Humble seeker after truth
Mar. 25th, 2018 04:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiI went to see The Post at Reading Film Theatre this week, seeming particularly topical in the current turmoil about fake news, lobbying and corruption. I enjoyed the film, but it's difficult to pin down what it's about - the Vietnam War? the US government? the role of the press? the role of women? All of these, to some extent.
The story takes place in 1971. Kay Graham has inherited the ownership of the Washington Post from her husband, and is seeking investment for the financially precarious newspaper. The New York Times breaks the story of a US Government cover-up, spanning decades, on its position in the Vietnam war. Journalists at the Washington Post seek to discover and investigate the story for themselves; the New York Times receives an injunction; decisions have to be made as to whether to comply with the government or to take a risk and fight for freedom of the press.
Awkwardly, like The Last Jedi, battle lines are drawn along gender lines, though in this case it's intrinsic to history, and this film pulls it off better. Of course, in the film as a whole, Kay Graham is not alone in her view, as editor Ben Bradlee and the journalists are keen to publish. Moreover, what comes across is that she is a lone and somewhat indecisive female put under pressure by an overwhelmingly conservative male boardroom, a situation one hopes would be improved today, but is probably still far too often the case. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks take the lead roles in a strong cast.
Of professional interest, I noted that the printing presses in the film were far too quiet, and I'm not entirely convinced that some of the typesetting wasn't the wrong way around, but overall it's a respectable homage to the more honourable side of press freedom and investigative journalism.
The story takes place in 1971. Kay Graham has inherited the ownership of the Washington Post from her husband, and is seeking investment for the financially precarious newspaper. The New York Times breaks the story of a US Government cover-up, spanning decades, on its position in the Vietnam war. Journalists at the Washington Post seek to discover and investigate the story for themselves; the New York Times receives an injunction; decisions have to be made as to whether to comply with the government or to take a risk and fight for freedom of the press.
Awkwardly, like The Last Jedi, battle lines are drawn along gender lines, though in this case it's intrinsic to history, and this film pulls it off better. Of course, in the film as a whole, Kay Graham is not alone in her view, as editor Ben Bradlee and the journalists are keen to publish. Moreover, what comes across is that she is a lone and somewhat indecisive female put under pressure by an overwhelmingly conservative male boardroom, a situation one hopes would be improved today, but is probably still far too often the case. Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks take the lead roles in a strong cast.
Of professional interest, I noted that the printing presses in the film were far too quiet, and I'm not entirely convinced that some of the typesetting wasn't the wrong way around, but overall it's a respectable homage to the more honourable side of press freedom and investigative journalism.