From the days of village bonfires to short videos on social media, storytelling has been part of our essence as human beings. But with the advent of cinema, this practice gained a new dimension — visual, auditory, emotional and immersive. Films didn’t just tell stories in a different way: they changed the way we think, feel and express ourselves.
In this article, you will understand how cinema transformed human narrative , influenced other arts, shaped culture and continues, to this day, to reinvent the way we connect with the world through stories.
From paper to screen: the narrative gains body and movement
Before cinema, stories were transmitted orally, then came books, plays and paintings. With films, narrative language began to include moving images, soundtracks, acting and editing , creating much more engaging experiences.
Cinema allowed audiences to “see” history rather than just imagine it . This generated a new type of emotional involvement with the characters and the plots, as it was now possible to see the expressions, hear the tones of voice and feel the rhythm of the scenes. It was an unprecedented shift in the way we tell and absorb stories.
Cinema and emotion: building empathy in audiovisual media
One of the great revolutions brought about by films was their ability to provoke deep emotions quickly . While a book can take chapters to build tension, a film can do it in just a few minutes — by strategically combining image, sound and rhythm.
Directors and screenwriters began to use emotion as a central part of the narrative . This generated a powerful empathetic effect, which brought the viewer closer to the characters. Films such as Schindler’s List , Forrest Gump or Central Station are examples of how cinema can transform a story into an emotional experience.
Furthermore, the use of soundtracks and visual effects has become a powerful tool to accentuate feelings such as fear, joy, suspense or sadness. Emotion has become a language — and the public has learned to “read” these emotions even without words.
From cinema to literature, games and beyond
The impact of cinema was so great that it changed the way other media also tell stories . Modern literature began to adopt cinematic devices, such as quick cuts, more visual descriptions and dynamic dialogues.
In games, narratives have become increasingly inspired by movies, with complex scripts, directed scenes and exciting soundtracks. Even social media videos today follow narrative structures inherited from cinema : beginning, conflict, climax and resolution — all in a few seconds.
In other words: cinema influenced the way human beings organize their ideas in any type of media.
How cinema shaped our perception of time and space
Before cinema, the idea of showing the “past” or the “future” within a narrative was limited. Cinema introduced editing as a language, allowing scenes to jump through time and space fluidly.
With this, a new understanding of non-linear narratives was born. Films like Memento , Pulp Fiction and Inception challenged traditional chronology and taught audiences to navigate fragmented, parallel or circular stories.
Editing became a tool for manipulating perception, and viewers came to understand that time in a story could be shaped as a creative tool .
Diversity of voices: new stories gain visibility
Over time, cinema has also begun to give voice to historically marginalized groups , offering new perspectives and cultural experiences. This has transformed not only the stories told, but also who tells them and how they are received .
Films directed by women, black people, indigenous people, LGBTQIA+ people and representatives of other cultures have expanded the global narrative repertoire. Viewers now have access to experiences that, for a long time, were left out of the big screen — and this has changed the way we see the world around us.
This narrative democratization not only diversified the content, but also increased collective empathy , reinforcing the role of cinema as a social and transformative tool.
How cinema teaches us to tell better stories
For those who want to learn how to tell good stories — whether by writing, filming, teaching or even posting on social media — studying cinema is a true narrative laboratory.
What we can learn from movies:
- How to Create a Character the Audience Cares About
- How to generate tension and release it with relief (catharsis)
- How to use silence as language
- How to “show, don’t tell” (golden rule in audiovisual)
- How to structure an engaging script
All of this can be absorbed even by those who don’t work in cinema. Just watch carefully — each film is a practical lesson in storytelling.
The power of stories told through cinema
Films have the unique ability to bring together art, technique and emotion into a single experience. And more than that: they manage to transform us while entertaining us. A good story can make us rethink life, heal a pain, spark an idea or simply make us laugh on a difficult day.
Cinema has changed the way we tell stories — and in some ways, it has also changed the way we live, feel, and connect with others . It has taught us that every story matters, and that the way we tell it can make all the difference.