Shattered Glass (Lionsgate, 2004)

Journalism is a profession that entails the reporting of unexposed events to the public,

hence there is a vital need for a journalist to always rely on truthful facts and figures as an

approach to remain credible. Whenever a journalist fabricates information with the intention

of making the reporting “juicer”, the individual contravenes the code of ethics that journalists

are obligated to observe. As a fan of journalism, I attest that “Shattered Glass” was an

intriguing film that captured the disastrous impact fabrication imposes on a media firm as

well as on the respective journalist. This periodical intends to provide an in-depth analysis of

the film with the intention of identifying the protagonist’s shortcomings.

Scene That Made the Strongest Impression

I was intrigued by the scene where Stephen was presenting his “Hack Heaven” story

to a meeting of editors and journalists at a computer-geek convention. As one of his most

successful stories, Stephen proudly expounded on how a teenage hacker by the name Ian

Restil was offered a lucrative job and paid a sum of one million, as an approach to entice the

hacker from breaking the firm’s security system. While Stephen was finalizing the story, he

jumped on the meeting table and in a cocky attitude shouted: “Show me the money”.

Stephen’s story was really appealing for it showcased the case of a street-smart teenager

giving computer tycoons a run for their money. Most of the journalists and editors present

during Stephen’s presentation acknowledged that the story to be one of the best to ever be

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delivered. As such, it was vital to publish the piece which would rival the works of other top-

media houses releases. I was impressed by Stephen who at this moment embodied the

aphorism, “fake it till you make it.”

Glass’s Harmful Habits

The first harmful habit that contributed towards the protagonist’s downfall is the

desire to gain approval and fame from his colleagues as well as seniors. The desire to live in

the limelight drove him to fabricate stories, with the intention of using fame as a means to

realize his success.

Secondly, Stephen was a bad liar and it was based on this habit that he triggered his

downfall. In the film, it was evident that the protagonist was aware of his strengths and

weaknesses, with lying being one of his major weaknesses. At the onset, Glass repeatedly

deceived the editors, fellow journalists and the audience the authenticity of his stories