What Hollywood Really Gets Wrong About Journalism
Today in New York magazine, female journalist Marin Cogan asks: "why can't Hollywood get female journalists right?"
Yes. Incredible that the film industry, known for its attention to detail re: how professions work, hasn't produced more realistic depictions of female journalists, but instead keeps conjuring up attractive, cunning fembots who aim to sexually seduce their sources and coworkers in the name of plot.
But its portrayal of women in journalism is not where Hollywood makes the most grievous error. Where the movie industry goes monstrously wrong is in its depiction of male journalists. The archetypal movie male journo is always hot, sexy, smart, principled, hot, well-coiffed, good on first draft, rich, mysterious in a good way, confident, handsome, hot, good at sex, and handsome. Let me tell you firsthand: this is not what journalism is like. The journalism industry is 88 percent male virgins.
It really makes you think, though. If Hollywood is getting female journalists wrong, who else are they getting wrong? Post-apocalyptic astronaut cowboys are probably feeling somewhat chafed at the moment. Likewise cyber assassins. Martin Luther King, Jr. Damn. I eagerly await their thinkpieces. Can Hollywood get anything right?