Shattered Glass: The Deception of a Journalistic Prodigy
Under the Lionsgate entertainment company, the film “Shattered Glass,” directed by Billy Ray, was released in 2003 with 94 minute screen time. It is based on the true-to-life story of an American journalist, Stephen Glass, working for The New Republic that was based in Washington, D.C. as a staff writer and associate editor for 3 years. This film depicts Glass’s desire to shine immediately in his field, which led him to make an indefensible mistake that cost him his journalistic career.
The story revolves around Hayden Christensen, who played the character of Stephen Glass, a highly respected journalist in his mid-twenties who gained political favor on their magazine team due to his efficiency in writing. His co-workers admire him for his ability to gather and write interesting stories that can pique anyone’s attention, but they are unaware that the majority of them came only from Glass’s imagination. He’s just so good at getting everyone to believe that his fabrications are real and he can slip through the holes in fact-checking. However, no secret can be kept hidden. His deception was later discovered by another company fact-checker where they found out that Glass’s pieces contain fabricated sources, quotes, subjects, and even the entire narrative of most of his featured stories to keep it entertaining and not boring.
The opening scene of the film takes place in a classroom from Highland Park High School. Stephen Glass was introduced to the class by his high school teacher, and there he announced all of his career accomplishments. Glass explained to the entire class the do’s and don’ts of being a journalist emphasizing that the goal of journalism is to seek the truth, and he does not encourage students to do anything sneaky or dishonest in pursuit of a story. The classroom scene appears to be the story’s present time, with the rest only narrated by Glass to the entire class. This interpretation is aligned with the scene in which one of the students in the class writes on her notes, “Experience is the toughest teacher, because she gives the test first and the lesson after.” following the title of a feature article written by Glass titled “Spring Breakdown” that he had fabricated but he was able to get through from The New Republic’s former editor-in-chief Michael Kelly.
As said earlier, no secret is safe from disclosure. Who would have thought that his career reputation would ultimately be ruined because of his last feature story titled “Hack Heaven” in which a lot of unverified sources have been found? Kelly trusted Stephen Glass, so even though he discovered that Glass’s story contains minor falsifying statements, the former editor was still confident in him. However, the situation has changed since Lane took over Kelly’s position and a fact-checker from another company arrived on the scene. I was ultimately impressed with how good Glass is, and how well he managed to conceal his deceptions. He took a few days to cover up his lie before Lane could prove that Hack Heaven was a complete fabrication and that nothing in the story is true. There is no denying that Glass has committed a serious crime. He violated the journalism code of ethics and does not seem to understand the journalist creed. So it was only fair that he was fired, and he deserved it.
In line with these facts, I can say that Shattered Glass is without a doubt a success. I was immediately hooked in the first part until the end of the movie because the background music used by the film editor adds to the excitement. The camera angles are also good, and the transition from one scene to the next is smooth and easy to follow. The director did a great job as he was able to achieve his purpose by making this film creative and powerful. The cast did an excellent job with their roles. I was carried away by the portrayals of their characters and the emotions conveyed in the film. In all honesty, I cannot find any trace of weaknesses from this film. It was great and I highly recommend it to everyone. There are no dull scenes spotted in the entire movie. You cannot easily predict what will happen in the next few minutes so it was really thrilling to watch.
To sum up, I give Shattered Glass an A grade because aside from the many lessons I learned from this film, it also entertains me. I find it really interesting because it’s more than just a movie to watch while munching on your favorite chips. This film also serves as a wake-up call to viewers, particularly aspiring journalists. It is critical that the general public understands that being a journalist is not a game or a joke in which you can simply manipulate and cook up stories in order to make it stand out to the masses. A good journalist should write an event exactly as it happened, no matter how heinous and stupid it is. Journalism is not a creative writing class where an author can use his kinky imagination to beautify his masterpiece. Being a journalist is a profession where your job is to educate your readers and audience with facts using a fair and unbiased perspective. As to Stephen Glass, it would be better if he were just a fictional author rather than a journalist because his imaginations are so broad and creative. His skills are unsuitable for the field of journalism, where the job is to find news, not make up stories.