The Input Hypothesis Second Language Acquisition Theories and Hypotheses

and Monahan even stated that calling movie as ―the most popular art form‖ is an understatement. That is how influential movies are. As a form of art, movies are on a par with other artistic forms. Boggs and Petrie acknowledge this fact by stating that: Like painting and photography, film exploits the subtle interplay of light and shadow. Like sculpture, film manipulates three-dimensional space. But, like pantomime, film focuses on moving images, and as in dance, the moving images in film have rhythm. The complex rhythms of film resemble those of music and poetry, and like poetry in particular, film communicates through imagery, metaphor, and symbol. Like the drama, film communicates visually and verbally: visually, through action and gesture; verbally, through dialogue. Finally, like the novel, film expands or compresses time and space, traveling back and forth freely within their wide borders. 34 Despite those similarities, movies also have distinctive qualities: The continuous interplay of sight, sound, and motion allows film to transcend the static limitations of painting and sculpture-in the complexity of its sensual appeal as well as in its ability to communicate simultaneously on several levels. Film even surpasses drama in its unique capacity for revealing various points of view, portraying action, manipulating time, and conveying a boundless sense of space. Unlike the stage play, film can provide a continuous, unbroken flow, which blurs and minimizes transitions without compromising the storys unity. Unlike the novel and the poem, film communicates directly, not through abstract symbols like words on a page but through concrete images and sounds. Whats more, film can treat an almost infinite array of subjects. 35 An example to illustrate the points above is when people see a play on a stage; they can only see what their seating position allows them to. If a stage performer holds something, say a bracelet, even the audience who sits on the front row can hardly see it. With movies, on the other hand, every viewer can explore the story with the same size. The moviemaker can use special characteristics of movie to show the bracelet, then the character face to build emotional relationship with viewers, and probably a flashback to three years before the scene to show 34 Joseph M. Boggs and Dennis W. Petrie, The Art of Watching Films, New York: McGraw Hill, 2008, 7 th edition, p. 3. 35 Ibid. how the character got the bracelet. 36 Thus, movies allow both moviemakers and the audience to explore the story in the finest fashion. Not only a form of art and expression, movies also provide a promising career path. Movie industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. This industry has produced a large number of successful and popular moviemakers and movie stars. In terms of commercial success, a movie can gross millions of dollars. For example the recent Jurrasic World released 2015, director Colin Trevorrow has earned over 1.5 billion of dollars worldwide. 37 Even a classic movie like Titanic released 1997, director James Cameron still earns money to date, making it the second highest-grossing movie of all time with over 2 billion dollars. 38 Movies that create a cultural phenomenon, like Star Wars franchise, do not only earn money from ticket sales, but also the sales of merchandise like action figures and costumes. The movie industry does not only concern the moviemaking process, but also the external aspect such as critics, which are inevitable for a form of art. Many people these days consider being a movie critic as a fine profession, which can be seen from websites such as Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com, Rotten Tomatoes www.rottentomatoes.com, and Letterboxd www.letterboxd.com. Movies have become a big pa rt of humans‘ life and culture to the point that it is undeniable that people, even the most reclusive ones, must have watched a movie at least once in their life. Movies have become very accessible for everyone. People can go to nearby theatres to watch new movies, or they can go to their local DVDs stores. Even if people cannot go anywhere, they can still watch movies at home on television and stream or download the movies from the internet. Most movies are also released with subtitles or dubbing for worldwide release, so people who do not understand English, for instance, can still watch a movie using their first language. Not only do people watch movies for entertainment, but they also do it for pedagogic purposes. In native English classes, movies are often used to a vast 36 Richard Barsam and Dave Monahan, op. cit., p. 5. 37 www.boxofficemojo.com, accessed on 25 October 2015. 38 Ibid.