Monday, July 12, 2010
Triptych: Attitudes Toward Media
After doing battle with a Japanese cockroach yestereve, was thinking about Starship Troopers and its take on media. Actually a smart film with a nice satirical streak running through it.
Got me thinking about portrayals of media in film. I think this little trio could make a nice addition to several types of curricula, esp. those focused on portrayals of media/journalism. Show Citizen Kane and note the tension between Kane, as media syndicate boss vs. the reporter, an idealized notion of the uncorruptible, impartial and neutral journalist.
Next, show Almost Famous (or better yet, Untitled, the director's cut of the same film). Focus primarily on the fantastic portrayal of Lester Bangs by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and use that as a foil for the development of our hero, a surrogate for the director himself.
Finally, show Velvet Goldmine, which is equal parts each of the previous films. Several scenes are literally shot-for-shot homages to CK, and reconfiguring Kane as Bowie (et al) is genius. But most important is the "humanizing" of that reporter figure in Christian Bale's character, coming of age and coming out in the queer and glam-tabulous 70's. The shift to magazine reporting, the humanizing of the "narrator" as it were, all speaks to our changing expectations for journalism.
I'm not sure what film would be the next step...
so sez Matt Duncan at 11:50 AM
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