By Dabi Lee
If there’s one thing about COM students, it’s that we love to watch movies. Based on your area of study, here’s the film set in Boston I think you should choose as your next watch.
Journalism: Spotlight (2015)
This one felt obvious—Spotlight follows the Boston Globe’s investigative team working on a major scandal story. Highlighting the importance of the press, the movie shows journalists in action: interviewing, researching, fact-checking, and arguably most importantly, grappling with the ethics of publishing such a crucial and revealing story.
Advertising: The Social Network (2010)
In this movie centered around creating and building Facebook from the ground up, themes of branding and consumer engagement are prevalent. If advertising is about getting people’s attention, Facebook figured out how to make an entire business out of it. Advertising students would find the film’s focus on building a brand super interesting.
Public Relations: The Drama (2026)
The most recent release of the bunch, The Drama is best watched without knowing anything about it. However, I will say that it is about the way people perceive and communicate with each other. PR is all about building relationships with your audience and ensuring the public perception of a brand is positive. This movie fits right in with that idea.
Media Science: The Departed (2006)
This one is perhaps the least obvious, but The Departed is a crime thriller movie built around information. It’s about who knows what and who can be trusted, which is the foundation of media science. Students in this major would find this film interesting because of how it handles the way communication influences people’s actions.
Film/TV: Good Will Hunting (1997)
Ending with a no-brainer, FTV majors will love watching (or more likely rewatching) this classic. This movie has masterful filmmaking techniques, from the storytelling to the dialogue. FTV students will love analyzing the visual and performance processes used in the creation of this fan-favorite.