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‘Sharp Objects’ is likely to win awards, but it should also be commended for its depiction of the life of a journalist, writes
Sharp Objects, a series showing on DStv, is a psychological crime thriller featuring Amy Adams as a tormented journalist named Camille Preaker. Over eight episodes, Preaker returns to her hometown — the rather dreary and depressing Wind Gap, Missouri — to investigate the murders of two young girls. The series is dark and beautifully shot, and littered with characters who, in one way or another, are all facing their own personal demons. But what is most impressive for me is the 10 uncannily accurate ways the job and life of a journalist is depicted:
1 WE CAN’T AFFORD A NICE CAR BUT ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD STEREO
Camille Preaker drives a circa 1986 red Volvo 240 GL that appears rusty and potentially unreliable. However, despite the car’s age and ailing condition, she has ensured the stereo is in perfect working condition so that she can blast her obscure music with perfect pitch and clarity (see point #4) while driving around looking all moody and depressed and wondering WTF.
2 PEOPLE HATE US FOR TRYING TO DO OUR JOB
In episode two, Camille’s mother, Adora, is appalled to see her taking notes during the funeral of the latest teenage girl to be murdered, so much so that she tries to snatch the notebook away and, in the end, Camille leaves the church in a huff, unable to get her job done and most likely thinking about how her mother doesn’t have any inkling what it’s like to be under pressure from your editor to get All The Facts, even if it sometimes seems inappropriate.
Then, in episode three, after the first part of Camille’s article is published, the police chief and a few other residents take great offence to what she’s written about the town and the people, despite these people agreeing to be interviewed/written about, while also having no clue what journalism is actually about.
This is exactly what happens.
3 NOBODY TAKES OUR WORK SERIOUSLY
Whenever Camille is in her room, trying to work on her laptop, family members barge in and interrupt her constantly, as if what she’s doing isn’t all that hard and requires, at best, minimal concentration.
4 WE HAVE EXCELLENT MUSIC TASTE, BUT OVERDO IT
Throughout the series, Camille is listening to old blues/rock and obscure, trippy modern stuff that nobody’s ever heard of. Journalists like to believe they’re cultural rebels and that they’re above “commercial taste”, and they like to let other people know this.
However, similar to the way the music in the series is sometimes not at the level of the dialogue and therefore comes on a bit too loud and kind of jolts you, the whole “I listen to cool, unusual music” thing can get a bit annoying for everyone else.
5 OUR PARENTS DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS WE DO EXACTLY
Camille and her mother are at constant odds over the way Camille is supposedly intruding into the lives of other people — most notably the families of the victims — because Adora basically doesn’t understand how and, indeed, why anyone would want to be a journalist.
Similarly, Camille’s stepfather, Alan, takes no interest at all in what she does, probably because he can’t see how it’s possible to make a living doing what she does.
6 WE THINK WE CAN GO WHEREVER THE HELL WE WANT
At the wake in episode two, Camille sneaks into the dead girl’s room and snoops around for details that will make her article more compelling. She also drives around with a big card on her dashboard that says “Working Press”, believing that this basically gives her the legal right to trespass. Understand that all this sneaky snooping and unlawful trespassing is based on a crippling desperation to ensure you have enough material to write a decent article.
7 WE’RE FLIRTATIOUS — AND GET WHAT WE WANT
Whether it’s because we genuinely find you attractive, or simply want to charm sensitive information out of you, journalists are inveterate flirts and almost never fail to get what they want.
8 WE HAVE SOME SORT OF ADDICTION
Camille is a serious alcoholic and is shown transferring vodka into plastic water bottles to ensure she can drink during the day without people knowing. It’s wellknown that a lot of journalists tend to drink, but those less-inclined to booze or abuse substances will likely have some other addiction or psychological disorder. Think OCD, egoism or a profound inability to get anything done without coffee and/or cigarettes.
9 THE DICTAPHONE IS OUR CONSTANT AND MOST VALUABLE WEAPON
Wherever she goes, Camille is not without her notebook and, more especially, her dictaphone. This powerful device is switched on the moment you shake hands with your subject, and records everything until the very last word. A dictaphone guarantees we never miss a single thing, and that we can protect ourselves if a subject denies something they said.
10 OUR EDITORS ARE GENERALLY QUITE COOL
Frank Curry, Camille’s editor, is an insouciant, grey-haired guy who can be a little gruff and acerbic at times, but is Camille’s biggest fan and always has her back, no matter what. A good editor is really like this.