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Courtesy of IMDB
Courtesy of IMDB

Movie Review: “The Post” strikes relevant note

“The Post,” directed by the acclaimed Steven Spielberg, offered the dramatic and true story of the Washington Post’s struggle to reveal the truth in the wake of a massive government scandal.

The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and told a ground-breaking story that was all too relevant today during a time of great government controversy.

“The Post” isn’t just about the government, however. The film also digs into what it was like to work as a journalist in 1971. And on top of that, what it was like to work as a female journalist.

The film follows Meryl Streep's remarkable and brave character, Katharine “Kay” Graham, as she works to publish top-secret Pentagon Papers under President Richard Nixon.

Streep offered a remarkable performance that left me sitting in silence and awe. Streep would go on to earn the Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role. Her acting in the film was able to invoke my anger, my sympathy and called for me to cheer her character on.

Streep’s performance revealed the struggles of being a female journalist in the 1970s, a profession that was largely dominated by males at the time.

One of the best things about the movie was that it offered true American history. The scandal of the Pentagon Papers took place about a year before Watergate and held classified information about the Vietnam War.

The timing of the movie’s release makes it all the more real and relatable. I, if not all audience members, could relate to the characters desire to know the truth about the government’s hand in the Vietnam War.

The movie made me question what is really going on in the White House today. And it made me think twice about how quick I am to trust the information coming directly from it.

Additionally, the film made me respect the work of both past and present journalists.

The movie shows that journalism is much more than just writing. It is about bringing the truth to the public and how doing so brings journalists often face-to-face with harsh consequences.

The drama also featured the well-loved actor, Tom Hanks, who played Ben Bradley, the Washington Post’s intelligent and cunning executive editor.

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The film reminded me greatly of Tom McCarthy’s Academy Award-winning, 2015 film “Spotlight,” in which the Boston Globe worked to uncover a local scandal about child-molestation within the Catholic Church.

“The Post” is much more than worth the watch if you are looking for a dramatic and suspenseful theater experience, and it will likely have you walking out of the theater with a new mindset on the American government and a respect for journalism.

Timber Mabes is a culture reporter with the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @timbermabes.

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