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Comment by keiferski | Hacker News Reader

I encourage anyone interested in the consequences of whistleblowing to watch The Insider. A truly excellent film about a whistleblower at a tobacco company and the terrible things they did to try and stop him. Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Bruce McGill, Christopher Plummer, many others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Wigand

Trailer: https://youtu.be/MGOb29aePyc

The best scene: https://youtu.be/gNKmmA6_oTQ

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A similar film is Silkwood, which is about the life of Karen Silkwood, who reported concerns about corporate practices related to health and safety in a nuclear facility where she worked. She was severely harassed by her employer and then died in a suspicious car accident.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/silkwood

Thats the movie that prominently features "Amazing Grace", right? I still remember having watched it on public television in the late 80s. But all I really remember from the movie was amazing grace being played after the car crash scene.

Anybody who becomes the target of large orgs is going to have a bad time. Just think about the guy who was falsely accused of being the pipe bomber at the Atlanta Olympics after he saved people.

> the guy

His name was Richard Jewel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_jewel

Thanks. Couldn't think of the name.

So many good scenes. Personal favorite, grappling with the role of journalism: "What are you?! Are you a businessman or are you a newsman?" Such a powerful question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe2vBnfKCC4

>I encourage anyone interested in the consequences of whistleblowing to watch The Insider.

Surely there's better sources to read/watch than a fictional dramatization?

Sure, you can read the article it’s based on:

https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1996/05/wigand199605

But the film is really, really good and I think the gravity of the situation is more apparent than in the article.

A Michael Mann film, no less! An all-around great piece of cinema.

watched it based on this suggestion, really enjoyed it!

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