I Know the "Suzanne Stone" Type
I know the “Suzanne Stone” type.
In my current live production internship at a local broadcasting channel, I am surrounded by diluted Suzannes. I myself have had to become one on occasion. The entirety of the television industry is rooted in the importance of networking, knowing how to brag about yourself to important people in the most energetic, memorable, and unnatural way possible. For the aspiring reporters in my line of work, it’s about the speed and inflection with which you speak, the makeup you wear and how it reflects light, the strength of your personal reel. You can’t have a bad day in the office. You must be alert at all times, ready to approach and dazzle any important person that might need your assistance that day. For the past 10 months, I have been networking in this fashion, reaching out to connections of connections who work at such and such network who may be able to connect me to someone that can possibly get me an interview. Usually in these situations, my resume and cover letter go completely unseen. More often than not, people are hired on sheer connection alone as opposed to merit or experience. If not by connection, it is by brand name of the company you last interned at or the prestigious school you attended that you are noticed.
Whether you’re in front of the camera and behind it, the media industry is run through a screen of some sort. A glass screen of a television or a mobile device, or the screen of professionalism. The charming smile, the perfect elevator pitch, the professional outfit, the formulated and unnatural answers that follow the STAR method and showcase your best abilities. In a world that is built on the concept of visibility and connection, I have never felt more isolated or unseen.
Suzanne Stone is a wonderful satirical representation of the American television industry: perfectly polished verbal and nonverbal communication with a lack of true humanity. Throughout the entirety of the movie, we see this theme play out through the concept of “screens.” Literally, with the shots of television screens being featured, multiplied, and occasionally smashed; figuratively, through Susanne’s perfectly distant yet polished demeanor as if from behind glass; symbolically, as Susanne finds death behind a screen of ice, forever frozen in time like a paused television frame. The movie does a wonderful job of portraying the irony of America’s media culture which built on sharing reality and connecting with people all over the country, all the while perpetuating non-realistic, prepackaged images and personalities.
Watching this film strengthened a creeping feeling that I’ve had since starting my internship in the television industry: you can’t get ahead on human sincerity.
