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Spotlight is a movie that demonstrates how journalism can bring change to the world. The film tells the true story of the Boston Globe newspaper team, known as the Spotlight.
The premise of the story follows the team, usually focused on investigative journalism, as they unfold a massive scandal encompassing child molestation and cover-up within the city's Catholic Archdiocese. This mission ends up shaking the entire Catholic Church.
This team features popular stars from Hollywood, including Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Ruffalo. The film ultimately won an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.
The Spotlight team spent months digging into this story. They interviewed various victims and law enforcement officials to fill in the gaps. They read through numerous documents and worked diligently on their research to prepare an accurate and factual news piece.
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Spotlight demonstrates how journalists work on a daily basis. Additionally, several other movies based on journalism, such as All the President's Men, The Post, and She Said, mirror the themes depicted in this film.
Disclaimer: The article contains the writer's opinion.
All the President's Men, The Post, She Said, and two other movies on journalism to watch if you liked Spotlight
1) All the President's Men
All the President's Men narrates the story of two reporters from The Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. They go on a mission to investigate a break-in at the Watergate building, which resulted in the president leaving office.
This film illustrates the challenges of uncovering the truth. Just like Spotlight, it sheds light on the world of reporting as they work long hours. The characters tirelessly make several calls and meet secret sources to get to the bottom of their story.
The storyline offers a glimpse into the power of journalism, which can even hold those in authority accountable. The work is tedious, less dramatic than expected, but the results are accurate, and hence, proving that sincere reporting can transform history.
This film is available on Amazon Prime for viewers to watch.
2) The Post
Like Spotlight, The Post by Steven Spielberg explores the journalism genre.
The film follows the story of the Washington Post newspaper around 1971. It depicts how the team obtains access to the Pentagon Papers, a set of secret documents about the Vietnam War.
The government prevented it from being seen by the public, but the newspaper decided to expose the authorities and publish the papers.
The film includes Meryl Streep as the owner of the newspaper, while Tom Hanks plays the role of an editor.
Just like Spotlight, this film illustrates how journalism struggles to uncover the truth. The reporters at The Post face various hurdles. Their work puts them at risk of even going to jail. However, the storyline demonstrates that bravery and truth ultimately prevails over everything. The team stands up against the government, yet goes to what is needed.
The Post additionally proves that an independent press is crucial for democracy. The movie shows the difficult choices that a newspaper is compelled to make. They choose the truth over security. The film mirrors the power of journalism in Spotlight. The narrative is not only entertaining but also educational for the viewers.
The film is available on Amazon Prime for viewers to watch.
3) The Insider
The Insider narrates the story of a whistleblower (portrayed by Russell Crowe) from a tobacco company. The TV producer (portrayed by Al Pacino) of a news channel is adamant about seeking the truth.
The tobacco company does everything it can to prevent the story from blowing up in its face. The company uses threats and even legal action to intimidate the reporting team, but they do not back down.
Just like Spotlight, this film depicts malicious authorities attempting to conceal the truth at all costs.
The storyline depicts the cost of exposing big companies. The reporters, regardless of this risk, do everything in their power to tell crucial stories. This resonates with fans of Spotlight, as both films show the reality of investigative journalism.
This film is available on Amazon Prime for viewers to watch.
4) Zodiac
This unconventional tale of journalism revolves around a serial killer in California. It demonstrates how news reporters try to catch the killer. The investigators, portrayed by Anthony Edwards and Mark Ruffalo, and reporters, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal, get obsessed with finding the killer's identity and bringing justice to the victims.
Meanwhile, the Zodiac Killer goes on to send letters to the firm requesting that his story be published. This film, like Spotlight, depicts the aftermath of the intersection of crime and reporting.
The reporters spend years finding the truth, verifying facts, and interviewing people, illustrating the difficulty of portraying the struggles of solving complex cases. Despite the killer not being caught, the movie explores the impact of such criminal tasks on journalism.
This struggle mirrors the chaos of Spotlight, as both movies depict obsessive reporting and prove that some stories can potentially consume journalists. The suspense of the film and plot twists keep the audience guessing till the end.
This film is available on Netflix for viewers to watch.
5) She Said
This film tells the story of Harvey Weinstein's exposure. The premise of the story follows determined New York Times reporters (portrayed by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan) as they investigate sexual assault claims against the producer.
The story becomes very difficult to report, as many victims and resourceful people fear giving interviews. Just like Spotlight, this movie illustrates the challenges and difficulties reporters face in exposing those in power.
She Said demonstrates the strength of journalism in protecting vulnerable victims and also proves that investigative reporting is as crucial in today's time. The reporters work tirelessly to fact-check every piece of information they receive and expose the abuse by larger institutions.
The film also tells the origin of the #MeToo movement, which became a cultural phenomenon. It proved that newspapers possess the power to create a significant change.
These five movies narrate different stories around journalism. Each one, however, proves the power of reporters to make a big difference in the world. Just like Spotlight, they display that sincere journalism often gets boring instead of being dramatic, but exposes the dark truth of society.
