Ace in the Hole: Skewing Reality

From a strictly cinematic view, Ace in the Hole was my favorite film so far. I love its unexpected and non-cliché plot that shows an honest representation of the media and human nature, as unglamorous as it may be. The themes about journalism and the media were so beyond their time. Though Ace in the Hole deals with newspapers, it holds even more true today with reality shows and 24/7 television news. In fact, this film reminded me a lot of The Truman Show, a 1998 film about a man whose life has been completely manufactured for 24/7 public viewing, via the television. The audience in the The Truman Show, Ace in the Hole alike is ruthlessly consumed and infatuated with the media victim’s fate. The producer in The Truman Show is strikingly similar to Chuck Tatum in that they both will stop at nothing for a good story, no matter the pain and misery they inflict upon their subjects. In reality shows today, there is very little “reality,” just as the need for a week-long rescue mission of Leo wasn't reality. Though dramatized to an extent, I think Ace in the Hole portrayed the reality show/tabloid aspect of the media dead-on, especially for a film made in 1951.