Movie: The Post (2017) #Oscars #BestPicture

I truly loved this movie. I wanted to be a journalist when I was a child. I wanted to write, to entertain and to inform. Ma thought there would be more money in my learning how to “do” books vs “write” books. So, business courses it was. I look back with melancholy on that decision (though I would not change a thing because I am who I am as a result of the life I lived and I like myself, on most sunny days).

From the get-go, the disparity between the treatment of men and women in this film makes me utterly sad. I know the times were what they were (are). But it makes it no less sad that this talented, brilliant, charismatic woman had to live in the shadow of her father and husband, all because she was too polite to realize her own potential.

“They knew we couldn’t win but still sent boys to die.” All to avoid humiliation of defeat…the fucking ego of man. The counterpoint to that statement would be the women who noted that their brothers, their son were “over there”. Humanity, in this case, could have been better served by the rule of a woman – one who gave birth to one who would be fighting. There is something about the connection that a mother has with her child. And the empathy of a mother to understand the pain of other mothers. And through that, if women led I believe they would hold those young lives more sacred and with less involvement from ego. But, I digress.

“Wouldn’t you go to prison to stop this war?” Could the same be held relevant today?

Then “the politicians and the press trusted each other”. Such a stark comparison to today. When all is fake news or this side v that side.

The way they portray Kay Graham’s sleep patterns (on the desk, covered in books on the bed, just everywhere she can catch a nap) would be me, if I were single. HA

That first moment of being given the go to publish…. THAT moment, the one the changed history, that kept Amendment One teetering on it’s edge….THAT moment was my favorite of the whole movie. I was completely involved at that point.

But…the moment that Kay Graham leaves court and decides to not give a statement…she walks down the stairs on the far side, between a column of women who looked at her with the utmost respect… I cried. That moment touched my heart.

I recommend it. I highly recommend it. And, if you do not see the relevance to modern times, my blog might not be one you should follow.

Some Interviews and Extra Video:

IMDB Synopsis: A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.

Starring:

Meryl Streep
Tom Hanks

Trailer:

Additional Movie Info:

It received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 88% Fresh. It received a Rotten Tomato audience rating of 73% liking it. Average Rating: 3.7/5 with a number of User Ratings: 9,688.

Movie Reviews:

Specs: Release date: 12 January 2018 (USA) / Runtime: 116 minutes / Budget: $50M

IMDB Trivia:

In all of the scenes depicting President Nixon on the phone in the Oval Office, Nixon’s actual voice is heard from White House tapes.
In scenes involving the Pentagon Papers, the actual Daniel Ellsberg‘s original documents were used as genuine props, including the pages that were scattered over the floor of Benjamin C. Bradlee (Tom Hanks)’ home.
In his memoir, the real Daniel Ellsberg claimed that walking out of RAND with the Pentagon Papers (and returning them) over the course of months was a calculated risk, since he had never had his bag checked by security, but he did not know for sure if it was not policy to do so.
Steven Spielberg wanted to have his film released as quickly as possible given the parallels between its theme and the burgeoning political ‘fake news’ climate in the U.S. According to Meryl Streep, the physical shoot started in May (2017) and finished at the end of July (2017) and Spielberg had it cut two weeks later, an unprecedented feat. The gestation from script to final cut lasted a modest 9 months
The Post is dedicated to Nora Ephron, once married to Carl Bernstein who with Bob Woodward uncovered the Watergate scandal in 1972 as reporters for The Washington Post.
Although this goes unexplained in the movie, when Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo needed to photocopy the pilfered papers, the place they found to do it was an advertising agency founded by Russo’s then-girlfriend, Lynda Harris Sinay. For allowing the photocopying to happen at her business, Sinay was pursued by prosecutors, but was designated an unindicted coconspirator and was never actually prosecuted. She later married businessman Stewart Resnick and together they built a highly lucrative business empire that includes such brands as Fiji Water, POM Wonderful pomegranate products, and Teleflora Florists. The Resnicks are also past owners of the Franklin Mint.
The Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1972 was awarded only to The New York Times for its publication of the Pentagon Papers.
In the scene showing Vietnam War protesters, the words spoken by one of them are taken from Mario Savio’s “Put your bodies upon the gears” speech during the 1964 Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley.
When Daniel Ellsberg and his associates sneak into an office to use a photocopy machine (to reproduce the Pentagon Papers), a movie poster for the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is visible on the wall. That movie shared a star (Robert Redford) and a screenwriter (William Goldman) with the most famous filmed adaptation of the Nixon-era corruption scandals, All the President’s Men (to which The Post makes many cinematic references).
The film was shot under the working title, “Nor’Easter.”
International art star Blake Emory appears as a protester.
The last scene of the film shows the Watergate break-in, which was famously reported on by the Post. In Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks witnesses this event.