The Universal Pictures film “She Said” was released in theaters on November 18. This production depicts the true story of two female investigative reporters and their journey to bring justice to those affected by the acts of Harvey Weinstein and the system that let him get away with it. They juggle being working wives and mothers and keeping afloat in a stressful journalistic environment. 

The leading duo of the movie, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, are real New York Times journalists who stumbled upon developments in assault cases against Weinstein in 2016. 

Five years after covering the assault charges against now-former President Donald Trump, Twohey yearned for the truth regarding the systemic protection of abusive men in power. For the Weinstein case, she and Kantor were tasked with following the trail of breadcrumbs that Weinstein left behind during his time at Miramax, his own movie production company. His sloppy use of settlements and blackmailing lead the reporters in the right direction to interview the women at his company.

Weinstein’s power in the film industry made his victims especially hesitant about speaking out against him at first. He could shut down a career with a single phone call, so even other journalists avoided the story. However, the team was determined and Kantor traveled from New York to Silicon Valley, and then all the way to the United Kingdom in order to find women willing to go on the record. To their dismay, many people had signed non disclosure agreements that prohibited them from sharing any information.

The movie has been revolutionary in revealing the unseen details behind organizing the article that exposed Weinstein. Realities of the journalism industry are portrayed in the rigorous steps that both Kantor and Twohey must pursue to construct an article without any faults. With the possible threat that the article holds to the possible sources shows the distances journalists pursue to get an interview on the record. The movie harmoniously reveals the journalistic process along with the heroism that the victims displayed.

The film proved to be moving to The Catalyst. As a community of young women, these student journalists felt represented in the dramatization of the two women who managed to help take down Weinstein with the power of journalism.