On a recent work trip, I made myself useful. I assisted a fellow entertainment journalist with the most critical aspect of this profession: making reels. I write this in jest, just about. Shooting quirky, short-format videos has become a nagging, almost unavoidable feature of our beat. Hang back at any film event and you will observe journalists queuing up — after conducting their formal interviews — for some extra minutes with the stars. This is reel time.
There are different kinds of reels, of course. But I am referring to a particular variety: spiffily dressed reporters hobnobbing with celebrities, doing a little jig, or posing inanities: “Tell us three things we will find on your phone...”
This is not a new phenomenon. In recent years, if the lines have somewhat blurred between content creation and formal reportage, in the realm of film coverage they are practically mush. Reels ensure instant virality. They are quick and catchy. As some may argue, they are the “fun stuff”, the equivalent of pull quotes in a magazine. But while the point of pull quotes is to snag a reader’s attention and direct it to the substance (I use this word loosely) of the piece, reels are their own autonomous things.
It is true that movie journalism, from its beginning, has swayed to its own rhythm. Its ethical and aesthetic boundaries are not as sharply drawn as they are — or ought to be — for, say, political reportage. A certain closeness with celebrities, an animated speaking style, a witty and likeable persona are all fair rules of the game. Often, the anchor on a talk show is the audience’s surrogate, conveying the same wonder and awe that ordinary people feel for actors.
While all film journalists are now content creators, are all content creators film journalists? It is a tough knot to untangle. The PR machinery that controls movie promotions certainly sees it their way. Increasingly, influencers, vloggers, and independent podcasters are being prioritised over traditional news outlets. They are considered pliant and less troublesome; they are willing to forgo a difficult line of inquiry if it means extended access to a star. They also bring legions of followers. The establishment media, caught in a game of hits and likes, is left playing catch up. It is sometimes humbling to see senior (and well-regarded) journalists trying to get down with the kids, recreating ‘hook steps’ or posting awkwardly framed selfies.
I am not writing this to vent or to assume a moral high ground. I have often clicked pictures with actors and filmmakers and travelled on junkets. In any profession, people take the perks they can get. In a 1995 piece about The Wild Bunch, the late film critic, Roger Ebert, wrote about first viewing the film in The Bahamas in the late 1960s, in what he termed “the golden age of the junket”. He said: “It was party time, and not the right venue for what became one of the most controversial films of its time.”
In the end, film journalism takes all kinds. There are anchors and creators who make genuinely funny reels — you can see their love for trivia and pop culture inform the content they create. Furthermore, no technology or format is inherently insidious or corrupting. My only concern, therefore, is with scripted entertainment thoroughly supplanting free and fair reporting. We have seen the tempers that rise whenever film celebrities are asked incisive questions, or when their films are criticised. It is not what they have come to expect from our tribe any longer. They are used to the fun stuff.
shilajit.mitra@thehindu.co.in
Published - September 20, 2024 12:25 pm IST
