Ron Howard's "The Paper"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Ron Howard's treatment of race relations, gender relations and ethnic diversity in his 1994 film "The Paper". Specific examples from the film are cited in order to illustrate Howard's sometimes fair and sometimes stereotypical treatment of each of these social issues and explains that, while the film is an imperfect one that somewhat glamorizes the work of daily news reporters, it does manage to successfully show how politics, gender, and race relations strongly influence the outcome of editorial decisions and journalism in general.

From the Paper:

"Ron Howard's 1994 film The Paper exposes the inner workings of a fictitious New York daily newspaper, the Sun. "The Sun: It Shines for All," reads the sign atop the New York Sun's office building. The staff of the Sun is a varied bunch, including protagonist Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton), who is the paper's intrepid Metro Editor, Bernie White (Robert Duvall), the old-school Editor, and Alicia Clark (Glenn Close), the pugnacious Managing Editor. Reporters, including Hackett's wife Martha (Marisa Tomei), also vie for their bylines. In addition to inter-office politics, Howard's film depicts gender relations, race relations, and ethnic diversity. In some cases, the depictions are fair and positive. For example, The Sun's office is diverse, comprised of a range of people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. However, some of the portrayals of women are unfair, such as Close's character Alicia Clark, a testosterone-driven managing editor who contributes to the belief that women can't be good leaders unless they act like jerks. Similarly, Tomei's character comes across occasionally as the typical nagging pregnant wife whose life goes on hold during her maternity leave and who pressures her husband into taking a job at a competing newspaper."

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