Review of The Post (2017) by Rebecca H — 12 Jan 2018

Interesting observation: critics ratings of The Post are in high 80s and user ratings are in the 60s -about the same proportion polls show support for 45. Biggest problem for these users who fall asleep seems to be: There are absolutely no car chases and no blood spurting out of blown up heads. What? Exposition and dialog? Also, this film makes you try to remember who Robert McNamera was and what that guy Richard Nixon did and what were the misdeeds and motivations of a lot of characters. Oh, and there?s a lot of fast paced policy talk with so any big words. And all those details about Vietnam. No wonder these poor viewers had so much trouble staying awake. And no one in the film even set off a bomb! Spielberg instead, told a effective and compelling complex visual story about one of the most important moments in First Amendment history. A decision made by a women against the best financial interests of her wealthy family in favor American?s right to know the truth. When the Supreme Court upheld The Post?s and the NYT?s right to publish the Pentagon Papers it was a landmark victory for the people?s right to they truth from their elected representatives and for government transparency. It was a high point for our Constitutional rights and reinforced the idea that the essential mission of the press is to support Democracy by helping create an informed citizenry.

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep give nuanced and moving performances. Streep played Margaret Thatcher as a cast Iron Lady. By contrast her Kathryn Graham is a genteel socialite overwhelmed by overbearing white powerbrokers, full of insecurities brewing beneath her assured surface who finds her spinal iron when it counts. Yes, she was rich and privileged but she had to get the upper hand in a room full of men. Some viewers here are misunderstanding this retelling of a pivotal historic event as proof of another MSM liberal plot. The lesson from this is that back then both parties and the Supreme Court stood up to autocratic executive overreach and Nixon?s attempted suppression of the rule of law.

For me this was a sad film that celebrated an era that is forever lost in a digital stream of undifferentiated information overload. Many Americans are so confused and misled by garbage info they can?t see how important it is to understand this story now. This is a crucial story that everyone who cares about preserving the American form of democracy must see and understand. If you are dissing MSM, suspend your cognitive dissonance. Concentrate a bit more than most films require, keep track of who?s who and the payoff will be great insights into why the founders put freedom of the press in the First Amendment. The society that does not understand its history is doomed to repeat it.