Films on Journalism and Shiny Objects

Films serve as an interesting method of both transmitting information and entertaining (some films leaning more on one of these two legs). The commentary in films can often shed light on the "real world" and the state of culture. Films on journalism are particularly interesting, and if nothing else they demonstrate that news is most certainly produced by someone as opposed to being an objective take on reality. There is nothing inherently sinister in this implication, but if one does not constantly have this in mind as a filter it can easily be forgotten.

Sometimes films stretch reality to demonstrate a point (NB: I shall do my best not to "spoil" any of these films, but they were all released a minimum of ten years ago). For instance, the plot of Wag the Dog (released in 1997) involves the creation of a war out of whole cloth, simply by producing a few news releases and feeding them to media outlets. While even a conspiracy-theory-loving individual like myself can not believe this could actually happen (not right now, at least), the film does provide insights into war as theater, using war to distract the public, and other issues.

However, films can also give us insights into the nature of journalism without stretching the bounds of reality that much, and I will mention two slightly older films that focus on journalism. The first, Network, was released in 1976 and deals without the fallout of a nightly news anchor's on-air tirades, following his being informed that he will be fired. What follows is a clear case of "news as entertainment," as the newsman becomes the news himself. As Faye Dunaway's character comments:

You know, Barbara, the Arabs have decided to jack up the price of oil another 20%... uh, the CIA has been caught opening Senator Humphrey's mail... there's a civil war in Angola... another one in Beirut... the, uh, New York City's still facing default... they finally caught up with Patricia Hearst... and the whole front page of the "Daily News" is Howard Beale. 

By our own tentative criteria, shiny objects will eventually drive societal or political outcomes. However, I would submit this can be achieved through a crowding out effect as well. By distracting the public from other social or political events, the shiny object can be dangerous fear-mongering or benign fluff posing as news.

The "fluff as news" comment brings us to our next film, Broadcast News (released in 1987). The film itself is much "fluffier" than Network, taking on the genre of romantic comedy over drama/dark satire, but some of the same ground is covered. Much of the substance of the film involves Holly Hunter (like Dunaway in Network, a female television producer) trying to put "real news" above the fluff pieces that parade as news. Early on in the film, Hunter's character is giving a speech to local news broadcasters, which is clearly not going well (some of the audience is walking out). She then skips to her grand finale (my transcription):

I was going to show you a tape of a story carried by all networks on the same night. The same night! But not one network noted a major policy change in SALT II nuclear disarmament talks. Here's what they ran instead.

She then shows the segment: a huge display of dominos! At this point the audience (remember, consisting of those in broadcast journalism) suddenly becomes interested by this object and claps at the finale of the dominos run. They love it! Then they leave. Perhaps this is a stretch, but probably not by much.

Well anyway, watch the three films I mentioned, they're all worth your $4.99 at Blockbuster. And yes, I am aware that under my terms war can be either a shiny object or an ignored object under different circumstances.