Continuity mistake: When the teachers play the confiscated tapes of Harry, it's Christian Slater's voice, not the disguised voice you hear on the students' radios.
Pump up the Volume (1990)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Allan Moyle
Starring: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Annie Ross, Anthony Lucero, Andy Romano, Cheryl Pollak, Keith Stuart Thayer
The FCC comes to town. Hard Harry holds one final broadcast, taking his transmitter mobile so it is harder to trace. The FCC catches Harry at the high school where he tells a group of listening students to start their own stations. He is arrested. As the movie ends we hear others, including teachers, who have started their own pirate radio stations.
More mistakes in Pump up the Volume
Mark: We're all worried, we're all in pain. That just comes with having eyes and having ears. But just remember one thing - it can't get any worse, it can only get better. High school is the bottom, being a teenager sucks, but that's the point, surviving it is the whole point. Quitting is not going to make you stronger, living will. So just hang on and hang in there.
Trivia: Contrary to what it appears, the actor at the post office is not David Schwimmer despite the close resemblance. Schwimmer was active at this time, but the actor is not him.
Question: I've always wondered if Mark, just before his final broadcast, told his parents the whole truth. It would seem that way because Mark tells his girlfriend his mom let him use the Jeep ("She kinda loaned it to me"). Also, his Dad was at the gathering in the school's athletic field, but there is no shot of him acting surprised or horrified when Mark pulls in to where the crowd is and gets arrested. So the question is: did Mark fess up to his parents? Or is it irrelevant/left for us to wonder?
Chosen answer: Well, with no actual scene where he confesses, it's left up to us to wonder. Personally, I find it unlikely that he'd actually admit the whole thing to his parents, but they're not stupid and already had their suspicions, so the lack of any great surprise on his father's part isn't unreasonable. You also have to remember that Mark's voice changer had already broken before they drove down to the crowd - his father would have easily recognised his voice before his actual arrival, giving him a certain amount of time to get through the initial shock.
Tailkinker ★