PR in movies

One of the things that I struggled while learning Public relations was to understand what we exactly do. In university, we invest our time in learning theory and even though we are encouraged to take placements, it can be far from what we expect. My placement only gave me a general understanding of PR and specific knowledge of Marketing - offline and online activities. It’s difficult to picture a career or to have a vision of our daily lives.

Hancock

I was watching a movie about a failure super hero that is criticized by society. The title of the movie is Hanckock. He is an alcoholic super hero that messes up every chance he has to save lives. Sometimes he manages to successfully save a life and rescue people but using not so clever techniques.

He has a bad reputation and society does not accept him. He meets Ray, a PR consultant who can be seen as super hero too because he is trying to save the world through a charity campaign. He decides to help Hancock and make him his new project, working on his reputation.

Through years saving people in certain circumstances Hancock has damage buildings and infra-structures, therefore he owes the society and is sentenced to go to prison. Hancock constantly uses his power to avoid his criminal sentence thinking he is above the law.

Ray makes him go to jail and get involved in an anger management course. He is able to change his behavior and attitude. When he gets out of prison, Ray helps him understand and respect police's work. Ray changes Hancock appearance, suggests him to be polite towards people and careful with his power. He finally understands that it’s not only about the power but how he uses his power.  He starts working in collaboration with the police and appreciating their job. Hancock is finally accepted and idealized by society.

The devil wears prada

In the movie we find PR in the fashion industry and shows how it is competitive and challenging.  Andrea is an inspiring journalist who lands a job as a personal assistant of the editor of a fashion magazine, Runway. She is a simple girl and does not believe in fashion. 

She changes her style just to fit into their world. She learns that to be successful she needs to know people and makes connections. Andrea finds herself in several circumstances that makes her realize the issues involved in the industry such as how appearance matters - because it’s a way to make sure the agency’s image is seen the best way possible; 'personal life vs personal life' and how they become one because time is limited; and the disrespect and how to follow orders without complaining.

I got a glimpse of her profession through the travelling; history of fashion; and the critical evaluation of everything - reviews and so on.

Overall, to manage the fashion industry reputation it asks for more than a strong resume. A successful PR career is based on hard-work, discipline and passion for fashion.