How does film in general affect the way you see the world?

Film - like all forms of mass produced entertainment - serves primarily as a source of escapism for its viewers.  When we pick up a book, or sit down to watch a movie, we are attempting to momentarily suspend the world in which we experience reality and transport ourselves to a separate dimension of surreality.  At the same time, there may exist certain connections between the fictional world being portrayed on the screen and life as it is actually experienced by humans. Film therefore has the ability to both offer us a view of a life that we would prefer to our own, as well as to provide us with insight that transcends the fictional realm and relates to our own lives. Movies such as Fight Club appear to offer more of a view into a less realistic world - or at least a world that we would rather believe cannot intersect with our own.  That kind of violence and mental disruption was unsettling to me personally, and I would be hesitant to search for a relation between the life of the narrator/Tyler Durden and my own.  However, while the specifics of this particular film are not as closely linked to mainstream reality, there are still real-life applications to be found.  The narrator's inability to sleep without finding an outlet for his pent-up emotions, as well as the suffering that is portrayed in the group therapy meetings could not be more realistic.  We witness suffering in multiple forms every day, and while those particular situations seem to be vaguely satirized in the film, that does not take away from the fact that the film is addressing an ever-present reality.  Our perception of the world can be altered by films that force us to face these realities in new and different forms.  Whether or not they are presented in a way that we can personally relate to or even physically experience is irrelevant - the truths they reveal remain intact.  Indeed, it can be argued that presenting reality in an unbelievable context is one of the best ways to drive a point home to viewers.  If something is presented to us in a light that hits uncomfortably close to home, we tend to become defensive and unreceptive.  By viewing these situations in a form that is entirely foreign to us, there is a greater likelihood that we will recognize them in their pure form and then come to discover their applications to our own personal experiences.