I personally liked the first episode very much. At the beginning, Will, under MacKenzie's "compulsion", broke through all the students present and all the Americans watching the premiere on TV. actual fantasy. For such a hit, Sorkin really designed it very well. For Americans who don't know much about the inside of the media and political propaganda (and of course for Chinese audiences), this kind of "popular science" is like opening a new door in life.
But don't forget that even if the lies are debunked and the "brutal" reality is in front of you, America is still the America that loves to dream and believes in miracles. They still think of themselves as the best country, the most free, and the country that can always surpass them. So, the entire first episode is like this MacKenzie, who represents all the good, belief, hope and challenge, fell from the sky, in order to wake up Will who was blinded by reality. The whole outline is still a typical American story.
After the first episode, the media industry's evaluation of it was really polarized. However, in my opinion, most of the media insiders still have a very low opinion of the film. Businessweek's David Kamp directly called the film "a mess". Granted, the first episode was a lot more of a sermon for the insider. However, because a large part of the film is also nakedly revealing many of the methods that the American media has been using to deceive the public, such "exposure" will indeed make some people in power feel uncomfortable. After becoming an "expert" in a certain aspect, people often want to keep a few hands. However, the first episode of The Newroom is undoubtedly challenging the media to think about the "bottom line" of true transparency.
That's why I liked the first episode so much. It is indeed a great science. Media people may not like it, but that's because they already know too much, and the general American public has the right to know more "internal secrets".
However, if I gave a 90 for the first episode, I think I can only get a 50 for the second episode. I just finished watching it today, what can I say, very disappointed. The only thing that makes me feel a little bit is just the emotional part of Jim and Margaret (if you count = =). Personally, I think their part is really cute (Jim is by far my favorite character), but the premise is that this The Newsroom is regarded as a romantic comedy (tell me?)
The whole second episode is not Knowing where the key points are, suddenly there are so many old and young love retrospectives and prospects, which are really like second- or third-rate scripts. And I'm starting to get tired of the MacKenzie character. If I looked at her from the point of view of an ordinary audience in the first episode, I would think she was a very amazing presence because she brought enthusiasm and "truth". What needs to be said, however, is that this so-called "truth in the press" is just the "truth" they want you to know. In the second episode, I started to find it difficult to appreciate it from the perspective of the "audience" -- I should say, I don't think I can appreciate it from any angle. What MacKenzie represents is actually the "good old days" that Americans like most.
This whole film, as you can tell from the op, is to use "bring back the good old days of journalism" as an emotional appeal to impress the audience. This method has always succeeded in American movies, TV and commercials, because people tend to beautify the past. And MacKenzie has completely turned into a tool or carrier to help everyone "go back to the beautified past" from the beginning of this episode (even her hard work with new technology in the film and her use of handwritten whiteboards in 2010 can be said It's the producer's insinuation of "nostalgia"), which is where I start to feel a little contrived. MacKenzie, who has been shouting "fact" and "fact", has now become a delusion of ordinary American people for the press.
This is because, especially after the Bush administration, more and more Americans are slowly starting to realize that their news is not really transparent, open, and free. A country built on the basis of the dichotomy has always used the one-or-two way of thinking to limit the way of thinking of the public (this was most clearly manifested in the first episode, republican or democratic? fact or popularity? There has never been a third or even more choice), but even so, the American spirit and heroism in the bones have always told the public that there must be such a "hero" to bring people the so-called "truth". As such an idealized surrogate, MacKenzie's remarks begin to become very naive in the second episode, even deviating from the essence of American capitalism. It's important to report responsibly, but if you really don't think about ratings, are you still an American media person? (In the second episode, however, MacKenzie said something like "some things may have five sides and some have only one side", which is a bit of a brain for the press.)
In a word, the first episode Close to the "truth"; the second episode is in the form of personality cult and national narcissism, deviating from the truth of the news and infinitely close to the "truth" fabricated by the media industry to the public.
Last but not least, episode 2 contains the first official newsroom presentation of the film - the feeling of Mac's ineffective lecturing at the whiteboard does show, but those 3 "Is"... what's the point? Everyone is going to fall asleep listening to this. What effect does this last paragraph play?
Just flipping through a few media comments, Boston's WCVB commented, "I need to know if you're in?" is a question MacKenzie asked Will repeatedly in this episode, but after watching this episode, Aaron Sorkin Is it okay to ask the audience the same question? "
So, look forward to the third episode.
American news is freer than china country, but don't be fooled, they are not as transparent as they are.
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