Through the Looking SHATTERED GLASS : a movie review

Through the Looking SHATTERED GLASS : a movie review

Media practitioners should be precise and accurate with what they are reporting and the information they disseminate. Shattered Glass depicted the opposite the opposite of the principles of journalism and media.

Shattered Glass, starring Hayden Christensen as the protagonist of the movie, Stephen Glass, being the youngest writer of the magazine, The New Republic, made his way to the top just by “creating” his own “fictional news”.

Shattered Glass is a powerful influence for media practitioners, especially the journalists. It shows different critical situations like the incident that happened to Stephen Glass where in he dealt with problems in his article, his editor discovered that his sources were not credible.

With this kind of behavior the story suggested, there are writers who are really not credible for their work as a journalist, it seems to show that we can penetrate in the industry even if we do not have enough knowledge on that field.

But later on, as the film unfolds, we found out the new editor will not let the “false writer” continue what he is doing, and will never give up on finding the real story.

If we were in Stephen's shoes, we would settle things straight with our editor and perhaps do a public apology for the damages that our story has caused. Of course, as a rule in mass communication, once the message has been released, it can never be undone, but an apology can still change something. After that, we don't think getting another journalistic job is a good idea. It would be best to pursue a career in writing novels, after all that is his talent. Stephen's writing passion should not end there. About what he said to a class about the glory of the byline, "You don't wanna hear all these stories about journalistic ethics, do you? All you care about is seeing your name published on that paper." we think that it is the exact kind of thinking that got him into a heap of trouble. It just shows entirely how he views his career as a stepping stone to get famous not to serve the people by writing the truth. If you start something the wrong way, it will end badly. 

Stephen Glass may be a reflection of us as a writer. The movie gives us an important lesson on our chosen profession, that in order to write a story, one must be backed up with real information and data, and to write not for the truth is nothing. Story wise, Shattered Glass is a good film for media students, Hayden Christensen’s portrayal is effective so as the concept and the shots. The film is highly recommended for everyone.

"Be sure your sins will find you out" Numbers 32:23.