Fifty Shades of Grey made $300 million in the box office this past weekend, drawing in haters and speculators alike. I went in expecting to just get a laugh from how terrible it is, but as a journalism student, I ended up cracking up from the journalism in the movie. Any good journalism student can pick out all the mistakes the movie made. Here’s just a few of the cardinal rules broken during the “reporting” done in Fifty Shades.
1. Never send your friend to do an interview
The movie starts off with Kate having “the flu” (a likely story Kate, I see you looking perky on that couch), so she decides to send Ana, her English major roommate, to do this super high-profile piece on Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises. What were you thinking, Kate? Would you send a WLP student to do an interview like that? Okay, maybe, but still. There was no one else on the newspaper staff that could go?
2. Don’t blow off a high-profile interview
I can see if Kate were actually sick (which again, I find questionable), she maybe wouldn’t want to be sniffling and coughing through an interview with Christian Grey. But he seems to be important in this alternate universe where Kate so casually gets an interview with him, just because he’s the guest speaker at her college graduation. Suck it up, Kate! This could’ve been your chance to write something big!
3. Don’t forget to bring a writing utensil to an interview
I get that poor Ana, who has all the personality of a paperclip, got cajoled into doing this interview. I mean, Kate literally steals a sandwich from her hands and she allows it, so it’s clear that she’s a bit of a pushover. But even as an inexperienced interviewer, you should at least know to bring a writing utensil! C’mon Ana, you’ve at least taken a test before; you know when you should need a writing utensil. And then, Christian gives her a pencil, when everyone knows it’s better to take notes in pen. Sheer insanity.
4. Ask the tough questions last
It’s fairly self-explanatory that you should build a bit of a relationship with an interview subject before broaching sensitive topics. In fact, that’s a basic fact of human relationships. But Ana just lets Christian ramble on, in what is the most awkward interview ever, and then blurts out at the end, “Are you gay?” which for some reason, is on Kate’s list of questions. Again, the blame falls on Kate for sending Ana and for also asking terrible questions. This is a business-focused profile, Kate. Refrain from turning it into a gossip piece.
5. Avoid email interviews at all costs
The real kicker is when Ana returns home from this interview and Kate has an email from Christian, answering all her questions. Kate is delighted and Ana has been manipulated for nothing (a reoccurring theme of the film). If Kate was an Emerson journalism student though, she would know that email interviews are the worst, because it doesn’t give you an authentic sense of the person. But Kate doesn’t care. She goes on to steal that sandwich from Ana and then hook up with Christian Grey’s brother. Ever the professional, she is.
6. If you do these things, you will probably not end up as valedictorian
And yet, there Kate is, making her speech and getting all the glory for this article that she didn’t even meet the interview subject of. Good going, Kate.