Medium and truth
The United States in the 1970s experienced the most thrilling moments. On the one hand, the black affirmative movement and the hippie culture swept across. Under the general environment, the United States fell into the quagmire of the Vietnam War. Political scandals and assassinations frequently appeared. American-style freedom and democracy experienced challenge. And this documentary-style film "Presidential Team" ("The Great Conspiracy") that exposes political scandals also reflects the Americans' pursuit of democracy at that time. The film was released in 1976, four years after the "Watergate Incident" (1972). When the directors used cinematic techniques to restore the treacherous historical moments at that time, we still feel what the black inside story of political activities is. It affects the struggle for power and the abuse of power.
Through the persistent pursuit of truth by two media people, the film unfolds the simplified thefts step by step, turning it into a big discussion about democracy and truth. As a media person in a news agency, his professional attributes are full of professional ethics for justice and truth. At the same time, in the United States in the 1970s, television, newspapers, telephones, and other communication media have become quite popular, and communications and media have entered the context of the era of democratic elections and entertainment consumption. The televisions, typewriters, newspapers, telephones, etc. that appear repeatedly in movies have shown that political struggle is no longer a simple internal struggle, but a more extensive and in-depth involvement in our daily lives, and the performances on television media. , The media's hype, the collusion of the interests of individuals and political organizations, these daily entertainment and information reception have become one of the political means of power. The civilians are also getting closer to political life. While American-style democracy is spreading to the lower levels a little bit, the masses of people are also beginning to use the constitution and laws to protect their rights and freedoms.
The justice of the two masters in the movie is such a persistent pursuit of truth and democracy, which has revealed layers of political shady. Although political scandals have punished those in power and the interests of the ruling group have been damaged, it is from the people and democracy. From the standpoint of China, this is undoubtedly a huge leap forward. The truth-seeking of people in the news media and the maintenance of the democratic rights of the people affect the trend of democratic progress in the entire society. It deeply touches those wanton and reckless politicians who pretend to be rulers, and seem to declare the ultimate will of justice and law. Come. The similar news media’s film revealing scandals and the previous Oscar film "Spotlight" also tells about the pursuit of justice and truth as a mass media worker, exposing the hypocrisy and hidden scandals of religious figures. The real touch to people is also huge.
When a film uses film-like means to expose or present another kind of truth, it also corresponds to the news media people using newspapers and television media to report the truth. Movies here also assume the role of social media. At the same time, it It is not only about presentation, but more urgently and importantly is to use many cinematic methods to make the audience in front of the screen think about the relationship between media and reality. Its tool attributes and the difficulty of democratic advancement make it easier for the media to become an auxiliary tool for the rulers to propagate and create benefits that are conducive to the ruling group. The film seems to use this "reflexive" attribute to urge the audience to conduct self-analysis and identification. Blind people are the majority of the group, they constitute the huge pillar of the huge society of the group, just like the people in the movie, facing the unbelievable truth at the beginning, they shout and carnival support the authority who deceived them, But in the face of the truth, he always scolds and scolds. Of course, the end result is that truth prevails over lies, because on this road, people will continue to follow.
——2019, 4, 16
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