Introduction

A person's whole intellectual make-up bears a clear imprint （印记） on the life of society as a whole．All his practical activities are individual expressions of the historically formed social practice of humanity （人性）．When tackling any job， we all have to take into account what has already been achieved before us．

The wealth and complexity of the individual's social content are conditioned by the diversity of his links with the social whole， the degree to which the various spheres of the life of society have been assimilated （同化） and refracted （折射） in his consciousness （意识） and activity．This is why the level of individual development is an indicator （指示器） of the level of development of society， and vice versa．But the individual does not dissolve （溶解） into society．He retains his unique and independent individuality and makes his contribution to the social whole： just as society itself shapes human beings， so human beings shape society．

The key to the mysteries of human nature can be found in society．Society is the human being in his social relations， and every human being is an individual embodiment （体现） of social relations， a product not only of the existing social system but of all world history．He absorbs what has been accumulated （积累） by the centuries and passed on through traditions．Modern man carries within himself all the ages of history and all his own individual ages as well．His personality is a concentration of various strata （层次） of culture．He is influenced not only by modern mass media， but also by the writings of all times and every nation．He is the living memory of history， the focus of all the wealth of knowledge， abilities， skills， and wisdom．

Society provides the foundation and material for film production．Film is reflection and evaluation of the society．It shows different facets （层面） of the prism （棱镜） of society and offers all kinds of judgment and evaluation．Films diagnose （诊断） human beings and the society， if not necessarily providing therapies （治疗方案）．Films of this kind， mostly dramas， depend on in-depth character development and interactions，covering explosive issues of the time．The themes often include poverty， challenge of justice and morality （伦理）， political unrest， corruption of power， class divisions and collisions， prejudice and stereotypes （陈规老套）， sexual inequalities， mental illness， corrupt societal institutions and so on．By portraying realistic characters in conflict with either themselves or others， films show human beings or societies at their best， their worst， and everything in-between， enabling audience to experience what the characters are feeling and even to identify closely with characters in his or her own world．

Theme-related Film Recommendations

There are dozens of films about Man and Society．Some classic films are：

Citizen Kane （1941），《公民凯恩》

The Graduate （1967），《毕业生》

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest （1975），《飞跃疯人院》

Chariots of Fire （1981），《火之战车》

The Color Purple （1985），《紫色》

Rain Man （1988），《雨人》

The Shawshank Redemption （1994），《肖申克的救赎》

Forrest Gump （1994），《阿甘正传》

Philadelphia （1995），《费城故事》

The Bridges of Madison County （1995），《廊桥遗梦》

The Truman Show （1998），《楚门的世界》

American Beauty （1999），《美国丽人》

Hotel Rwanda （2004），《卢旺达饭店》

My Sister's Keeper （2009），《姐姐的守护者》

Margaret （2011），《玛格丽特》

12 Years a Slave （2013），《为奴 12 年》 EjLwS2PntQb433miSUc8HEyEjOGoeMyG1+rbAIs1vtrCb0PlMvQBCBbprdtW3dfK