{"id":530,"date":"2016-05-25T02:26:56","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T02:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/?p=530"},"modified":"2017-01-23T19:56:29","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T19:56:29","slug":"spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html","title":{"rendered":"“Spotlight” is sobering, eye opening viewing"},"content":{"rendered":"

DVD movie review<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spotlight<\/em> (2015, USA) is eye opening because it illuminates issues in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

If you have lived in the United States in the last fifteen years you probably would have heard, read or seen stories about the sex abuse scandals there.<\/p>\n

Spotlight<\/em>\u00a0is the story of a newspaper investigation into the abuse scandal in Boston and is up close in the way a movie can.<\/p>\n

Complex and detailed, the movie takes us through a labyrinth of following leads, meetings, interviews, strong personal reactions to what is uncovered, and opposition to the reporting, with one basic thread: get the story before someone shuts them down.<\/p>\n

The Boston Globe investigative newspaper team went after the story of systemic cover-up of child abuse cases in the Boston archdiocese of the Catholic Church in America. The investigative reporters\u2014who usually spend a year on a project\u2014stop what they are doing to follow the abuse story, on the direction of their new editor.\u00a0However, getting the story won’t be easy.<\/p>\n

As portrayed in the movie, the Catholic Church is a powerful institute that will stifle attempts to uncover its inner workings by outsiders.\u00a0The reporter’s have to use their wits and game plan to get around Church bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

However, a story emerges of claims, revelations and the facts.<\/p>\n

For example, for a priest to be sexually active with an adult would be anathema to quite a few Catholics, and would not be widely known, though victims’ lawyer (played by Stanley Tucci) has information that\u00a0fifty percent of priests aren\u2019t celibate and that the child abuse issue comes back to the vow of celibacy.<\/p>\n

The reporters gather information that victims\u2019 silence comes from the church settling with victims behind closed doors and guilt and shame of abuse victims heavily contributes to them keeping silent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"(L-R)<\/a>
(L-R) Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo, as Boston Globe reporters in “Spotlight”. Image sourced via google images (Flickr).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

With a broad brushstroke, the viewer may find their eye on how bad the church is because of two issues: child abuse and the cover up of it.\u00a0We may see the church differently.<\/p>\n

News of abuse stories and cover up is infectious. One of the reporters stops going to church with her grandmother. Another reporter wants the church to pay when the victim\u2019s stories are confirmed.<\/p>\n

Spotlight<\/em> shows the effects of a church compromising its message.\u00a0On Christmas Eve, one reporter listens to \u2018Silent Night\u2019 in the \u2018back row\u2019 of a church, probably skeptically. \u00a0The abuse sullies the name of God.<\/p>\n

People leave. Adults are burnt because as children they were abused. Many victims don\u2019t survive.<\/p>\n

Spotlight<\/em> paints the Catholic Church in the shadows, but the evidence pointing to these abuse cases makes it necessary to do so.<\/p>\n

(I wonder if there will be ever a time when we see a movie that sensitively deals with priests with abuse problems and what can be done to help them.)<\/p>\n

Journalists are the protagonists and heroes that viewers can easily identify with.\u00a0They ‘got to do what they got to do’.<\/p>\n

\n

Warnings<\/strong>\u2014profanity and content that may disturb<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong>: Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Director: Tom McCarthy, Screenwriters: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DVD movie review Spotlight (2015, USA) is eye opening because it illuminates issues in the Catholic Church. If you have lived in the United States in the last fifteen years you probably would have heard, read or seen stories about the sex abuse scandals there. Spotlight\u00a0is the story of a newspaper investigation into the abuse…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":602,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,322],"tags":[106,105,33,8,9,16,7],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dramas","category-justice-fairness","tag-boston-globe","tag-catholic-church","tag-drama","tag-film","tag-film-reviews","tag-life","tag-movies"],"yoast_head":"\n"Spotlight" is sobering, eye opening viewing - Life at the Movies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Spotlight" (2015, USA) is about digging for the story with journalistic passion and integrity and compassion for victims of abuse in catholic church.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Spotlight" is sobering, eye opening viewing - Life at the Movies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Spotlight" (2015, USA) is about digging for the story with journalistic passion and integrity and compassion for victims of abuse in catholic church.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Life at the Movies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-25T02:26:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-23T19:56:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/files\/2016\/05\/Spotlight-300x172.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"pveugelaers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@peteswriting\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Spotlight\" is sobering, eye opening viewing - Life at the Movies","description":"\"Spotlight\" (2015, USA) is about digging for the story with journalistic passion and integrity and compassion for victims of abuse in catholic church.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Spotlight\" is sobering, eye opening viewing - Life at the Movies","og_description":"\"Spotlight\" (2015, USA) is about digging for the story with journalistic passion and integrity and compassion for victims of abuse in catholic church.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html","og_site_name":"Life at the Movies","article_published_time":"2016-05-25T02:26:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-23T19:56:29+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/files\/2016\/05\/Spotlight-300x172.jpg"}],"author":"pveugelaers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@peteswriting","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html","name":"\"Spotlight\" is sobering, eye opening viewing - Life at the Movies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/files\/2016\/05\/Spotlight-300x172.jpg","datePublished":"2016-05-25T02:26:56+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-23T19:56:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/#\/schema\/person\/130d91946aab7658f3eb78312dec28a9"},"description":"\"Spotlight\" (2015, USA) is about digging for the story with journalistic passion and integrity and compassion for victims of abuse in catholic church.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/files\/2016\/05\/Spotlight-300x172.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/files\/2016\/05\/Spotlight-300x172.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/2016\/05\/spotlight-is-sobering-eye-opening-viewing.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Spotlight” is sobering, eye opening viewing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/","name":"Life at the Movies","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Peter Veugelaers","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/#\/schema\/person\/130d91946aab7658f3eb78312dec28a9","name":"pveugelaers","description":"I\u2019m a blogger, and writer for faith-based, mainstream, and alternative publications, in the form of articles, inspiration, and film reviews and commentaries. I enjoy catching up with sport, listening to music, buying a coffee, and keeping an eye on current events. First \u2018awesome\u2019 movie moment was Raiders of the Lost Ark. Amadeus, first \u2018serious\u2019 film. A 3 star rating out of 5 stars is above average from me.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.peteswriting.wordpress.com","https:\/\/x.com\/peteswriting"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/author\/pveugelaers"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/602"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions\/1587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lifeatthemovies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}