Some of you may know that I constantly sing the praises of The Newsroom. This started about the time that I started with Organizing for America last year, which is when I sent two whole days marathoning the show. I was intrigued by the premise, a news show that actually gives you the news. No BS, the news, stories that were actually important. As a BA in Political Science, this idea excited me. I am normally one to avoid major news broadcasts and go straight to BBC and Al Jazeera before I even consider looking at CNN, ABC, FOX, or MSNBC. I can't sit through the garbage that they report on before they get to things that actually affect our lives, and sometimes they never even get to that.
What really hit me and made me love the show was the very first monologue. The answer given by character Will McAvoy to what I considered an absurd question. "What makes America the greatest country in the world?" The answer that had immediately flown from my lips appeared on my screen. "It isn't, not anymore."The full monologue may be the best piece of writing I have ever seen and it may be the most daring statement ever made by television. I was awestruck. I was also hooked. The Newsroom is a show that is made for people like me. People who watch these events unfold, but have to do through news outlets that are not even from their country. People who try to talk about these events happening and no one seems to care or the information that they have on the issue is heavily biased by the news station they received it from. The Newsroom is the news show of my dreams. Unfortunately, it is a show, a drama, not a real news show.
Now, what I really love about the show is not the message, not the dream of it, but the way it makes me feel. The Newsroom is really hard for me to watch. Every episode reminds me of a day that I stared in disbelief, sadness, fury, and joy at what was going on in the world around me. Things like the shooting of Gabby Giffords, the Japanese Tsunami, the Gulf Oil Spill, the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, the GOP primaries, etc. These are things that I wrote about. I posted on a blog with Leon about these events. Events that made my heart stop and my eyes water. Events that disgusted me. Every episode brings back those feelings because it is like it is happening all over again and that is a good thing. Remembering those feelings is a good thing because these are events that should not be forgotten, should not be swept under the rug of history. If we remember, we will make change. We will never allow these things to happen again.
I am not saying that you have to love the show. Not everyone will. But give it a chance. It will teach you things about our country and our world. It will keep your memory fresh and those emotions present so that change is made. Change is the mission of our generation after all.
"First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."
Will McAvoy, "The Newsroom" S.1Ep.1
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