In New HBO Documentary the Price of Fake News is Credible Journalism
(Photo Credit: HBO)
By Veronica Longo
Released by HBO on March 19, Andrew Rossi’s documentary, “After Truth” is a powerful cautionary tale that provides an intense look at the resurgence of fake news and conspiracy theories and how they blur the lines of journalism. It shows the very real effect media can have on people in communities and warns its viewers to maintain the ability to distinguish fact from fiction.
Rossi, who Lehmanites may be familiar with from his past work on “Bronx Gothic,” breaks down how rumors on websites such as Reddit can travel as far as a Washington lobbyist, Jack Burkman.
Burkman gives a chilling statement about the role of fake news in modern media stating, “fake news is a weapon, fake news is a good way to drive a story… It’s become a tool of war.”
Rossi uses examples of how some events become exaggerated into a conspiracy and breaks down the process of fake news contorting the truth, which include distorting data to make people believe the reality is more sinister.
The film also shows the profound effect that misinformation can have on a community and families; a first example of this phenomena in “After Truth” takes place in 2015, when a military exercise known as Jade Helm 15, creates mass hysteria in the small town of Bastrop, TX.
Conspiracy theorists on YouTube pushed many small towns’ mistrust of the current government to create chaos. Locals attended town meetings, voiced their concerns of a martial law enacted by the Obama administration and got locked up in concentration camps. Even after a reasonable explanation was given for the exercise, fright still ran its course in numerous small towns.
Fictitious or not, Governor Abbot still sent States Guardsmen to monitor the military exercise, a response that finally calmed many locals but created a dangerous precedent in which the actions of the Texan government lent credibility to a deception created by conspiracy theorists. Rossi said, “We are in a weaponized information environment.” Information, fake or real, is quickly becoming a weapon.
The film also takes an interesting look at some news organizations’ role in driving misinformation.
Fox News, for example, uses their well-known news anchors to present rumors and opinions to be perceived as facts and breaking news. Outlets that present these types of stories will often retract the story, but never apologize to the families they affected with the misinformation.
Rossi asks of journalistic integrity: “How can news corporations just abandon the facts but face no repercussions for doing so?”
At a focal point in the film, Rossi emphasizes alt-right conservatives aren’t the only ones guilty of using fake news to their advantage, as the special elections for Alabama Senator in 2017 shows. Democrat Doug Jones against Republican Roy Moore, shows how the democratic left can use the same tactics employed during the 2016 presidential elections to sway voters. Matt Osbourne, a political operative, used Facebook and other social media to “give the Republican Party a taste of their own medicine,” pushing a fake group to push others away from Roy Moore.
“After Truth” showcases the impact that news, fake or real, can have on people’s daily lives. Rossi could not have chosen a better time to warn society about blindly believing in anything that is shown, demonstrating the need to rely on credible sources, rather than accepting social media trends as news.
Rossi’s feature should be viewed by all, for it shows the importance of understanding how fake news tries to create an “us vs. them” mentality, just as the world is experiencing a modern pandemic. The film’s ability to surprise and inform are key reasons to watch it.
In ‘Lost Girls’ Desperation Takes on a New Role: Motherhood
(Photo Credit: IMDB)
By Sally Barrilla
Originally a 2016 book of the same name, the new Netflix film “Lost Girls” translates well onto a screen with a slightly sinister, thrilling and dramatic vibe. Released on March 13, the film is based on a true story of the disappearance and unsolved murder of Shannan Gilbert, a 24-year-old Jersey City resident and sex worker whose mother, Mari Gilbert, fought hard for justice.
Starring Amy Ryan and Miriam Shor and directed by Liz Garbus, the movie begins with a chilling scene where Shannan runs away in evident terror from an unseen pursuer in a dark car. The scene then cuts to Mari, a struggling construction worker and mother, as she goes about her day. Mari gave Shannan to a foster home at the age of seven, since she couldn’t bear watching her suffer from both bipolar and eating disorders any longer.
After going back and forth between foster homes and her mother’s house, Shannan settles finally in New Jersey while her mother and sisters, Sherre and Sarra, live in upstate New York. Mari and Shannan’s past struggles affected their mother-and-daughter relationship, but a conversation early in the film where Shannan promises to visit for dinner, gives Mari hope of a loving meeting.
When Mari receives a mysterious call asking for Shannan, she decides to ask around the local neighborhood for Shannan’s possible whereabouts. Mari becomes hysterical upon learning her daughter is missing and begins knocking on strangers’ doors. This scene is rife with anxiety; viewers can feel Mari’s desperation as she realizes her daughter is gone.
Shannan’s death does not seem to be fully addressed; Mari has to enforce most of the investigation herself, rather than the police, who insist she’s making a big deal out of nothing.
The police assume Shannan may have simply drowned, but her mother thinks otherwise, believing that one person was responsible. As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that it is Mari’s guilt for failing Shannan as a mother that fuels her to find her daughter.
(Photo Credit: The Wrap)
Refusing to back down and digging a little deeper, Mari discovers that Shannan made a 23-minute phone call on the morning of her disappearance, but the police took more than an hour to arrive at the scene. The police tell Mari that nearby residents claimed Shannan appeared to be on drugs, so they pressure her with questions about her relationship with her daughter.
Mari’s quest to find Shannan is fast-paced and adrenaline-filled, with new hurdles around every corner. However, the film lacks drama at some crucial moments, making it seem insincere due to some bad acting.
Mari’s drive to find her daughter is most convincing when she crosses paths with law enforcement and becomes heavily involved in the investigation.
Mari’s search extends across the course of a year and various obstacles; she was finally able to see her daughter again on Dec. 13, 2011, but not as she had hoped. Shannan’s remains and belongings were uncovered in a marsh only half a mile away from where she had originally disappeared in May 2010.
After numerous female bodies are found on the South Shore of Long Island and Oak Beach, a possible culprit emerges, officially known as the “Long Island Serial Killer.” The killer was disclosed to have murdered around a total of 10 to 16 victims. Yet, the murderer has never been charged nor identified, even in Shannan Gilbert’s case.
This film exemplifies that no mother is perfect, but once she discovers something has happened to her beloved offspring, all bets are off. Mari may be attempting to redeem herself from leaving Shannan in the past but just goes to show that a mother will do anything to protect her child.
The powerful message of this movie makes it worth seeing, but be warned that those who get sad or scared easily should approach with caution. “Lost Girls” is a haunted house ride - you may know what to expect, but there are still surprises around every corner.
“She won’t be forgotten,” said the real Mari Gilbert in a conference in Feb. 2016 shown in a brief clip at the end of the film, months before her unfortunate death. “And we are going to continue to fight as long as we need to until justice is served for our daughter.”
Soderbergh's Timely Thriller Forecasts Life in Pandemic
The DVD release cover of “Contagion.” (Image courtesy of IMDB.)
By Michael Omoruan
As the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on a worldwide scale, many are looking to the 2011 movie “Contagion” for terrifying deja vu. It is a film that feels less like a Hollywood blockbuster and more like a nail-biting documentary of the present.
The plot feels familiar to anyone surviving the current pandemic: a new virus slowly spreads among people worldwide, starting in Minnesota and London, then all the way to Tokyo.
Directed exceptionally well by Steven Soderbergh and set in the midst of the holiday season, “Contagion” shows how family gatherings multiply the public’s exposure to the virus, a side effect of seasonal travel, allowing it to reach across all corners of the world.
Strong performances from its main and supporting cast bring the film to life.
The standouts are definitely Jude Law’s portrayal of a popular online journalist named Alan Krumwiede, who is looking for answers to how the virus spread so fast, while Ellis Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne), lead member of the CDC, tries his best to contain the situation.
At a crucial moment in the film, when test trials begin to seek a vaccine to combat the virus, the two butt heads and their superb delivery during this climactic encounter will have viewers forgetting that they're watching a film, and not real life.
The film shares many commonalities with the current state of the world, the biggest being the spread of COVID-19.
On a Chinese farm, a bat flies in eating a piece of banana that soon falls in front of a pig. The pig eats it not long before being slaughtered and taken to be prepared by a chef who shakes hands with the main character Beth at the casino she was in, eventually infecting her. According to several reports from the CDC, bats may have been the cause of the coronavirus spreading all over the world.
The film also talks in length about the power of digital media and how online sources are quickly overshadowing print media outlets for spreading information.
Alan Krumwiede runs an online blog called “Truth Serum Now,” which he boasts has over 12 million readers. He taunts a San Francisco Chronicle writer that his blog gets more hits than his paper and will soon put them out of business.
Krumwiede live streams on his site, feigning illness from the virus and uses a holistic oil to “cure” himself, which also felt like a premonition by Soderbergh and Burns. Similarly, radio show host Alex Jones recently promoted his own so-called cure for the coronavirus during a livestream, according to an article by the New Yorker.
Damon’s portrayal of a father slowly watching his world crumble is extremely powerful. Viewers will relate to the escalation of his paranoia as riots ensue when shortages for a newly discovered treatment arises. He panics throughout the film whenever he’s with his daughter Jory as he tries to make sure she doesn't get infected.
Kate Winslet, who plays an epidemiologist researching the spread of the virus, cleverly conveys how dangerous the work of health officials can be, when her character also eventually succumbs to the symptoms of the illness. Marion Cotillard plays Dr. Leonara Orantes, another epidemiologist, who gets abducted by a group of Chinese government officials and used as bait to obtain first access to a cure for their village.
“Contagion” showcases how different facets of society react to a modern pandemic with impressive accuracy. The riot scenes and laboratory scenes with scientists suggest how stressful and overwhelmed many of these essential workers must feel.
It is one of a whole sub-genre of films that deal with novel viruses, among which are “The Flu” in 2013, a South Korean film about an airborne strain of the H5N1 virus in Seoul; “Carriers” in 2009 starring Chris Pine of “Star Trek” fame, about two brothers and friends escaping a virus spread; and “Outbreak” in 1995, a story that stars Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman about a smuggled monkey virus air-spread from into the United States.
Despite the heavy and dark subject matter of “Contagion,” it still ends on a rather optimistic note: the government has begun administering vaccines based on birthdays and begins to call out dates through a lottery-based system, due to the limited supply. Since the film so closely resembles our current reality, I would only suggest watching this if you really enjoy medical dramas/thrillers.
Spanish Show ‘Elite’ Takes on New Topics
Season 3 premiered on March 13. (Photo Credit: IMD)
By Mayte Peña
Spanish teen drama and thriller, “Elite” explores sexuality, religion, drugs and murder-related topics in new, nuanced ways, making it a gripping viewing experience.
Created for Netflix by Carlos Montero and Dario Madrona, “Elite” follows the adventures of a group of students who attend the prestigious school Las Encinas. The Spanish show has been breaking boundaries from the very first season by addressing serious issues teens deal with today, allowing fans to contemplate these issues in their own lives. Polyamorous relationships are rarely, if ever, shown on-screen in popular culture, but “Elite” is respectful in its portrayal of the relationship between the main characters Polo, Carla and Christian.
Season one introduces three new working-class students given scholarships to attend Las Encinas High: outgoing Christian, (Miguel Herrán), who gets involved in a polyamorous relationship with two wealthy students, along with Nadia (Mina El Harmmani), the ambitious daughter of Palestinian immigrants, and Samuel (Itsan Escamilla),who becomes close to Marina, a student whose father has funded their scholarship. What begins as a teen drama about how they try to fit in at their new school quickly transforms into a classic whodunit.
Elite broke Netflix during its premiere day. (Photo Credit Variety)
When it’s revealed that Marina has been murdered, Nadia, Samuel and Christian find themselves pulled into a web of mysteries and deceit. Flash-forwards to Marina’s death drive the action of the plot within seasons one and two, dropping hints about the killer’s identity.
Elite’s third season premiered on March 13, adding to a compelling new twist of these high Scholler’s stories. Just as things seems to be winding down after the mystery of Marina’s murder was solved, another death leaves the students desperate for answers.
As the season progresses, conflict between characters are revealed while new and old romances come into play. The clues fed to the viewers keep them guessing until the very last moments of the season, a thrilling adventure full of drama and suspense.
In season three we have polyamorous love between Polo and his new girlfriend Cayetana and Valerio who becomes their sexual game, as in season one with Carla and Christian.
In exploring the polyamorous, “Elite” reassures its audience that it is acceptable to have or experiment with open relationships, a testament to the many forms love can take.
“Elite” is a breath of fresh air to teen audiences: its hyper focus on the glamorous lives of the wealthy and privileged is an addictive escape, reminiscent of “Gossip Girl,” but unlike that show from the early 2000s, it features a diverse cast of characters with different backgrounds, religions and places of origin.
It is a must-see for anyone who loves drama, mysteries and fast-paced thrillers; viewers can see themselves in the characters, providing representation that is desperately needed in the teen drama genre today.