{"id":6864,"date":"2018-01-16T03:51:59","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T03:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6864"},"modified":"2018-01-31T02:46:32","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T02:46:32","slug":"movie-review-the-post-it-wasnt-really-6-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=6864","title":{"rendered":"Movie review: “The Post” – It wasn’t REALLY 6-3!"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Ben Bradlee<\/a>\u00a0(Tom Hanks) and “The Post<\/a>” staff get news from an old-timey (3-channel) TV…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

\"TheI just went to see\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Post<\/span><\/a>, the “2017 American\u00a0political thriller<\/a>” featuring\u00a0Meryl Streep<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Katharine Graham<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tom Hanks<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Ben Bradlee<\/a>.\u00a0 (The publisher and executive editor of the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0– respectively – at the time in question.)<\/em><\/p>\n

It brought back a lot of memories.<\/p>\n

The film – set in June 1971 – covered the month when both the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0New York Times<\/a>\u00a0ran afoul of the\u00a0Nixon Administration<\/a>.\u00a0 Specifically, both newspapers ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, charged – essentially – with treason.\u00a0 At stake – also essentially – was the future of\u00a0freedom of the press in the United States<\/a>.\u00a0 (You know, that pain-in-the-ass part of the\u00a0First Amendment of the Constitution<\/a>?)<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0was perhaps best<\/em><\/strong> known for its coverage of\u00a0Watergate scandal<\/a>:<\/p>\n

[From 1972 to 1974], in the best-known episode in the newspaper’s history, reporters\u00a0Bob Woodward<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Carl Bernstein<\/a>\u00a0led the American press’ investigation into what became known as the\u00a0Watergate scandal<\/a>; reporting in the newspaper greatly contributed to the resignation of President\u00a0Richard Nixon<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However,\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Post<\/span>\u00a0(film<\/span>)<\/a>\u00a0covers an earlier time:\u00a0 June, 1971.<\/p>\n

That was when first the\u00a0New York Times<\/a>, then the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0began running a series of articles based on the\u00a0Pentagon Papers<\/a>.\u00a0 (The 47-volume, 7,000-page assessment of the history of the Vietnam War.\u00a0 It was ordered in 1967 by\u00a0Secretary of Defense\u00a0Robert S. McNamara<\/a>, and ultimately\u00a0concluded that the war was “unwinnable.”\u00a0 The papers were “turned over (without authorization) to\u00a0<\/span>The New York Times<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0<\/span>Daniel Ellsberg<\/a>, a senior research associate at the\u00a0Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Center for International Studies.”)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0The Nixon Administration charged Ellsberg with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property – i.e., the\u00a0Pentagon Papers<\/a>\u00a0– for which he faced a possible 115 years in prison.\u00a0 And the substance\u00a0of\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Post<\/span>\u00a0(film<\/span>)<\/a>\u00a0is that “Kate” Graham herself faced criminal prosecution, not to mention personal bankruptcy and the loss of the “family paper.”\u00a0\u00a0(The<\/em>\u00a0Post (newspaper<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

An aside:\u00a0 The paper had been “in the family” since 1933.\u00a0 That’s when Katharine’s father –\u00a0Eugene Meyer<\/a>\u00a0– bought the paper in a bankruptcy action.\u00a0 “In 1946, Meyer was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law,\u00a0Philip Graham<\/a>” –\u00a0Katharine<\/a>‘s husband – who died in 1963.\u00a0 (Which itself offers some interesting drama…)\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

The point being that\u00a0Katharine Graham<\/a>\u00a0had a lot to lose…<\/p>\n

I could write a lot about\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Post<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as both film art and a commentary on how\u00a0history tends to repeat<\/a>.\u00a0 (My original title for this “article” – to avoid a redundant “Post post” – was “Movie review: ‘The Post’ – and history repeating itself…”)\u00a0<\/em> And I will<\/em><\/strong> do more “posts on ‘The Post'” in the future.<\/p>\n

But for today I’ll focus on journalism and its place in American law.<\/p>\n

\"AllFor one thing, I majored<\/em><\/strong> in journalism because of “Woodstein” and the film\u00a0All the President’s Men<\/a>.\u00a0 For another, after graduation in 1976 I went to work for the St. Petersburg Times<\/em> – now the Tampa Bay Times<\/a>\u00a0– for five years.\u00a0 Then I\u00a0 went to law school intending to become a reporter specializing in the law and legal proceedings.<\/p>\n

Which could explain my focus for today’s review.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the film, the staff of the Washington Post<\/em> got a telephone call – on a rotary phone, no less – announcing the Supreme Court’s decision.\u00a0 At stake was not only freedom of the press, but also the personal and financial future of\u00a0Katharine Graham<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ben Bradlee<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0(U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell<\/a>\u00a0was quoted as saying, “Katie Graham’s gonna get her tit caught in a big fat wringer if that’s published.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

The announcement?\u00a0 “We won, 6-3<\/em><\/strong>!”\u00a0 (Or words to that effect<\/a>…)<\/em><\/p>\n

My first reaction?\u00a0 That the scariest<\/em><\/strong> part of the movie was that – back in 1971 – three Supreme Court Justices seemed to agree with the\u00a0Nixon Administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And if that was true back then, what would happen today if the Trump Administration took a similar stand, from its own\u00a0Enemies List<\/a>?\u00a0 Or worse, if Trump goes on to\u00a0pack the Court<\/a>?\u00a0 But –\u00a0 after further review – it turned out that Chief Justice\u00a0Warren Burger<\/a>\u00a0– together with Justices\u00a0John Harlan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Harry Blackmun<\/a>\u00a0– dissented only because of the “haste of the proceedings:”<\/p>\n

[Burger] argued that in the haste of the proceedings, and given the size of the documents, the Court was unable to gather enough information to make a decision…\u00a0\u00a0The Chief Justice did not argue that the Government had met the aforementioned standard, but rather that the decision should not have been made so hastily.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which doesn’t mean the dissenters favored the government.\u00a0 It only meant they thought the decision should not have been made so quickly.\u00a0 (See\u00a0New York Times v. United States<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

To give some perspective, the Times<\/em> published its first article on\u00a0June 13, 1971, while the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a><\/i>\u00a0began publishing its own articles on June 18.\u00a0 The Supreme Court heard oral arguments from the various parties on\u00a0June 25 and 26, and rendered its decision on June 30, 1971.<\/p>\n

Which means the whole process – from the first publishing to the government’s law suit to the final decision by the Supreme Court – took less than three weeks.\u00a0 But in normal\u00a0certiorari<\/a>\u00a0proceedings, “cases take approximately 12 to 24 months from the day they are petitioned until the Supreme Court issues a decision.”<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the\u00a0average schmuck trying to fix a decision in a state court must first “exhaust all state remedies” – which can take years – and such cases are rarely granted review.<\/p>\n

At any rate, the fact that the three dissenting justices only felt the decision was rendered too quickly made me feel a bit better, and not so panicky.<\/p>\n

At least for now…\u00a0 In the meantime, consider this from one\u00a0Thomas Jefferson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

…were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’ll be writing more reviews of\u00a0The<\/span>\u00a0Post<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the future.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"Official<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0The Post (2017) – IMDb<\/a>.\u00a0 Text and\/or images were also gleaned from\u00a0 The Post (2017) \u2013 IMDb<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pentagon Papers \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

RE:\u00a0 “That pain-in-the-ass part of the\u00a0First Amendment<\/a>.<\/em>”\u00a0 \u00a0That\u00a0Amendment<\/a>\u00a0states:<\/em><\/p>\n

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;\u00a0 or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Re:\u00a0 The Pentagon Papers saying the Vietnam\u00a0war was \u201cunwinnable.\u201d\u00a0 The study also indicated that presidential administrations beginning with Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower also routinely lied to the American people as to why the war was necessary in the first place.<\/em><\/p>\n

The photo to the right of the paragraph “To give some perspective,” is captioned “The Monday, July 21, 1969, edition, with the headline ‘The Eagle Has Landed’\u200d – Two Men Walk on the Moon<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 The “normal” length of time for Supreme Court proceedings.\u00a0 See\u00a0How long does a US Supreme Court case take \u2013 Answers.com<\/a>:\u00a0 \u201cMore commonly, cases take approximately 12 to 24 months from the day they are petitioned until the Supreme Court issues a decision.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Re:\u00a0 “Average schmuck” and \u201cexhausting state remedies.\u201d\u00a0 See\u00a0SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES<\/a>, (courtesy of \u201claw.cornell\u201d), and\u00a0U.S. Supreme Court: Failure to Exhaust Remedies Is an Affirmative Defense<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And as another aside, Chief Justice\u00a0Warren Burger<\/a>\u00a0also argued that the\u00a0Times<\/strong>\u00a0should have discussed the possible societal repercussions with the Government prior to publication of the material.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Thomas Jefferson – Wikipedia<\/a>.\u00a0 As to the quote, see<\/em>\u00a0also\u00a0Jefferson\u2019s preference for \u201cnewspapers without government<\/a>,\u00a0Jefferson on Politics & Government: Freedom of the Press<\/a>, and\/or\u00a0Jefferson’s Warning to the White House | Time.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ben Bradlee\u00a0(Tom Hanks) and “The Post” staff get news from an old-timey (3-channel) TV… * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * I just went to see\u00a0The\u00a0Post, the “2017 American\u00a0political thriller” featuring\u00a0Meryl Streep\u00a0as\u00a0Katharine Graham\u00a0and\u00a0Tom Hanks\u00a0as\u00a0Ben Bradlee.\u00a0 (The publisher and executive editor of the\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0– respectively – at the time in question.) It brought back a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6864"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6864"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6938,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6864\/revisions\/6938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}