{"id":4804,"date":"2017-05-05T09:49:55","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T13:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=4804"},"modified":"2025-08-24T12:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T16:13:31","slug":"into-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2017\/05\/05\/into-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0In 2015, the film \u201cSpotlight\u201d won the Academy Award for best picture. It was a shocking and surprising win to many. Spotlight beat out such heavy favourites as \u201cThe Revenant,\u201d \u201cThe Big Short\u201d and \u201cBridge of Spies.\u201d \u00a0\u201cSpotlight\u201d was a critical success and gathered much buzz post Academy Awards. \u00a0Many home viewers, however, were unaware of this film initially. It wasn\u2019t until the film won best picture that it became the talk of the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSpotlight\u201d is based on a true story. It takes place in and around the Boston area in 2001. The film revolves around a Spotlight team of journalists who work for the Boston Globe. The Spotlight team is responsible for writing investigative journalism. Often these teams use extensive research and gather facts for months before writing the story. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSpotlight\u201d begins when the Boston Globe hires a new editor who wants to investigate a scandal involving the Catholic Church. The team gets word that the archbishop of Boston knew that a priest was sexually abusing children. Initially the team members find that there is a pattern to the abuse and realize that there are many priests involved. The story soon spirals out of control and the team members quickly realize that this scandal is much bigger than they thought. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The subject matter of this film is very heavy and quite upsetting. Many viewers may have a tough time coming to grips with it. Spotlight provides a glimpse into investigative journalism and exposes a conspiracy within the Catholic Church. What was once thought a safe place to practice faith and seek guidance turns into an unimaginable hell. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Upon release, the film gathered much controversy itself. \u00a0The film was attacked by Jeff Dunn. The film portrays him as indifferent to the scandal at hand. Much of this was quickly mediated by Open Road Pictures, the studio behind the film. In 2016, it released a statement to the media stating that fictional dialogue is added and used for dramatic effect. Most surprisingly was the Catholic Church\u2019s response to the film. The Vatican radio even called the film \u201chonest and compelling.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSpotlight\u201d boasts a powerhouse cast. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Liev Schreiber. The acting is superb and there is not a weak performance in the film. One of the most impressive scenes is a confrontation involving Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) and Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton). The scene involves Michael Rezendes arguing with Walter Robinson to get the story out quickly while Walter Robinson doesn\u2019t want to rush it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I asked my co-worker, who is a practicing Catholic, to watch the film to get his thoughts and opinions on the film. He had never seen it before but heard good things about it. When asked what he thought about the film, he simply replied, \u201cI think it was one of the best movies I have ever seen.\u201d When asked what he thought about the film\u2019s content and how that played into his spirituality: \u201cThe subject matter is really heavy,\u201d Terry Price replied. \u201cThe film does not change my spirituality at all, but makes me aware that even in religious practice there are scandals and evil people.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s important to recognize the real faces behind the story. After viewing this film, readers should look up the real-life journalists involved in the Spotlight group. It\u2019s important to recognize all their work and dedication to exposing the truth. Often journalists can put themselves at risk over stories such as these, whether it be career scrutiny or at risk of PTSD involving details of the investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cSpotlight is must-watch viewing and comes very highly recommended. You will enjoy \u201cSpotlight\u201d if you enjoyed such films as \u201cAll the President\u2019s Men\u201d or \u201cThe Insider.\u201d All because of the Spotlight team, many individuals have come forward to share their stories of abuse that they suffered at the hands of those they trusted the most. Hopefully because of films like these it will inspire more to come forward and share their stories and be able to heal. Overall, \u201cSpotlight\u201d gets four out of five stars, as it does drag in a few spots. You will soon see, however, why this is must-watch viewing. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0In 2015, the film \u201cSpotlight\u201d won the Academy Award for best picture. It was a shocking and surprising win to many. Spotlight beat out such heavy favourites as \u201cThe Revenant,\u201d \u201cThe Big Short\u201d and \u201cBridge of Spies.\u201d \u00a0\u201cSpotlight\u201d was a critical success and gathered much buzz post Academy Awards. \u00a0Many home viewers, however, were unaware […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4804"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8842,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804\/revisions\/8842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}