Spotlight: A Journey into Investigative Journalism

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Film Essay The film, Spotlight, directed by Tim McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer, was a fantastic journey into the world of investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is when reporters go out and make it their mission to investigate certain topics. They take months or years even to fully prepare to release a story that brings serious issues to the attention of the people, especially the authorities. Not everyone agrees with their type of work, especially in today's times when people can write about anything whether it is legitimate or not. Spotlight's themes coordinate with the idea of investigative journalism and justice from beginning to end. The incredible main characters such as Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo), Walter …show more content…

The setting is brought back in time to the 1970’s, in a newsroom, full of happy and dedicated journalists. A specific scene that Sheila O’Malley, a reviewer of RogerEbert, enjoys distinctly towards the end is when the press is printing and spreading the story of the church abuses. She says that a scene like that is so modern-day and overused, but Spotlight gives a vast amount of emotion detail to it which makes it exquisite. The movie begins with a strong message and ends with a strong message. McCarthy’s understanding of journalism and its impact on the people is astounding. Another reviewer notes that McCarthy’s view on writers comes directly from their articles (Scott). The acting for the characters is what makes the whole movie intriguing. The actors were able to portray the journalistic vision McCarthy had based off of what he knew, and they were able to fill the characters with soul, emotion, and realistic reactions to all spectrums of what would happen in a situation similar to the event. An example of the heart an actor put into a character is when Baron’s character says, “We need to focus on the institution, not the individual priests. Practice and policy; show me the church manipulated the system so that these guys wouldn't have to face charges, show me they put those same priests back into parishes time and time again. Show me this was systemic, that it came from the top, down” (Spotlight). There is an instant strong emotion given off in this statement for the viewers to see the determination an actual person would

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