Educational Media Reviews Online

Johanna Hamilton’s directorial debut 1971 tells a compelling, but little known story worth hearing. Inspired by Betty Medsger’s book, The Burglary, Hamilton crafts a film that is as enjoyable as it is educational. 1971 is the story of eight American citizen-activists who stole documents from an FBI field office and unwittingly uncovered J. Edgar Hoover’s illegal Counter Intelligence Program, better known as COINTELLPRO. Hamilton mixes a fine cast reenactment with interviews of the real activists, who break their silence after 40 years. The cinematography and editing is well done and is complemented by an original score by Philip Sheppard.

The film is fairly short and Hamilton wastes no time. It moves at a quick pace. On March 8, 1971, in Media, Pennsylvania, while many Americans were watching Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier battle in the Fight of the Century in Madison Square Garden, The Citizen’s Commission to Investigate the FBI broke into the Media FBI office with empty suitcases and stole every, single file. We follow the “Media Eight” as they send off copies of the documents to Senator George McGovern and various newspapers – the New York Times, the Washington bureau for the Los Angles Times, and the Washington Post.

We learn that it is Betty Medsger who received the Post’s packet. Hamilton allows Medsger pick up the story, and it is through her we learn about the Washington Post publisher, Katherine Graham’s courageous decision to publish the documents against the wishes of the powerful Hoover. This decision to publish paved the way for the later publication of the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, and Edward Snowden’s files.

Hamilton’s film is clearly a documentary; however, she is able to infuse a sense of suspense as we follow the FBI’s attempt to catch the perpetrators. The interviews give white-knuckled accounts on just how close the agents got, and what was done by the eight to prevent discovery.

Worth noting is the bonus selection available on the DVD. It is an 84 minute discussion panel, comprised of Betty Medsger, Johanna Hamilton, several surviving members of the burglary team, and special guest Edward Snowden (via telelink), who discuss government overreach from COINTELPRO to the more mundane traffic cameras and cell phone monitoring.

This film is Highly Recommended, and is suitable for high school through general adult, and would complement courses in current affairs, history, politics, and journalism. The issues brought up by 1971 are still relevant today and provide perspective on the new whistleblowers - the sensational Wikileaks created by Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.