From the end of December to the present, each of us seems to be carried away by the epidemic, especially in the initial stage of the epidemic, everyone seems to be enveloped by an atmosphere of panic, we cannot deny that a large part of this is due to various news and various media reports. But in the meantime, there is one man whose name cannot be ignored, who gave us a brief respite from the atmosphere of panic, but at the same time caused waves of public outrage. He can be said to be the first person to be vigilant about the new crown virus and to remind relatives and friends around him, but few people really believe his emotional warnings, and because of some more radical words He encountered some misunderstandings at work. This is a conflict and contest between personal and national security. And what about the news media that should best display, monitor and protect national security? The answer lies in The Washington Post.
The film "Washington Post" about the famous "Pentagon Papers" leak, how a team of "Washington Post" obtained after the "New York Times" reported on the state secret documents about the Vietnam War and was banned by the court from publishing related information stories that defend the freedom of the press by organizing and deciding to publish relevant information. In this film, it is worth mentioning that the director and screenwriter spent a little bit of thought on Katherine played by Meryl Streep, which implies the ups and downs of the rise of women's status and the possibility of equal rights between men and women.
Although "Washington Post" is a biographical film, it was shot by director Spielberg with a sense of rhythm and entertainment. It is not a serious, purely realistic biographical film. In the use of audio-visual language, Spielberg still has his own ingenuity. Using cross-montages to intersperse successive presidents' speeches on the Vietnam War as Dan Ellsberg browses while printing classified documents, and features Dan and the printed documents, making the passage more rhythmic and engaging with each The heart of a viewer who examines the document with it and learns how confidential the document is; when filming Katherine's group scene, whether it's in the restaurant where Ben meets, or the company's conference room, or the stock exchange , always a group of men in black suits, Catherine was embarrassed at first glance as the only woman. There is a scene worth mentioning is that after the meeting, Kathryn is behind the three men, and trying to join their discussion and was ignored, combined with Kathryn's performance in the meeting, it is very clear to the audience that it is a name and does not care. The image of the boss of the company; the director's arrangement in the telephone group scene where the final decision on whether to print the newspaper is also interesting. The composition is tight and loose, the rhythm of the editing is fast and slow, and Katherine is shot with a large overhead shot accompanied by a panning shot. , which better highlights Catherine's hesitation, and also makes the audience look forward to the decision she makes based on a God's perspective. This clip of less than three minutes makes the audience enjoy watching; In one image, Spielberg chose to use a voyeuristic perspective, seeing his figure from a window of the White House, accompanied by a real phone recording, which enhanced the realism of the film and added a little interest to the president. distance from the people.
Of course, the most important thing in this film is its pursuit of press freedom, press independence and the profound connotation of feminism. What is news? In the film, Kathryn says to Ben at the end, "My husband used to say that news is the first draft of history." The reason why we learn today what happened yesterday, what the world and society looked like when we were not born, also Or let future generations know what we have experienced today, a large part of which depends on the news and on these media. The wheel of history will eventually be accompanied by the rut of the news media. It is true that news can be reported at the time and recorded in history later, which is tantamount to press freedom and press independence. In the film, when The Washington Post debates whether to publish classified documents, Ben once said, "If we live in a world where the government decides what we publish, our Washington Post would be long gone." "The only way to defend the freedom of the press is to publish", Ben persuaded Catherine in the end, and they were awakened by the conscience, kindness, impartiality, objectivity, and responsibility that media people should have in their hearts. Recall that in Mill's "On Liberty" there is such a passage: "The price we pay for the peaceful vision of this intellectual (no objection, absolute unity of opinion) world is the total sacrifice of moral courage in the human mind." He thinks he has the courage to confront the president, but his wife says that Catherine is really brave, because Ben lost this job and can find it again, but Catherine has always been looked down upon by others, and now she has done such a useless thing. things she could lose more. If Ben mustered up his courage in order to break the illusion, then Katherine, in addition to courage, put the "Washington Post", the pillar of her soul, which she loved all her life, full of love for her father and husband.
At the end of the film, the "Washington Post" won the case 6-3, and the judge said at the end that "the necessary protections given by the founding fathers to the freedom of the press are for the media to play its important role in our democratic system. The voice of the people is the voice of the government, not the mouthpiece of the government.” Every time I see this sentence, I always feel a sense of excitement and pride in being a news media person. Widely spread, it seems to contain the passion and blood of every media person, the original intention and mission of every media person. Sometimes, we may all be Will of Don Quixote in "Newsroom", we may be Bradley of "Morning News" upholding the truth, and we may be upholding justice in "Newspaper" Holly. In any case, I think we should all be journalistic fundamentalists with passion and dreams, minds for the world, for the world, for the people, for the past, and for the sake of peace.
Finally, I want to say to all the girls, don't be afraid, go forward, when Katherine comes out of the courthouse, the hot female eyes are your motivation. Sometimes, we may be too idealistic, but we must believe that being an idealist does not mean that we cannot walk in reality. You see, a group of idealists in "Washington Post" are changing reality step by step.
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