Shattered Glass Is a 2003

Shattered Glass is a 2003 film directed by Billy Ray. It chronicles the story of then 24-year-old Stephen Glass who is on top of the world with his position as the youngest writer/editor at the nationally renowned New Republic magazine. Glass is witty, charming, attractive, and knowledgeable, has a keen sense of humor and wry wit, and is not only popular with his colleagues, produces what seem to be extraordinarily insightful journalist pieces. When Glass's editor, Chuck Lane, begins to suspect that there are some "minor holes" in some of Glass's most recent works, Glass begins the spiral into deception, misdirection, excuses, and desperation.

At the very heart of the film is the idea that print journalism should somehow be sacristan -- with ideals higher than the rest of media, certainly the pressures to produce, the insane hours, and the lack of reliable sources immaterial to editors and publishers. The story we view is not so much a biopic of Stephen Glass, or the way he is unable -- or perhaps too immature -- to own up to his mistakes, but a Greek Tragedy about the infallibility of humans and the ethical choices one makes on a minute by minute basis simply to survive. Glass is not the only character making ethical choices, nor is he the only reporter at fault. For modern audiences, the Greek Chorus is the office, the protagonists the few members of the press and editing board that participate in this tragedy. We've all been out at recess, so we are all aware of the archetype of the "least popular kid in school taking on the most popular kid," which is the juxtaposition of the new editor and the star reporter in the film (Bowen).

Too, we are met with a flawed human who is struggling for their own truth, and is finding the light in the cave (ala Plato) to be somewhat tenuous. Glass, by the way expertly played by Hayden Christensen, is not so much a liar full of deceit, as he is a golden child that is clamoring for fame and acceptance by fantasizing visiting his old High School and Journalism teacher and being acknowledged as "having made it" (Bowden). but, unlike many Hollywood dramas, Absence of Malice, Civil Action, for example, Shattered Glass is not really about a grand, sweeping issue, or the little guy facing off with the mega-corporation. Instead, it is a microcosm of life using journalism as the metaphor -- poor fact checking (reliability of sources and materials), copy editing (permissiveness and lack of empathy and control), editorial policy (get the job done and make money), and personal ambition (the drive for uniqueness in a crowded world) (Carr). What questions this raises when one asks what consequences might there have been for Western Civilization had authors like Niccolo Machiavelli, John Locke, Rene' Descaretes, Isaac Newton, or even America's Founding Fathers -- Thomas Jefferson, John Adams or Benjamin Franklin, been held to the same standard as Glass?

Morally, was Glass at fault? Or was the morality in that Glass made public one of the inside secrets of the industry -- causing excessive malevolence and nefarious actions that far exceeded the severity of the issue? We wonder, too, whether the credibility of the person vs. The output of the product engenders any larger ethical issues, too? Would it be easier to vilify Glass if he were acerbic, rude, and more of an Andy Rooney than a Brad Pitt? Scandal it seems, is what journalism feeds upon, and no school of sharks is ever more hungry than when circling one of their own wounded (Douthat).

Moving beyond the plot and the intricacies of life at the New Republic though, and into the world of Hollywood producers, writers, and actors, one must also ask about the veracity and credibility of the portrayals of journalistic acumen for the general public. Films such as Alan Pakula's All the President's Men (1976), Peter Weir's the Year of Living Dangerously (1982), or Roland Joffe's the Killing Fields (1984), all present the journalistic morality surrounding slant, sourcing, and frankly, what to exclude to ensure the acceptance of the story. There are more examples about aggressive and expose' hunting reporters, but one asks if Glass is not being shown as the typical, epitomizing print journalism through the eyes of Hollywood, as opposed to the rouge, well-intentioned, but naively arrogant, reporter? (Bowden).

When one replays some of the key scenes in the movie, one is struck by the calm, but budding nervousness Christensen gives to the role of Glass; knowing that there is an inevitability heightens the drama certainly, but it is hard to be repulsed by his "crime," especially when we are reminded that his fall from grace began from a jealous competitor (Forbes Digital Tool) simply tried to verify facts about a 15-year-old computer hacker. The events that followed; Glass creating and back-creating websites, voicemails, email accounts, phone calls, and finally breaking down and admitting his fabrication, are almost too painful to bear, for is a lie any less a lie when told with a smile? (Beckerman).

The real Stephen Glass, who wrote a novel based on his experiences, when asked what he thought of the film, said, "It was very painful for me. It was like being on a guided tour of the moments of my life I am most ashamed of" (Carr). Yet, does the New Republic bear any responsibility for Glass's ability to perpetrate such a fraud? Was there no system in place that would allow for fact-checking? or, once his stories began to glean interest, was there a blindness that affected the editors and staff, too, exposing their own inability to rise to the expected standards of their profession? All in all, one must view Shattered Glass as a film designed to engender discourse, self-criticism, and active skepticism about what one reads in print -- as well as sees on the screen.