“Broadcast News” is a movie about, obviously, television news broadcasters. One of the characters, Aaron, is a young well-meaning broadcaster who works with, and is a friend of, Jane the news director. Into their local station comes a new broadcaster, another young fellow named Tom. But Tom is a different kind of newsman. He is an up-and-comer, very ambitious, and he has special talent and screen presence.
Tom’s problem, as Aaron sees it, is that he uses people and cuts corner to get his stories — and that he manufactures the emotions which sell those stories to the public. He also encourages Jane his director to help him in these enterprises. So he persuades her to do his work for him, and put the best face on what is his unethical handling and reporting of the news. To put it simply, he doesn’t just report the news; he makes the news, and in doing so he manipulates the public.
Meanwhile, Jane seems to be developing a personal interest in Tom. In short, she seems to be falling under his influence in ways Aaron doesn’t like. So Aaron decides he must talk to Jane, and warn her about Tom. (Aaron’s objectivity may be blurred by the fact that he cares about Jane as more than a friend, and can see Tom winning her affections while he sits by helplessly.)
“I know you care about him,” Aaron says. “I’ve never seen you like this about anyone, so please don’t take it wrong when I tell you that I believe that Tom, while a very nice guy, is the devil.”
Jane replies to the effect that Aaron isn’t being much of a friend, either to herself or to Tom, if he can say such a thing about Tom.
Aaron replies, “What do you think the devil is going to look like if he comes around? Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail.”
Jane laughs, but Aaron continues: “No. I’m serious. The devil will look attractive, and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation, and he will never do a really evil thing… he will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important. Just coax along flash over substance. Just a tiny bit. And he will talk about all of us news reporters really being salesmen.”
By this last sentence, Aaron means that Tom, as the devil, will work hard to ‘sell’ a particular point of view — his own — rather than simply to present the news objectively. This is a distinction worth noting now especially, perhaps more than it was even 20 years ago, when the movie first appeared.
As an afterthought, and betraying his own feelings about Jane as well, Aaron adds, “And he’ll get all the great-looking women too.”
* * * * *
It is interesting to see, in a movie which otherwise has nothing to do with religion, a brief statement which supports basic Bible teaching. The “devil”, Scripturally understood, most certainly does not have a “pointy tale”, or a pitchfork or horns. The Bible “devil” actually can take different shapes, as varied as the appearances of different human beings. The devil can be the handsome, intelligent, charming young man — or the kindly older one, for that matter — intent on corrupting moral or ethical standards.
The devil can be the well-meaning disciple of Christ, like the apostle Peter, trying to turn his Master away from the right path. “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men’ “ (Matt 16:23; cp Mark 8:33).
The devil can be the attractive young woman whispering, ‘No one will ever know…’ “With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk” (Prov 7:21).
The devil can be the salesperson encouraging her customer to spend more than she can really afford because ‘everybody is getting one of these!’ The list goes on and on.
The devil can even be the man or woman who looks back at us from the bathroom mirror every morning, as we ponder our choices for the day. “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14).
The “devil” can take many forms, and the most dangerous form is the one that can get closest to us.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One