The Life of Emile Zola

Saw The Life of Emile Zola. A stirring movie about a muckraking philosopher/journalist. It had a lot of kind words to say about him but I was left slightly cold. Perhaps it's because the editorializing that Zola used to great effect has become so wide-spread that people seem to want a more staid approach to reporting these days. Of course what people actually want is scandal and spectacle, but I think you follow me. The mob is treated curiously in this movie as well. They seem to be utterly swayed by pamphlets and single (paid) agitators and yet they are frequently venerated by Zola as arbiters of fate. Is this a sly dig at Zola's life-work? Probably I'm just seeing things that aren't there. For a while just now, I was convinced I saw a french author inside my television screen!