I teach psychology and after seeing this film, I intend to use the film in my curriculum. Why? Well, because part of my class includes discussing personality disorders and often I show a film or TV show that clearly illustrates the popular notion of the "antisocial personality"--an individual with no conscience and who takes pleasure preying on others for his own gain. However, I really loved this movie because it illustrates a far more subtle type of antisocial--one who is not in prison or living life on the fringes due to his evil behaviors but is successful--wildly successful (at least, for a while).
The film is about Steven Glass--an actual ex-journalist with "The New Rebulic" and other publications. For some time, his career was rather meteoric--young, super-successful and well-respected. However, after years of success, it slowly became apparent that his "journalism" was actually a myth, as his sources were mostly fictitious. And, characteristic of an antisocial, he stood firm in insisting he was not a fraud and only slowly admitted "making mistakes" when he had no choice but admit the truth. Even afterwords, on 60 MINUTES, he often avoided taking responsibility for his actions and blamed it on practically everything but sun spots!
What I loved in particular about the film was how it sucked in the viewer and made you care. I think a lot of this was because instead of some actor who appeared jaded or slick, Hayden Christian (a.k.a. "Darth Vader") seems very young, likable and sweet and you don't want to believe he intentionally did anything wrong. And even when his lies began to come to light, his co-workers initially came to his defense--making excuses for Glass' "mistakes"--again, a sign that Glass was a master at manipulation. Evil, in most cases, is quite attractive or appears quite innocent--that is what makes this film a must-see.
After seeing this film I did a bit of research and found that the facts of the film are dead-on. As for Glass, he DID graduate from Georgetown Law School (a perfect career for an antisocial). I also discovered, to my regret (but no surprise) that he has inked a six-figure advance on a book--a work of "fiction" about a guy who, you guessed it, makes up stories to advance his journalistic career (sounds reminiscent of the O.J. book)! It's amazing how creeps like this always manage to land on their feet.
The film is about Steven Glass--an actual ex-journalist with "The New Rebulic" and other publications. For some time, his career was rather meteoric--young, super-successful and well-respected. However, after years of success, it slowly became apparent that his "journalism" was actually a myth, as his sources were mostly fictitious. And, characteristic of an antisocial, he stood firm in insisting he was not a fraud and only slowly admitted "making mistakes" when he had no choice but admit the truth. Even afterwords, on 60 MINUTES, he often avoided taking responsibility for his actions and blamed it on practically everything but sun spots!
What I loved in particular about the film was how it sucked in the viewer and made you care. I think a lot of this was because instead of some actor who appeared jaded or slick, Hayden Christian (a.k.a. "Darth Vader") seems very young, likable and sweet and you don't want to believe he intentionally did anything wrong. And even when his lies began to come to light, his co-workers initially came to his defense--making excuses for Glass' "mistakes"--again, a sign that Glass was a master at manipulation. Evil, in most cases, is quite attractive or appears quite innocent--that is what makes this film a must-see.
After seeing this film I did a bit of research and found that the facts of the film are dead-on. As for Glass, he DID graduate from Georgetown Law School (a perfect career for an antisocial). I also discovered, to my regret (but no surprise) that he has inked a six-figure advance on a book--a work of "fiction" about a guy who, you guessed it, makes up stories to advance his journalistic career (sounds reminiscent of the O.J. book)! It's amazing how creeps like this always manage to land on their feet.