united by Cinema’
is something that is happening in today’s world which shows that Cinema creates love and
unity which according to me is the true mirror reflection of our society today.

2. In conclusion, I read out an important quote, “The one who controls his or her mind is the
strongest person in the world”. Cinema is an art designed to share different stories with us,
the choice of what one picks to watch or absorb is totally dependent on his/her choices.
Choosing wisely is the key