Shock and Awe

 

Prime Video

Shock and Awe is an American Drama that was released in 2017.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines shock as "a sudden or violent mental or emotional disturbance" and awe as "an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime."

The title of the movie Shock and Awe is referring to the military strategy for which the movie is named. Shock and awe is a strategy in which a military uses extreme force in order to ruin an enemy's battlefield and hopefully defeat them. It is more specifically referring to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the U.S. which was called "Shock and Awe" because of the force used.

CNN

President Bush was in office from 2001-2009.

Shock and Awe is based on the true story of the U.S. war with Iraq following the devastating events of 9/11. The movie focuses on the president of the time, George W. Bush, and his administration's decisions as well as the journalists set to investigate the president.

George W. Bush declared war because he believe Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could devastate the U.S. if used. The journalists were set to investigate this claim.

The movie features a news service called Knight Rider, which owned 31 newspapers in Washington, D.C. The bureau head for the news service is John Walcott, played by Rob Reiner. Walcott sends Warren Strobel (James Marsden) and Jonathan Landay (Woody Harrelson) to be the main investigative journalists on the Bush Administration.

Left Voice

This is a photo of "Shock and Awe" in Iraq. 

Throughout the movie, the major news networks continue to side with the Bush Administration and defend the war against Iraq. However, the Knight Rider journalists believe that what President Bush is saying is false, and they are determined to give America the truth.

At the end of the movie, Walcott, Strobel and Landay prove that they are right and that the Bush administration has no valid justification for the war in Iraq. 

Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay received the Raymond Clapper Memorial award from the Senate Press Gallery for their impressive journalistic work.

My Thoughts 

I really love that this movie is based on a true story and tells about the actual events and decisions that took place in the U.S. government in the 2000s. I was born in 2003, so it was also interesting to learn about a piece of history that I was alive for but not old enough to remember.

It was also really amazing to learn about the incredible journalistic work of the three men of Knight Rider. Even when every major news network was defending the Bush administration, these journalists stuck to their gut and were determined to give the public the truth about the was in Iraq. I can only hope to be a hardworking and honest journalist like these men one day.

(Fun Fact: Johnathan Landay now works for Reuters, which I did one of my EOTO presentations on!)