The Most Dangerous Man in America Movie

With the United States currently fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems like a film about the Vietnam War, which ended about 35 years ago, is not relevant. This is actually far from the truth; as there are many parallels between the government at that time and the government now, along with the Vietnam War and our present wars. This is plainly shown in the Academy-Award-nominated documentary, The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.

The movie tells the true and complex story of Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst, and his courageous decision to give over 7,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers, top–secret documents that contained shocking secrets about the United States involvement in Vietnam, to The New York Times and other newspapers across the country.

The film covers Ellsberg’s life while showing events in Vietnam, and displays connections between occurrences in his life and his change of heart throughout the course of the war. Ellsberg had originally shown a tolerance for the war while making some efforts to prevent violence. However, when he was granted access to the Pentagon Papers, which revealed appalling facts about the war and the fact that there were no prospects for success despite having stated the opposite, Ellsberg didn’t know if he should take action.

However, he had an epiphany after seeing a draft resistor eagerly make a speech about going to prison, and decided that something had to be done. The movie follows his process of copying the Pentagon Papers, sending them to newspapers, and the reaction from the government and the public.

Pentagon Papers possesses a very powerful aspect that anyone and everyone could benefit from seeing. It shows human emotion and internal conflict side by side with violence, deception and political corruption. It deals with the many moral issues that Ellsberg faced, from his disregard of his personal future for the sake of revealing the truth, to his decision to involve his own children in the process of copying the documents.

Co–Director/Co–Producer Rick Goldsmith said that the movie is “a story that ... [is] both exciting and gripping for audiences, but also informative about what’s going on today.”

There are many parallels between the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as the surge of troops. In 1965, President Johnson increased the number of troops in Vietnam by about 400,000 over the course of three years. Recently, President Obama increased the amount of troops in Afghanistan by about 40,000. The Vietnam War didn’t have prospects for success, and the war in Afghanistan seems to have the same fate.

Although the connection between both eras is apparent, the movie does not include any direct statements about the similarities between the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Goldsmith said that this was completely intentional.

Goldsmith and Co–Director/Co–Producer Judy Ehrlich wanted people to see the parallels for themselves. “We wanted to keep the story in the era and let people draw their own conclusions,” said Goldsmith.
But the fact that there is comparability between these wars is important for another reason. Pentagon Papers shows how the U.S. government can filter the information they give to the American people, yet tell them that they’re getting all the facts.

Through all the emotional, political, and even occasional comical moments, a message is shown that should be acknowledged by all: things need to be questioned, power is not a means to lie to the public, and sometimes one needs to take action in order to display injustice.