The Post (2018) is an Oscar Nominated Drama/Thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Meryl Streep (Kay Graham) along with Tom Hanks (Ben Bradlee). It takes place in 1971 Washington, D.C. during the Nixon Administration. The New York Times and the Washington Post were brought to trial in the Supreme Court for publishing reports from the classified files of the McNamara study. These pages held federal information about the Vietnam War that the government had kept secret for over 30 years.The Washington Post had a grand total of seven hours to publish their breaking news in regards to the government scandal.
Kay Graham, the owner of the Washington Post, must decide if she will reveal the data despite the dangers of violating the espionage law. She’s been surrounded by the male populated business world her entire career; the company was handed down to her by her father. Upon the arrival of the Pentagon papers, she must discern whether to follow her morals by publishing the government’s corruption and lose her paper, or play it safe as her colleagues implored. Its drama and suspense are based on historical events, but it resonates with current political events because the government continues to work behind closed doors. The film informs the audience to keep a keen eye on the government and teaches us to protect our rights that have been set since the founding fathers as well as new ones that we’ve earned.
The Post is a five-star film that was highly anticipated on short notice, and for good reason. The film perfectly depicts the reality of being a reporter. A newspaper must always be one step ahead so the news goes out on time for the readers the next day. Reporters must always follow up with the media and be ready to hand in an article under tight deadlines. Editors must make sure no error in the draft is over sighted before publishing. This is all to preserve the relevance of time-sensitive articles. It perfectly refreshes the holy grail of the newspaper, which is to publish news for the sake of the people and the welfare of a country, not to serve private agendas under censorship.