Sunday, March 22, 2009

State of Play

I am a blogger.

And in admitting that I fully accept the connotations and stereotypes that come with it, much of which is similar to admitting you play Dungeons and Dragons.

In other words I fully admit that being a blogger is not "cool" but rather "nerdy."

That being a blogger is not going to impress women, but most likely deter them (I tried using it as a pick up line at a bar once, it was hilarious, you should try it just to see the girls' looks on their faces).

That in being a blogger people will roll their eyes and dismiss me as some kind of living-at-home-at-the-age-of-40 freak.

But at least when I admit this, at least I am being intellectually honest, if not sane about the social standing of a blogger.

The same cannot be said for members of the press, particularly the main stream media. And the reason why I say this is the seemingly limitless number of movies where the "press" is made out to be some kind of hero. What triggered my memory of this observation was when I saw the preview below for the movie "State of Play" where the "heroic" reporter is about to uncover some grandiose conspiracy;


Let's be blunt about this. This nothing more than people in media and the press day dreaming about their existence and (pardon the vulgarity of the term, but it's the most appropriate term I can find) masturbating about their profession. Their profession is so boring and unfulfilling that they have to make up stories to make themselves feel like their profession is somehow on par with Jack Bauer or soldiers or doctors or cops. And instead of just doing their job and reporting the news, no they have to "change society" or "save the world" or "stop some major corruption" or something epic and saga like, and State of Play is one such tale from Mr. Roger's Imagination Land.

Now there have been movies like this before. Nixon/Frost. All the President's Men. Erin Brochovich. No doubt many of you could name more because I just can't bother going to see them, but the theme is the same:

"nerds uncover plot WITH EVIL MEN IN GUNS CHASING AFTER THEM AND THE JOURNALIST MAGICALLY SAVES THE WORLD!!!! YEA FOR US!!!!"

At least with Nixon/Frost and Brochovic they were based in reality and real journalists.

But the likes of "State of Play?" Come on.

Finally, there is just one hilarious aspect of State of Play. I think it's Meryl Streep in there and she says, "the newspaper can't help you."

NEWSPAPER?

Did you say "PAPER?"

You mean to suggest TODAY, 2009, newsPAPERS have some kind of pull?

Now you KNOW this is a work of fiction.

The dinosaurs known as newspapers are dying out if you haven't noticed and have nowhere near the pull or power they once did. Additionally with them rolling over on their back for Barack Obama, good lord, and now this movie is to have us believe a dying industry has STANDARDS too?

I'd rather watch Pravda-propaganda circa 1950.

No, seriously, if hollywood wanted to make a realistic movie or the modern day incarnation of "All the President's Men" then they should do a movie about Powerline and Little Green Footballs for busting Dan Rather.

In the meantime enjoy playing make-believe.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Silly, newspapers are not dying... They are evolving!

Anonymous said...

And of course -- they aren't professionals anyway. Since when do they get to call themselves professionals? Professionals have (a) a consistent published code of ethics against which they can be judged, (b) state licensing requirements, and (c) a regulatory body which can impose punishments including suspension of the license to practice.

Anonymous said...

"And in admitting that I fully accept the connotations and stereotypes that come with it, much of which is similar to admitting you play Dungeons and Dragons."

HEY!

Actually, haven't played in over 10 years, but it was a good time when I was a teen. Other kids were out getting drunk, I was having fun storming the castle.

CBMTTek said...

It is movies like that that have led journalists from reporting the news to explaining the news. Not everyone can be a Woodward and Bernstein. Just does not happen, but sure as stink on stuff, every journalism major dreams of breaking the HUGE story, and having movies made about them.

Frankly, if they went back to reporting the news, I would be more interested in reading what the write.

Hot Sam said...

Reading your blog on my 3.5 inch smartphone screen, I can see only a few lines at a time. As I read your account of others reacting about being a 'blogger' I thought about all the moron journalists in the media. They not only present ideas in the most insipid way (literally designed to save money on ink), but they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

Then you delivered the knockout blow I was hoping you'd throw. It was like an old Batman episode: Wham! Pow! Bam!

The print media is done for. Those arrogant bastards have been wasting forests for far too long. The Associated Press is a virtual monopoly of thought - all left wing. A recent article about Obama's town hall meeting in Orange County was reported on, apparently, by only ONE person because I couldn't find any other accounts. Obama said the questions were not preselected, yet it was quite obvious to me that they were. And there was no one but bloggers to catch his blatant lies and propaganda.

Add to your pantheon Stryde Hax, who single handedly uncovered Chinese falsification of identity documents for the 2008 Olympics and the magic trick of disappearing evidence from the internet that China entertained us with.

Bloggers are the future of information, and it has the mainstream media scared to death. Watch as those power brokers fight to gain and maintain control of the internet.

BTW, internet domain names are the real estate of the future. GoDaddy ripped me off of three names I searched. Minutes before I tried to register, the domains were free. The moment I tried to register, GoDaddy owned them and had BS ads parked.

Anonymous said...

It took a long time for the population to realize it and for alternatives to develop, but people are fed up of being lied to on a daily basis by the print media, the three major TV networks and hacks that are no more professional journalists than I.

People are finding alternative sources for news, never to return to those who betrayed their trust.

Die, NYT... Die!

BTW, I think any one of us knows our areas of expertise, be it technology or economics or chemistry or weather or carpentry far better than any moron reporter.

wormlynn said...

Whats wrong with Dungeons and Dragons, I played, and it really made the nerds I played with in high school happy! and no, i did not dress up in some skimpy outfit, they where just excited a girl talked to them.