Monday, May 28, 2007

Orwell Rolls in his grave

Just now finished watching another political documentary. Gotta love netflix for allowing me to see films like this. First off, this is a documentary so it has a point of view... if you are looking for a balanced look at the media, this is not it. The film centers around the mas media, but really covers a broad range of topics including the election results from the 2000 election. There are quite a few people interviewed and I'm bad with names so I won't attempt to list them all. One that stuck out though was Bernie Sanders the only independent in Congress (representing Vermont). I liked what he had to say, he seemed to talk from a normal person's point of view as opposed to a politicians.
The movie generally looks at the media itself. How various media outlets are being bought up by one - five corporations (like News Corporation, GE, Clear Channel, etc...). So the question becomes, who is controlling the news? If the mass media doesn't cover it, then is it news? It also pointed out the important point that as a Democracy, the media plays a VERY important role, in bringing relevant news stories to the people so they can make an informed decision at the polls. I urge you to go rent this DVD (It's probably not at your local blockbuster).
All in all, some scary thoughts in this documentary, and yet another reminder to myself that I have GOT to read George Orwell's 1984.

imdb link
official movie website

PS> An example about how a news item is not getting any play in the mainstream media...
Investigative reporter Greg Palast (Who I think was interviewed in the movie) says 4.5 MILLION votes will be shoplifted in 2008 election, thanks largely to the "Rove-Bots" that have been placed in the Justice Department following the U.S. Attorney firings.

No comments: