Written Pyramids

Note: The links in this post just go to the film studio websites so that I don't have to bother reminding you what the trailer looked like. All of the movies mentioned are worth seeing. This is why my friend thinks writing in blogs makes lazy writers.

Why is it that recently, reporters have been such hot topics in movies?
In the last four movies I saw in the theaters, reporters played at least a minor role in three: In The Holiday one of the heroines (I am really bad at naming actresses) is a journalist, in Blood Diamond, Jennifer Connelly (I looked that one up) is a reporter, complete with corny journalism lines that I loved and reviewers hated. (Me: "Everyone said she was really corny, but I loved the journalism jokes." Friend: "It's amazing that you have friends." Thanks.)

And, I saw The Last King Of Scotland tonight. Barring the torture scene that I missed entirely because my eyes were too tightly shut and so can't really call on, it was excellent and chilling. The London Times made a cameo appearance, as did the local Ugandan paper, that viewers were not supposed to trust. As did an entire press gaggle that drove me nuts. They listened to President Amin's self deprecating humor and spin and applauded.

Laughed and applauded. Yes, the movie takes place in the 70's, yes many of the journalists probably worked for state sponsored papers, but still. We lose enough integrity in the real world. Why play into the palm of a dictator's hand in movies too? Though, I suppose this was based on truth and therefore could have been what actually happened. I am not naive enough to convince myself that the journalists were more savvy than that, but I can at least hold my breath and hope.

Though people thought Connelly was ditzy and underdeveloped in Blood Diamond I have to give a lot of thanks for this line that everyone I know who is a journalist loved and everyone else rolled there eyes at: