Genre: Nonfiction, True Crime
My Review - 5 Stars
CW: sexual harassment, rape, attempted rape, sexism, misogyny, reference to attempted suicide
This was brilliant journalism. Incredibly well-written but infuriating to see what men in power succeeded in getting away with far too many years. I seriously hate those in charge at NBC for canceling this story. At so many points, Farrow could have walked away, as Weinstein and his cronies made it very difficult for him to continue. I’m so grateful he prevailed and we now know the truth about these men. He did his best to honor what women these women endured and speak truth.
Part of me wants to look up all the people who tried to suppress it (again! The number of journalists who tried before Farrow is staggering) and the larger part of me doesn't want to know they didn't face any major consequences. The rise of #MeToo has made a difference and validated so many, including me, but people who abused their power still have yet to feel the brunt of their vile actions. When men’s careers start suffering because of their mistreatment of women, then we’ll know progress is actually being made.
When I think about the women whose careers were ruined, either overtly or indirectly because of the trauma, because of these men, I could weep. The story left me incandescent with rage. I am furious about how many people protected Weinstein, how many were complicit in his horrific treatment of women, and how many years he got away with it. It's sickening.
Farrow places himself in this story because it’s not just about the reporting he did but how his personal life was attacked and spied upon. It was really interesting to see how he wasn't immune to the allure of power himself. After the story broke, he tried to toe the line with what he said about NBC trying to kill the story, not lying about it but not leading with it either, because he hoped to get his old job back. We gotta pay our bills, I get it. And yet I don't think I could work for a place that did me and so many others dirty.
Farrow wanted to believe killing the Weinstein story was a one-off at NBC, not a pattern or evidence of how deep the rot went. That’s his privilege and shows why men in power keep getting away with this BS. Ultimately, as he sees the men in charge at NBC continue to pass the buck or even try to gaslight him, and as he uncovers evidence about Matt Lauer and many other journalists and executives there, he realizes there’s no going back.
This dragged up some of my own experiences (which pale in comparison to what Weinstein, Lauer, etc's victims went through) and if this is true of you, be gentle with yourself as you read and as you process these events. It’s well worth reading about and it’s well done. But it’s proof of how much farther we have to go.
Synopsis
In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.
In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.
All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond.
This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.
Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.
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