Endangered (2022)

1)
Recent years have not been kind to those hardy souls who practice the fine art of journalism. The profession has been threatened by numerous economic factors and the rise of new platforms that claim to be legitimate news sources but are more focused on opinion, rumour and innuendo.

Journalists now find themselves increasingly under attack by the authority figures they report on, who fuel public resentment against them by declaring any critical reporting to be "fake news" in ways ranging from harassment and detention to assault and even, as in the infamous case of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murder.

"Endangered," the new documentary from the filmmaking team of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, offers viewers an eye-opening and often infuriating look at four journalists trying to do their jobs circa 2020 and the attacks they endure.

2)
After a nostalgic opening montage about how journalism was still considered a respected profession in the second half of the 20th century, Endangered introduces us to its subjects to show how radically and recently things have changed. In São Paulo, Brazil, reporter Patrícia Campos Mello reports on fraud in the election campaign of President Jair Bolsonaro.

The hardcore nationalist responds to her work by publicly attacking her with crude sexualised comments, which are then spread and amplified by her supporters. Mello then takes the risky step of suing her for defamation to stop them, hopefully sending a message that such acts will not be tolerated.

3)
Meanwhile, in Mexico City, photojournalist Sashenka Gutierrez covers protests in which women have taken to the streets to fight a seemingly constant wave of misogynistic violence. The women face police in full riot gear and an aggressive attitude that threatens to turn brutal at any moment.

4)
These instances may have occurred outside of America, but as the film clearly shows, the sentiment captured in these sequences has become increasingly and depressingly familiar.

In Florida, Miami Herald photographer Carl Juste covers a Black Lives Matter protest following the murder of George Floyd. When the police file false reports about their often violent response to the protesters, his work is used as evidence to refute them.

He's soon followed and harassed by members of the police. Meanwhile, British journalist Oliver Laughland, who follows American politics for The Guardian, covers Trump rallies where his supporters are encouraged to lash out at him and other journalists over so-called 'fake news'.

When Laughland speaks to some of them individually, they tell him that they refuse to buy newspapers that don't reflect their views and claim that YouTube videos are a much more reliable source of information. Not surprisingly, the film eventually builds to the events of January 6, showing the rioters destroying the equipment used by reporters to do their jobs.

5)
For those aware of how accusations against the so-called Fourth Estate have been fabricated and fueled by those hoping to cover their misdeeds, the film's basic premise - that anti-free press attitudes once associated only with foreign countries under repressive political regimes are now finding favour in the United States - will not come as much of a shock.

What is a little startling is how these attitudes are practised here without the slightest hesitation - in one particularly grotesque moment, we see a journalist covering a Black Lives Matter protest lying on the ground and identifying himself as a journalist, only to be sprayed directly in his eyes.

While much of Endangered is pretty bleak - and this doesn't take into account the fact that print journalism seems to be in a death spiral, especially when it comes to the all-important local papers - there are also occasional triumphs, such as Mello's defamation lawsuit against Bolsonaro, which ends up with a result she didn't expect.

Patrícia Campos Mello
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patr%C3%ADcia_Campos_Mello

Court maintains Bolsonaro's conviction for offending journalist Patrícia Campos Mello
https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2022/06/29/justica-mantem-condenacao-de-bolsonaro-por-ofender-jornalista-patricia-campos-mello

6)
The only real problem with "Endangered" is that the four stories that Ewing and Grady follow could easily have been expanded with more detail instead of being condensed into an 89-minute documentary.

However, the filmmakers do an excellent job of interweaving them to the point where the actions in Mexico City and São Paulo are almost interchangeable with what is happening in America.

Of course, Endangered is unlikely to change the minds of anti-press zealots, but others will hopefully come away both shocked and appalled at what's happening to journalists worldwide these days. Hopefully, viewers will be determined to support their efforts, perhaps by subscribing to their local newspapers.

"As journalists, we can't let the truth down." #EndangeredHBO, from executive producer Ronan Farrow and directors Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing, tells the story of journalists at the forefront of a dangerous culture war over free speech. Premieres June 28 on HBO Max.

The Dissident (Film, 2020) 7.8/10

When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to murder and expose a global cover-up.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11382384/

Endangered (2022)

Endangered (2022)

Endangered - 2022 TV-MA 1h 30m - 6.5/10

Endangered | Official Trailer | HBO

The Dissident (Film, 2020) 7.8/10