Page 33 - PLATINO EDUCA

The emergence of radio and television initiated a major shift in our means of communicating 33
and broadcasting information. Historias de la radio (1955), by José Luis Sánchez de
Heredia, showcases these changes arriving way back in the 1950’s, just as Woody Allen
did with his Radio Days (1987).

Alexas_Fotos - Pixabay

With regards to the TV phenomenon, Roger Mitchell’s Morning Glory (2010) stars Harrison
Ford as a veteran TV journalist given a revival with the help a plucky young producer. The
Morning Show (2019), with Jennifer Aniston, reveals the professional rivalries behind a TV
news channel, as well as the MeToo movement from the inside. Meanwhile, The Truman
Show (1998), by Peter Weir and starring Jim Carrey, takes a critical look at the reality
shows that reel in so many thousands of viewers, even when they misrepresent reality.

Great film directors and actors have gifted us with magnificent works portraying the
figure of journalists, the media, and communication groups as a focal point of their
scripts. Similarly, great writers like Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Arturo
Pérez Reverte and Miguel Delibes have succumbed to the charm of cinema, with some
of their books being converted to film adaptations.

Miguel Delibes is worth mentioning in a different paragraph. Since October 17, we have
been celebrating the centenary of this brilliant writer, who was able to combine his literary
talent with journalism and film criticism. I would like to congratulate Platino Educa for
creating a special educational feature dedicated to adaptations of his works for cinema.

To conclude, I would like to share some thoughts with you. First of all: the technological
revolution and the emergence of the Internet have revolutionized, once again, access
to news and its distribution. A good example of a film on this topic is The Social Network
(2010), by David Fincher. The movie looks back over the very early days of Facebook.

Nevertheless, I believe that what is most important in today’s society is the current media
panoply. We have moved from the scarcity of public information prior to new media to
an overexposure to content and the multiplicity of sources, especially in the context of
pandemic. Misinformation and fake news are a part of everyday life, yet never has so
much information been demanded and consumed as today. Immediacy is prioritized
over truthfulness, “post-truth” is gaining ground and social networks offer a platform to
anyone with any information regardless of sources or proof.