A Post About “The Post”

When producer Amy Pascal purchased the script “The Post” in 2016, she expected the true story-turned-screenplay to continue a narrative about women breaking glass ceilings, much like Hillary Clinton, the then expected presidential winner, would upon her election to office.

Now this Oscar nominated film now takes a completely other purpose: fighting (again) for the importance of the press AND giving a portrait of a strong woman leader.

I love a good boss bitch movie.

Starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, “The Post” tells the story of the infamous Pentagon Papers.

When The Washington Post was struggling as a small time paper– before they became the well-respected news source we know today, they were up against the New York Times. With the Times always seeming to get all the stories, it seemed the Post was left reading the news instead of writing it.

But this all changed when The Times got hold of the Pentagon Papers-exposing decades of government deceit and criminal activity- and they were shut down.

Told told they were no longer allowed to publish anything by the government, the Times was accused of violating the Espionage Act and were essentially silenced for making top secret information available to the public.

The Government claimed that by reporting on the papers, the Times was doing harm to the national security.

But this was information the public deserved to know.

I mean, during this time, the public had faith they could win in Vietnam, all the while the Government knew there was no chance and yet continued to send over more soldiers. Things like that. Don’t you think we, the public, have the right to know those sort of things? Was this the birth of “Fake News” ?

The Government got exposed for literally lying to the public. Knowing shit was not going well and yet smiling through gritted teeth in a room on fire saying “this is fine.”

With TheTimes locked down, the top secret papers ended up on the desk of The Washington Post. Now came the dilemma, do they begin publishing their own excerpts from the papers, and risk the same treatment as The Times? Risk being thrown in jail for also “violating the Espionage Act’? It was a major decision they had to make, and it all rested on the publisher, badass queen, Katharine Graham to make that call.

The Washington Post had been in Katharine Graham’s family for decades. If she made the wrong call, she was risking her entire company, the family legacy, the reputation of The Washington Post and, you know, the chance she could get locked up. Lose everything.

However, on the other hand, if she didn’t make the call to print, the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, first amendment right would have been lost. The Government can’t tell you what you can and can not say, and the newspapers were what helped to keep a check on the happenings. What is the point of the papers if they aren’t holding people accountable?

I mean, we all know what happens, but SPOILER ALERT she says “it’s go time”. She found her footing and her strength to do what she felt was right for the people.

Making an insanely bold move, she stood in a room full of men, she worked in what was basically a man’s world, and SHE made that final decision to go to print even though she was being advised to not do it.

And thank God she did.

Without Katharine taking that step, I think the media would have stayed in fear of punishment from the Government.

After The Post printed their story, newspapers around the country began running their own, creating strength in numbers for when they went to battle at the Supreme Court. In my head this was the moment “Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty started playing.

To top it ALL off, the cherry on top, the next big story The Washington Post was the FIRST to break was… The Watergate Scandal.

I’m glad that Katharine Graham got to have her story told. Since All The President’s Men decided her part in the Watergate reporting wasn’t worth including, except for like one line. (Ok, they claimed it was because it was too much to explain what her part in the paper actually was and fine, I believe that’s true, she has a whole movie about her role now.)

So…do I really need to go into detail on why I think this movie is so relevant to our current situation? Hmmm. Do I really need to go there? Right now it’s like…when things go to print I can’t tell what’s really real and what’s not. And I’m not saying that because I think the media is lying to us and it’s “FAKE NEWS.” I think the media has been working really had to try and deliver and put the reports through a strainer to figure out what they think the right reports are.

And it sure doesn’t help that the Government shouts “FAKE NEWS” at every turn of the page.

We don’t need the Government trying to control the news cycles and yet that’s what is kinda happening right now isn’t it? Trying to manipulate the public into not believing certain sources etc. etc. because they don’t like what’s being said about them.

Well maybe don’t suck and then the news won’t suck? There’s a concept!

What “The Post” did for me, was remind me of the IMPORTANCE of the press. Right now it is impossible to believe anything that is happening with our Government.

Now more than ever, we NEED our newspapers to tell us all that they know. We need the investigative journalism like we had during Watergate and the bravery of the reporters and publishers to do the right thing and give us the information. Report with integrity.

But I guess let’s be real…does ANYONE even really know what’s going on anymore? Sigh.

It’s also worth saying that the movie was co-written by a woman, Liz Hannah, who also served as a producer along with Amy Pascal.

It’s a story worth telling, and a story worth listening to.

Girl Power! Freedom of the Press!

Also, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are just a delight to watch banter on screen.