A dream is a wish wanting to be fulfilled.

A movie is the conceptualization of a person's dream on a screen.

Movies appeal to a lot of people, therefore movies must share in that they are recognizable dreams that a lot of people have.

Dreams are not real, therefore movies are the recognizable delusions that a lot of people have.

What are those delusions?

For the female: The desire to know what the guy that she likes is doing when he's not with her. Biologically speaking, a girl is predisposed to look for cheating behaviors from the male, and this behavior is so acute and causes a lot of stress and anxiety (consciously-speaking); the normal hollywood movie shows that when the male is away from her, he's fighting dragons and demons and saving the world (as of 21st century). He's a hero. Eventually, he is reunited to her after he's done saving the world —therefore the biological imperative is fulfilled: the girl can rest assured, he's not cheating on her, he's just busy, then he'll come home.

For the male: The desire to have a reliable way to have sex. Biologically speaking, a male is predisposed to seek out mates with whom he has a higher chance of getting laid with. Males cut out girls that they believe are significantly more attractive than them and don't often try because (biologically-speaking) it really would be a waste of time. Still, there's still no such thing as guaranteed sex, and this drives a man nuts. The movie narrative shows him the way to get the girl, provides reassurance that though the path is difficult, as long as he keeps going, he'll get the girl, and it'll all work out. The lover's kiss at the end of the traditional hollywood narrative seals this promise, and the movie cuts to credits.

Critique

Both narratives (from again, the traditional hollywood story) showcase that at the end of the day, there is a subliminal sexual message in the movie itself. This correlates well with the fact that couples watching movies together have sex afterwards generally (a.k.a Netflix and chill?). Regardless, the message is simple: you will be sexually fulfilled, don't worry, with the female being shown what she wants to see and the male being shown what he wants to see: again, that when the male is away from the female, he's not with another female, and for the male, that there is a more or less guaranteed route to having sex. Both cases see a mitigation in the uncertainty that comes with sexual selection —and that is the primary anxiety of our society: mental problems guised as sexual problem —that is, coping with one's own mate value and trying to find have sex and make a family successfully, which, according to evolution and sexual choice, will always be dynamic and uncertain. It has to be in order to see who can survive and who can't.

But in the 21st century, ideas of love, unity, and peace skirt away the sexual issue in favor of idealism. If everyone deserves love (sexual affirmation), then every gene in the gene pool of a generation passes to the next generation. What you get is exponential population growth since the average life span of a person per birth will exceed the rate at which people are dying. We're kind of short-changing evolution and how it's supposed to work. Society tries to play God (creator) and asks its disciplines to throw away individual sexual fulfillment in favor of granting everyone sexual fulfillment. Monogamy and courtship are held in high esteem as they help spread the love (think: if people pair off in 1:1 instead of say... 1:10, you that means in a 50:50% male, female heterosexual society everyone gets their share). The opposing side forms (open relationships being pursued by the younger generation), and the morally virtuous (those playing by societal rules) are short-changed and left feeling jaded, but nonetheless, they've contributed their impact and helped society propagate itself into its future, with or without the individual.