The Sony Pictures cyber hack puts private musings on public view

It is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a normally closed-off world

Stefano Hatfield
Sunday 14 December 2014 20:20 GMT
Comments
Angelina Jolie and Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal at the Golden Globes in 2011
Angelina Jolie and Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal at the Golden Globes in 2011 (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

We’ve all been there. Who among us hasn’t written the sort of email currently humiliating Sony Pictures Entertainment via the (allegedly) North Korean hack? Who hasn’t besmirched a colleague’s reputation, dissed a rival, turned bitchy after being let down by someone you thought you could rely on. No? Not you? Must be just me.

The reason why the “Sony Hack” is the gift that keeps on giving is the flawed, honest human everyday-ness of the tone of the emails – albeit that the content is about major celebrities, apparently glamorous projects and amounts of money that are beyond most of our comprehension. It is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a normally closed-off world.

Now, there really isn’t that much surprise that the likes of Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and the (Will) Smith family have a monumental egos and are much bitched about by the studio execs that make them rich and famous. The prurient pleasure for the reader comes via those glimpses into the everyday to-ing and fro-ing; the two-faced dealings; the arrogance, petulance and one-upmanship at the heart of the exchanges.

Do I feel sorry for Amy Pascal, the SPE big cheese at the heart of the juicier emails? Of course I do, a little. No one likes their private musings made public. But, in the end, this is the privileged talking to the privileged about the even more privileged, largely about contributing to creating yet more privilege.

The reason Pascal and others can make unflattering remarks about the likes of Jolie, and even off-key comments about President Obama’s “favourite” movies – all of which feature black stars – is the same as the reason our own hacking scandal got out of hand: many involved were in such rarefied positions – both within their own organisations and society at large – that they made the mistake of assuming they were untouchable.

There is a simple message in all this: never write anything mean, embarrassing or hurtful about someone else that you could not stand by in person.

And for all those tut-tutting at Sony: people in glass houses…

Stefano Hatfield is editor in chief of High50.com

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in