The Post (Movie 2017)

The Post takes you into 1971 just when the Pentagon Papers are about to be printed by the press. For several years there had been many nation wide protests against our involvement in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers had been a study created in 1967 by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense. It was to notate the history of the war but was not meant for the public. With good reason, it showed for several Presidential administrations the American people were being lied to as to the real intentions of our military being there and the fact that the war was not winnable. The New York Times first gets access to these explosive documents but are held up when President Nixon has a court injunction slapped on them. The Washington Post which had been playing runner up to The Times had to make the decision to print when the Pentagon Papers then falls in their laps. Highly unusual for the times was the fact The Post was owned and run by a woman. Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) was heir to the newspaper and it is fascinating to watch her in this business of communication struggle to find her voice and take charge. She is surrounded by men who have their own agendas. Some are afraid for the future of the newspaper if they print the documents. Others, such as her editor-in chief, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) believe it's about freedom of the press. Katharine believed in the American people's right to know and freedom of the press. Of course, when they did print the White House went after them and it went to the Supreme Court. I say thank goodness the First Amendment was upheld. As the movie reminds us what Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black said "The press was to serve the governed, not the governors." The film also stars Bradley Whitford and was directed by Steven Spielberg.