Since their
origin, the media have struggled with ethical, moral, and legal issues, no more
so than today. Whether it is an individual on social media or a powerful news
organization, ideas of accuracy, fairness, social obligation, personal privacy, and protection affect not only what we consume, but determine what we should
publish as well. These are some of the major questions we currently face. Hopefully,
the films listed below will move us closer to finding an answer.
These titles
are all rentable on Amazon at a low rate. They will figure prominently in many
of our class discussions. Your assignment is to watch all of them by the end of
January. The possibility for extra credit review and analysis will also be made
available based on these viewings.
“All the
President’s Men” (1976)
Sometimes
it’s not all about speaking truth to power, but about seeking truth made difficult
and dangerous to find through a maze of detours and roadblocks thrown up by the
powerful. This film, based on real events, tells the story of two junior
reporters whose investigation eventually led to the resignation of a U.S.
President.
“Ace in
the Hole” (1951)
This tale of
an unethical and disgraced journalist is writer/director Billy Wilder at his
cynical and acidic best. Kirk Douglas plays a reporter who sees the chance to
rescue his damaged career in the story of a man trapped in a New Mexico mine.
What follows is a taste of opportunistic exploitation, bitter to the last drop.
In 1954,
reporter and television commentator Edward R. Murrow went up against Sen.
Joseph McCarthy and his witch-hunt against perceived Communism in the U.S.
Government. It was not an easy decision to take on the Senator. His popularity
was strong. His tactics had already ruined the careers of many prominent
Americans who found themselves blacklisted because of his demagoguery.
“Nightcrawler”
(2014)
Jake
Gyllenhaal plays an ambitious, freelance crime reporter who doesn’t let
ethical, moral, or even legal questions stand in his way. This dark,
unflinching character study is also a biting satire on the current state of
exploitation in modern media.
