Valisa GriffinFilm: “Shattered Glass”

During the summer of my tenth grade year in high school, my parents surprised me by signing me up for journalism camp at Belmont University in Nashville.

At that time I was completely convinced that I would never pursue a career in journalism. Yet, here I stand approaching my final semester as a broadcast journalism student at ETSU, which, of course, only further reinforces the inevitable truth that my mother knows everything.

It was at journalism camp that I was first exposed to a movie that changed my life.

That movie is “Shattered Glass.” The film is based on a true story revolving around Stephen Glass, an ambitious reporter for The New Republic.

He had an affinity for vibrant stories, stories so captivating and interesting that they seemed too good to be true – and it turned out that they weren’t true at all.

After some intense investigation and, not to mention, some piercing drama, editor Chuck Lane uncovers Glass’ fabrications. The groundbreaking film illuminates issues of ethics of print media. This film is so thought-provoking and as the drama unfolds, you won’t want to look away.
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Alaina Akens

Novel: “The Glass Castle”

After talking to a number of peers, I’ve come to the conclusion that a little bit of “abnormal” in a family is actually pretty normal.

But, in the memoir “The Glass Castle,” written by Jeannette Walls, her abnormal family takes on a whole new kind of dysfunction.

In the novel, Walls recounts her and her siblings’ less than normal childhood involving their nomadic lifestyle and deep self-reliance.

The father, Rex Walls, is an alcoholic who has outlandish dreams, including his promise to Jeannette to build a glass castle when he “one day” strikes gold. Despite his good nature, he refuses to abide by society’s rules. The mother, Rose Mary Walls, is a self-absorbed artist who has never been able hold down any kind of job.

The trio of children rely on each other as they move from home to home, and decide to live on their own at early ages.

Walls grew up to become a gossip columnist for MSNBC.

The gripping story is very touching, and the true account of an abnormal upbringing will leave you amazed at how far one person can come from such a bizarre childhood.

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