david-sarkies
There are a few documentaries out there about the failure of the modern media however this particular one deals specifically with the lead up to the Iraq War. Personally, there is nothing really new here because we have seen the media being a mouth piece of governments for centuries. In fact, ever since people had begun writing, or speaking, governments have been looking for ways to control what is being said and what people actually hear. The difference between now and say, 18th century England, is that to be able to reach the millions of people with your message, vast amounts of capital are required to be able to launch a television station.This is changing by the way with the development of the internet and with websites such as Youtube. However, governments, and corporations, are still trying to control these sources of information. In China you have what is called The Great Firewall of China, where only government sanctioned information can appear on the internet. Even here, in the developed west, governments are trying to sanction the internet through putting restrictions on ISPs as to what can be accessed. However, it is a fine line, as it always is. While we may object to censorship of access to sites that criticise a government, we somehow feel that it is necessary to prevent access to websites that exploit children.Weapons of Mass Deception, though, deals explicitly with the standard media, both the newspapers and the television networks. While things are slowly changing, these two sources are still the main sources of information that we have, and while anybody with a little capital can set up and distribute a newspaper, vast amounts of capital are required to establish a television network, and even then, the barriers to entry, which include government licensing and access to bandwidth, are huge. More so, even if you want to get a piece shown on television, you need capital, as well as access to programming executives, to agree to actually show your piece. Even if you do manage to get it shown, people need to be able to have the television on to that specific channel at that specific time, to see it. With over two hundred channels to chose from, the chance of enough people actually seeing it is fairly slim.The problem is that when such a traumatic event as 9/11 happens to a country, the people of that country are going to be angered and offended. It does not matter whether the television networks do not band together calling for war, because the population are going to do that anyway. Has was shown when a couple of peaceniks turned up at Ground Zero arguing for make love, not war, the amount of anger and the desire for revenge, was immense. The television networks really had no choice but to fall in line, particularly since if they did not, it was not the government, but the people that were going to respond. At that time the government did not need to do anything, because the people where doing it for them.The Iraq War was different, and even then there was not much difference, because Sadam Hussein had always been demonised in the American Media since the Gulf War. He was public enemy number one (and in a way the American Government always needed a public enemy number one to distract the people from the corporate pillaging of the Earth) and it was almost expected that when such an event happened, people were going to point at one of the most hated people at the time, and that was Sadam. Let us ignore the fact that the government was looking for an excuse to go to war with him anyway (the war in Iraq was always on the agenda, it was simply that 9/11 gave them an excuse to go to war).Mind you, we are still in the midst of a changing time as I write this. Information is slowly going online, and the media moguls are now finding that their control of information is slowly eroding. Governments (even in the West) are looking for ways to control this access to information, but organisations are fighting this, and attempted to prevent this control. Youtube provides lots of different channels, from people who argue for an extreme right-wing view of society to an extreme left-wing view. However, we, those of us who value freedom of speech, and the freedom to put our own views and thoughts up in the public sphere, need to continue to be vigilant and be ready to challenge any attempt to censor the internet.
Charles Herold (cherold)
This movie tells you a lot about how the media worked hand in hand with the government to pump up the war, and does an excellent job of conveying information about how the government was able to control the media. So you have to admire it for that. But if you try and look at it objectively, not as a movie that says stuff you feel should be said but just as a movie to watch, it's not really that good. Cutesy stuff like the Apocalypse Now-themed opener really adds nothing to the movie and comes across as rather film-studentish. Danny Schechter lacks the personality that allows someone like Michael Moore to stand front and center in his films, and unlike Moor Schechter fails to create a story, but basically just throws a lot of information and talking heads at the viewer with occasional whimsical bits that don't come off that well.The movie also has a preaching-to-the-faithful quality. While Moore (you really can't talk about a modern political documentary without comparing it with Moore's films) aims to tap into a general dissatisfaction with and distrust of power and government, thus trying to connect with people outside the left (I'm not sure if he's successful, but he does try), Schechter seems to just be handing out talking points to the left. There's good information that will help you out if you start arguing in a bar with a Republican, but there's nothing that would make a Republican bother watching this.That's a shame, because this stuff is worth knowing, and if you are one of the faithful he's preaching you will be shocked and outraged, because it's actually even worse than you might think. But in the end it's just not much of a documentary.
wscjr1
This is a documentary about the American media and their relationship to the military. It's all about spin. Why were newspapers and TV news so strongly pro-war in the prelude to the invasion of Iraq? One obvious reason is that they believed what the Bush administration told them about weapons of mass destruction, but others are suggested.Parts of this movie are quite chilling, such as the footage of an American tank firing on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, which resulted in death and injuries to journalists staying there. The film reports on some very interesting facts, such as the relationship between which news networks a person watches and how misinformed they are.One thing this movie is NOT about is the brutality of Saddam Hussein, as was suggested by another reviewer. There are some graphic scenes of children in hospitals, but their injuries resulted from American bombing.If you think that Bush's invasion of Iraq was part of the war on terrorism, or believe that Iraq collaborated with bin Laden in planning 9/11, then you will think this film is hopelessly biased to the left.
voiceofthepeople
A must see movie for those suspicious, disheartened and angry about Bush Incorporated's numerous ignominious and blatantly false reasons for the Iraq War. Danny Schecter shows raw news footage from around the world concerning the carefully orchestrated buildup and devastating aftermath ((at least 100,000 innocent Iraqis bombed to pieces (nearly half of Iraq is under age 15) according to Lancet Medical Journal)) of the Iraq war in progress that was never shown on American TV. The filmmaker is an intense character who dissects the propaganda in a way that would make Sherlock Holmes proud. An 8 year veteran of ABC news, he displays an intellectual honesty that Michael Moore often disregards in lieu of prankster antagonism and partisan politics. A damning movie with damning indestructible facts. George Bush does not want you to see this movie. No one employed by the war machine does. Anyone who cares about America should see it today. Call your theater and demand it or look for it on DVD.Yes, it is that powerful....10/10
