The reactions displayed by people towards controversal movies follows the Dissonance Theory. This states that people will consciously and unconsciously avoid situations and subject matter that makes them uncomfortable. This comes in three forms known as Selective Exposure, Selective Retention, and Selective Perception.

Slective Exposure is how a person descides what they want to be exposed to based on what their comfort level is with the subject matter being presented. If the topic makes the person uncomfortable, they are less likely to expose themselves to it. if the subject is something they agree with then they are more likely to stay and listen/watch. Controversal movies evoke the first option, where they not only avoid the film, but they try to disuade others to think the same way that they do about the topic in hopes of making the problem go away.

Selective Retention is what a person remembers. Someone is less likely to remember something they do not care about, or felt disagrement over. This said, while those who do not agree with these films might be able to move past them and forget eventually, the media keeps them in the news long after the initial release. Sometimes you can't help but remember these films.

Selective Perception is how people interpret what is going on around them based on preconceptions and personal opinion. A movie that a person likes might be "thought provoking" where as a film they do not like might be "controversal" or "innapropreate".

Every one of the films that we have discussed on this site has come under ridicule in America and some of them have even been banned in other countries. The reasons for this all fall under the Dissonance Theory. Countries have chosen not to view these films because of their subject matter, the same way that some school districts ban books. Others have hailed them as revolutionary through selective perception. The one thing that no one can avoid is retaining the knoledge that the film existed. While you might not remember ever seeing the film, or you may not have even seen it to begin with, what everyone retains is the side of the argument they were on at the time.