Shattered Glass, starring Hayden Christensen as Stephen, is a film depicting the lives of journalists, particularly political journalists. Stephen describes the hardships and rewards of being a journalist of a respected, widely read magazine. Based on a true story, the plot thickens and hardship arises for Stephen when his writing’s validity is brought into question. In the end Stephen reveals that he lied and cheated everyone close to him including his readers.
Stephen felt throughout the film that his life only had purpose if he maintained his high journalistic standing. He was willing to do anything to keep that position and standing. Stephen’s problem, like many other people, started small with a few white lies here and there in his work, to make the piece more interesting or note worthy. As time went on, Stephen felt more and more pressure to keep his high standing and readers interested while also trying to study law to keep his parents content thus he began to make up interviews and notes to support his writings. Stephen felt there was no other way. Like many of us, Stephen got caught up in the pressures of life and put his purpose in man made created things such as promotions or things. Stephen was both lying to his readers and colleges and also himself.
This feeling of pressure and discontent has been around since the very beginning with Eve and the fruit. Man has fallen and will always feel pressure and discontent along with many other things brought on by sin, but God has provided a way of Salvation.
Shattered Glass is an interesting depiction of life in the political and journalistic sphere of the empire. Shattered Glass shows how fragile man can be, and how status pressure within the empire can make a man do anything including lying to himself. Without the hope of the Kingdom, Stephen had no where to turn but to his lies, and it almost drove him to insanity.
Discussion Questions:
1) Do you feel the pressures of the empire, that was explained in class, as Stephen did?
2) How does the empire shape differ from the kingdom in the world of journalism?
Nice work connecting the empire of global consumerism to the world of political reporting. When your writing is an end product being marketed under the brand of your name (as in Glass' case), the pressure to maintain status becomes far more insidious and personal.
ReplyDeleteYour second discussion question is excellent and very relevant. Journalism has taken a turn for the worst lately, as journalists attempt to curry favor from the powerful in order to maintain access instead of telling difficult but true stories of power abuse.