Once again, Aaron Sorkin (the writer and creator of The Newsroom) delivered a fabulous episode. The fourth episode, "I'll Try to Fix You", was perfectly titled because it dealt with fixing people up for dates, fixing relationships, and fixing the news industry.
While at a New Years Eve office party, Will McAvoy decided to take a risk and talk to a beautiful woman. Little did he know, that she was a gossip columnist intent on writing a 'takedown piece' on a celebrity. Will tries to convince her that she it being cruel but fails because he insults her. She throws her drink in his face which lands him in a tabloid the following day. Several similar situations happen all with the same outcome. By the end of the episode, Will is on the front page of a gossip magazine. Its ironic yet beautiful that Will tried to save a celebrity from the wrath of a gossip columnist, but ended up the victim himself.
While I love every episode of The Newsroom, this episode stands out above the rest because Aaron Sorkin criticized the cruel world of tabloid news. After watching this episode, I started thinking about how insensitive the news can be. Many people fail to realize that their entertainment (tabloids) is at the expense of other people's lives. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announced that they were getting divorce a few days ago, which has given Extra and TMZ a lot to talk about. As soon as I heard about the divorce, I pitied them nobody wants to have a broken heart, especially when its broadcasted across the world within minutes. According to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, divorce is the second highest cause of illness after the death of a spouse. That being said, its pathetic and cruel use these stranger's relationship as a form of amusement. Luckily, I believe Aaron Sorkin and I share the same views on entertainment news which contributed to my praise of this episode.
I agree with everything said. I hate how people's lives are broadcasted around the world like a TV show.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the imput! Probably the thing I hate most is the criticism of people like Mel Gibson, Christian Bale, and Alec Baldwin. Their actions were wrong and what they said was incredibly mean. However, if the news were to broadcast some of my lowest, meanest moments to the world, I would look like a terrible person. Everybody messes up but only celebrities have to deal with the publicity.
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