Ace in the Hole 1951 is a work by Billy Wilder, a film meant to take on a hard-hitting critique of media sensationalism alongside the inevitable results concerning moral decay. Using effective characterization, setting, and storyline, Wilder shows the dirty bottom of the well of cover-up in media corruption; this film does not go unnoticed, considering its relevance to our class, American Government. It presents, in full color and transparency, how the media gains public opinion and reclines into issues bordering on ethics and power. It's also an important warning of the ethical dangers of following profit in the news industry, something very relevant to ascertaining the role of modern media in society. Characterization is central in the film's critique of media extortion. Chuck Tatum is a morally bankrupt journalist working for his own benefit who lets his ambition take him so far that he exploits tragedy. Tatum's insatiable need to do anything for fame comes to the …show more content…
This miserable, claustrophobic desert town of Escudero in which Leo Minosa is trapped contrasts powerfully with the frenetic and circus-like media that forms around the disaster. Tatum's coverage site swells powerfully from this graphically atrophic town to a large attraction— "cars from California, Arizona, and more pouring in all the time." 43:45. Leo is physically trapped in the cave; the others are more psychologically trapped by the courses their lives have taken and the chances they have missed. It was also explained in the quote from Lorraine when Leo asked her if she would like to have some rest. She answered with complaints, "I've had enough sleep." I've had five years of it. What else can you do in Escudero? ". Leo depended on Tatum as his guide, and Lorraine depended on him as a lifeline to the world outside Escudero, but Tatum was abusing his position to smother them the way the cave is smothering