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An Analysis of Accidental Hero
The film Accidental Hero has presented us the rather negative side of mass media practitioners not only in the United States but also in the Philippines—that in their quest for the highest rating and recognition for their work, they do not realize that they are beginning to cross the lines of ethics and decency.
In some point, Gale Gayley (Geena Davis) and the rest of the production staff of Channel 4 have become unethical in their profession. All they wanted was to get the highest ratings, and as they hoped for it, they covered stories even without digging for the truth. As long as it makes them popular, they do not bother whether what they were feeding the public was accurate or not. Driven by their selfish reasons, they use their stories as tools to gain credibility, not as vehicles to present the truth.
They think that ratings are everything. They have become preys to their illusions of winning the competition for the top ratings. Competition has gotten too much of them, causing them to create a vision of the media practitioners as wild animals in the hunt.
Moreover, out of too much professionalism, the media practitioners in the movie took the scope of their reports seriously without being mindful of their subject’s emotional being. This was best exposed to us in the first parts of the film, when a business executive was trying to jump from a building. Gayley and her camera operator were able to capture the whole ordeal, but they did not do anything to save the poor man’s life. They were only after the ratings they would be receiving, which show us that they are too greedy for fame and success. Gayley’s uncompassionate remark after the man’s suicide even tops it all – that “her job was not to save people’s lives, but to bring the news to the public.
We then realize that their eagerness to attract the public and to get the most out of everything is not ethical anymore. Their race fro the best has caused them to step into people’s lives and they are becoming an insult to people along the way.
True, they get what they want, but they gain it because they have the money and the power. In addition, because of the power that the media have, they could easily influence people with their scope, even if there is no truth behind everything.
2 Comments
Sir, another great article.
This one made me realize a lot of things. Every single sentence here makes so much sense. Yes, sometimes people do forget about ethics just to get fame, specially those in the media business. Yes, they sometimes forget what they are supposed to do, they focus on the job, and nothing else.
Even though media has been a great help for all of us, I certainly hope that this negative side would change for the better. I certainly hope so.
Sir, this article was great. But may I give a reaction regarding the last thing. It might be true the media is so powerful, but truth will still prevail after all. And who knows? Karma is as fast as a blink of an eye.