What does a cop do? Common answer: Watch Serpico or “NYPD Blue.” How about a lawyer? Turn on A Few Good Men or “Law & Order.” The nearly universal mass entertainment mediums of film and television arguably offer the primary source of how people learn about a profession. Movies and TV shows present a view of a job to those who have no personal experience of its practice. As the profession of public relations is not one that people come into contact with on a regular basis like cops, lawyers or doctors, representations in film and TV are often the only frame of reference for many.
The screen image of the PR professional is generally one of an unscrupulous, shallow manipulator of the truth. Most movies and TV shows deal with stereotypes and preconceived notions, which may shed light on why so many people have a negative perception of our profession. Take Wag the Dog as an example. In the film, the US President becomes involved in a sex scandal in the run up to the election, so a spin-doctor (played by Robert De Niro) and a producer (Dustin Hoffman) fake a war to divert media attention. It’s a brilliant movie … as long as you don’t work in PR!
The list of PR professionals depicted as evil tools of a corrupt government or company goes on and on: Thank You for Smoking; Sweet Smell of Success; “Absolute Power;” “In the Loop.” But, are there any movies or TV shows that really show us in a positive light? One of the oddities is the action film Hancock, in that its real hero is public relations man Ray Embrey, played by Jason Bateman as he seeks to rehabilitate the image of a down-and-out superhero (Will Smith). Ray is not only a nice guy, perfect father, good husband and loyal friend, but he is also the most saintly public relations man in film history, promoting a campaign to get big corporations to help improve the world by giving away products to the world’s poor. He does this for no reason other than a charitable heart.
But, what assumptions are made about public relations as an industry and as a professional role for women? Female PR professionals in movies and TV shows generally only seem to do party planning, from Gwyneth Paltrow’s character in Sliding Doors, to Samantha on “Sex and the City,” to Edina on “Absolutely Fabulous.” What is also apparent is that women are vastly outnumbered by men in management and communications roles within movies and TV shows: in Wag the Dog, the character Winifred was one of three managers; on “The West Wing,” the character CJ was one of five; on “In the Loop,” there were three of ten. The only stand-alone, high-powered female PR professional onscreen that I can think of is the movie star publicist played by Debi Mazar on “Entourage.” But, we rarely see her and, until her recent “cameos” again, she was eventually written out of the show. As women now number 70 to 80% of the PR profession, we can see that screen representations are in inverse proportion to reality.
Here’s hoping for a brighter and more realistic future of film and TV, as we face the significant challenge of counteracting the popular culture depictions of public relations.
Jordan Hubert can be reached at jhubert@sterlingpr.com. Follow Jordan on Twitter @jahubert.
Photo credit: pburt207 via Flickr
Hey Jordan, an interesting thing that you overlooked pointing out is that YOU are a man, not a woman (your name is gender-neutral. So when you are hoping for a more realistic depiction of PR folks on the silver screen, you aren't complaining as one of the overlooked masses.
Posted by: Lisa Hawes | August 23, 2011 at 01:49 PM