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| Olivia Munn as Sloan in "The Newsroom" |
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| This book was great. You guys want a review? I could write a funny-ass review of this book. It had me ROFLMAO. |
Sloan, played by Olivia Munn (author of Suck It, Wonder Woman! <== yes I own this book. Yes I think it's awesome), is put on the air to talk with a TEPCO representative about Fukushima. She had previously spoken to him by phone and learned "off the record" that the disaster was very serious. It was going to be raised to a level 7 which is the same level as Chernobyl. But "on the record" the Japanese company was only going as high as level 5 (Three Mile Island).
Because she was frustrated that she had this knowledge and believed that the public deserved the truth, she cornered Will McAvoy (lead anchorman played by Jeff Daniels) and solicited his advice. He told her that she needed to stick to her guns. She needed to go after the guy and make sure that he fessed up to this knowledge. Only then would she be a "true reporter."
So that's exactly what she did. She pursued it with such fervor that it nearly got her canned, cost the guy at TEPCO his job, and panicked an entire nation. But she reported the truth. The only thing is, she was a huge bully. And the whole point of the episode was to show that this is bad.
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| Workers at the Fukushima disaster last year. |
I think bullying will never get eliminated from the human race. But to minimize the danger of it, we all have a responsibility to keep an open mind and to be accepting to change of any kind. In the least, these are my deep thoughts about bullying revealed by "The Newsroom."
Have a great Monday
I agree with your thoughts on this post, Michael. She could have been responsible for widespread panic resulting in more deaths (and who is to say she didn't?).
ReplyDeleteSecondly, the truth among reporters these days is basically what the editorial stance of the publication is. Few journalists have either the gumption nor the investigative skills to bring an unbiased story to the media.
So long as there is ignorance and insecurity, there will be bullying I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI don't watch the show, but definitely enjoy watching Ms. Munn.
On the topic of bullying, it takes many forms. A person who thinks that the end result makes it right fools himself.
ReplyDeleteIt was a powerful episode. Of course, they all are so well done. It did cause me to pause and ignited a great discussion between DH and I. Bullying is so sad. I watch my son with special needs growing into the time of his life where this is starting to happen. It's tragic and heart-wrenching to watch, but he is so strong and handles it so well.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely do hope that one day bullying one day will be a word of the past. I pray for the day when all human beings will be accepted by every one with open arms.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have the sound on for that part but I did have it on for the end where he interviews the Santorum campaign aide who was a gay black guy despite that Santorum's rhetoric is anti-gay and Jeff Daniels kept trying to get him to denounce Santorum until he starts screaming at Jeff Daniels not to interrupt him. We need more interviews like that and less of the softball types politicians usually give. Anyway I guess it's that old case of whether the ends justify the means.
ReplyDeleteIt comes down to allowing people to live their own lives (as long as they're not hurting people) and trying to impose your own standards on other people. I can't even wrap my head around why some people want to make everyone else be like them.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there are also the people that just like the feeling of power they get from bullying other people.
Bullying can't be justified by the fact that it's "for the good of the people." Nothing bad becomes good by doing it for good. That's why Superman doesn't kill.
ReplyDeleteBut there's a difference between being aggressive and bullying. I'm aggressive as heck, but I think of bullying as something different: Bullying is picking on someone for some perceived difference/inadequacy, like when Dean Larsen used to beat me up because I had an eye patch and was fat. That's wrong.
Aggressively pursuing the truth in an investigation isn't bullying.
Another side of bullying, but it is aggression nonetheless. To me aggression doesn't have to be bold, loud, and obvious. Bullying can also be stealthy (i.e. cyberbullying).
ReplyDeleteTo me bullying is really all about power, and using that power - whether it's physical or wielding the truth around. It's concerned with using power and beating someone down with it.
totally agree! Journalists often love to use truth as a pass or ticket for everything, and it shouldn't be so.
ReplyDeleteThe Newsroom is rapidly becoming one of my favorite programs and we really enjoyed this latest episode. I agree with everything you've said. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes truth should be drawn out--but doing more damage in the process doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteInteresting twist on the subject. I'll have to see this show when it comes out on dvd.
ReplyDeletei love Olivia Munn. Didn't know she was on that show. I loathe bullies.
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
People are people and some of us don't know how to rise above our basest instincts or how to say no.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sophisticated way to address the subject of bullying -- to ask when pushing for the truth goes too far. I remember a news story from several years ago -- some newspaper published a story about the governor's teenaged son (underaged) smoking pot. It turned out to be the truth, but the publicity pushed the poor kid over the edge and he committed suicide. In this sad case, the newspaper was the bully.
ReplyDeleteThat'll teach anyone to do background "off the record" with her.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of bullying, and I totally back you up on this post. I'm quite curious what thoughts people have about political bullying, because, wow ... I don't know to start on that one. :)
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. This can be really important as a teacher. It's important to not 'bully' kids into accepting they're wrong. There are bullies in every profession, every age group, and every strata of society. We all know them and must take care not to be one.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the show, but it sounds really great. I agree that people that feel they are on the side of good think they aren't being a bully. But everyone feels like they're right, don't they?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's really hard to get things done without pushing people.
I wish we did live in a world where people didn't bully others. Each of us needs to make a stand against it when we see/hear it happen.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch Munn on Attack of the Show
ReplyDeleteBullies really bother me, but you probably already know that. I never felt like I was in a good position to fight back when I was a teen. I loved the show Bully Beatdown on MTV(2? I forget). Seeing bullies agree to get beat down in the octagon by a professional fighter always brings a smile to my face. Is that wrong?
ReplyDeletewell said, mike :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the thoughtful review! I was also shocked and pleased about the direction this episode took. I liked how Sorkin dove a little deeper into the complexities of the characters, and we finally got to see what Sloan was all about! Once I got to know her a little better, I really started to take a liking to her. She reminds me so much of my boss at Dish that it’s almost unreal! I always thought that the development of the characters was lacking in the prior episodes, which bugged me. Now that Sorkin has started to address that issue, there’s not one thing I don’t like about The Newsroom! I’m so glad I decided to randomly record it one day. I have the Hopper DVR that has so much room for recording that I’m sometimes at a loss for what to do with it all, so I will record shows on a whim and hope they are decent. I certainly lucked out on this one! I’m excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll ever understand bullying. I'm glad it's finally being discussed and fought.
ReplyDelete