There is a new Kannada movie out called "News" which I don't propose to see, as the reviews are not exciting. But I like the storyline: One TV channel breaks big news too often, and a rival company sends its investigative reporter to find out how!
Journalism/media movies are engaging, and it is my regret that I haven't yet seen some classics, like
Citizen Kane (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/) ,
The Front Page(http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071524/) and
Network (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/)
I have enjoyed seeing He Said She Said (love story on two anchors).
Having seen more of Bollywood than Hollywood, I have more expsoure on the theme closer home, like "New Delhi Times" which was a fine portrayal mixing politics with journalism, and of course, this year's "Page Three" on the cultural politics of the party circuit. "Jaane Bhi Do Yaro" of the early 1980s, is a comic, cynical portrayal of two naive reporters. There was also a nice TV comedy called "Chhapte, Chhapte" and another serial called "Newsline" on life in a broadcast company.
Irving Wallace's novel, "The Almighty" is about a newspaper baron who "creates" events in order to break news on them!
I am not talking here of movies like the classic "Roman Holiday" featuring Gregory Peck as a reporter-hero, because it is more about the man than the profession or society.
Will someone help me compile a list of media-centric movies/shows/fiction?
3 comments:
The one I remember (and not listed in your piece) is 'Wag the Dog' which actually shows the power of media, many of us tend to miss or underestimate. Though the work is shoddy and movie a flop (more so because of its OTT satire), it still gives some food for thought. A desi parallel would be 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani', equally sad but still, with a message.
- Varun
One I can think of is the Hindi movie "Phir bhi dil hai hindustani" where SRK and Juhi play rival channel news hosts
Talking about Fiction: Sydney Sheldon's 'Best Laid Plans' comes to mind and there are plenty of other books of his which portray media.
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