The Thing
What does the film say about the role of the media? Why? What scenes demonstrate this?
I believe that this film gives the idea that the media is secondary and doesn't always know everything. In the movie, the reporter is constantly asking to tell the rest of the world about the discovery. He is constantly talking about what a big discovery the thing is, and is stressing that the world must know the truth and must know what is going on. However, the entire movie he is asking for permission from the military and the entire movie, is denied that permission. The military is obviously the superpower in this movie, and is the person with the last word.
I also believe that the movie gives us the idea that without the media, we would know nothing. If there hadn't been a reporter at the camp/base, this would have remained a military secret. I can't help but wonder if the military actually has secrets similar to these concepts. It seems outlandish, but it also seems increasingly possible as i see and think about more and more of these movies.