“Tom Hanks vs. Fake News”
A Review of News of the World by Nick Olszyk
MPAA Rating, PG-13
USCCB Rating, A-III
Reel Rating, Three Reels
It’s not news that news is
on the decline. Yet there was a time when it was so rare that whole
communities would pay good money to hear a man stand and simply read headlines
from around the world. Captain Kidd (Tom Hanks) is such a storyteller, who
travels among the small towns of Texas in 1870 plying his skills for audiences
in barns and stables. With echoes of the great Westerns of John Ford, News
of the World beautifully captures this fraught period of American history, although
its application to the news of today is a little haphazard.
As
Kidd travels through the great the Lone Star state, the tension between the
common man and the bluecoat Reconstruction officers of the North is still red
hot. Fortunately, Kidd is a veteran of the Confederate infantry, which makes him
a man of honor and welcomed throughout the land. It is a solidarity lifestyle
filled with cheap hotels, hours of silence on the road, and constant danger
from renegade Indians and Texans alike. On one such trip, he comes across an
abandoned young girl named Johanna (Helena Zengel) whose Black escort was
lynched by a mob. Kidd learns the poor thing was twice orphaned. First, when
the local Kiowa tribe murdered her family, second when years later, when the
Kiowas themselves were killed and she recovered. Like Kidd, she is homeless
both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Neither the government nor the
locals seem to care, so Kidd takes it upon himself to return her last blood
relatives.
They
embark on an Orphean odyssey through the best and worst of humanity. Kidd must
recover his battle instincts when a group of psychopaths try to rape Johanna. He
battles dust storms, broken axels, dehydration, and the own personal demons of
this past. He also has a chance encounter with Johanna ’s tribe who
provide them with a much-needed horse. At first, Joana tries to return to her
Native American ways but soon understands that this is impossible.
Kidd
is entrusted with bringing the only information of the outside world. However,
then as now, the news comes through the lens of its author and, sometimes, its
messenger. In one town, the authoritarian mayor demands Kidd read from his own artificial
newspaper, filled with lies designed to promote his horrific actions. Kidd
refuses, and his reading from a different account leads to an insurrection.
This could apply equally to any source of propaganda, but in the context of
today seems directly attributed to conservative sources. The fake newspaper disparages
African Americans, boldly campions killing buffalo for only their skins, and glorifies
mistreatment of workers. Criticism of far-right political punditry is reasonable
but coming from a mainstream Hollywood production through the lips one of its
most famous Democratic stumpers rings hollow. It’s too easy and obvious of a
target.
A
more sophisticated analysis of our current political climate comes in the
tensions between political factions following the Civil War. Many Texans are
still upset at their loss, heckling Kidd when he reads a statement from President
Grant. The Union soldiers trying to enforce Reconstruction are equally uncomfortable,
going through the motions while wishing they were home with their families. For
himself, Kidd does not trust the new Northern authorities, nor does he show enthusiasm
for the Southern cause he helped defend. Like most humans, he just wants to “get
by.” In the end, it is personal responsibility and kindness that save Kidd and Johanna,
not governmental regulations or ideological purity. The waves of history churn
up and down, but it is the common man that keeps the boat steady.
Ultimately,
this is a story not of history but of the relationship between a man and a young
woman. It is unclear who really ought to raise Johanna. When she is finally returned
to her German American relatives, they are totally unprepared for her unique
difficulties. Kidd then volunteers to raise her as his own. His nomadic
lifestyle and simple goodness prove to be the medicine needed to heal her soul.
As a newsman, he is firmly situated in the world, even loves the world, but as
a man of character is clearly not of it. This is the best lesson for our
times.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on January 16th, 2021
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