I’ve always been a fan of Val Lewton films, and I recently discovered a “new” one which can be enjoyed for reasons which go beyond the Lewton trademark cinematography and low-budget creativity. The Ghost Ship (dir. Mark Robson, 1943) was pulled from theaters almost immediately after its release due to…
In May, 2005, I was among the more than 2,500 media reformers from across the country who attended the National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis. The conference was sponsored by Freepress. The presenters included Amy Goodman, Phil Donahue, Bill Moyers, Robert W. McChesney and George Lakoff. It was…
Remember all of the 2002 beltway sniper killings committed by John Muhammad and Lee Malvo? Each one of those deaths garnered loads of front page media attention. That is because human life was sacred and because every preventable death needed to be publicized to prevent further deaths. I remember the…
As reported in Think Progress, Fox News analyst Jonathan Hoenig reported this weekend that global warming was “bogus,” and “dreamed up” by environmentalists to stop economic development. http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/29/global-warming-bogus/ There’s no scientific proof that global warming even exists. To be honest, it’s a bogus consensus dreamed up by Greens because they…
Further to Sarah’s post about films that help make sense of George Bush’s presidency, another film that should be required viewing for anyone trying to make sense of Bush’s America is the movie, “Wag The Dog.” As entertainment, it’s a disappointing movie; but, as political commentary, it utterly anticipates George Bush’s presidency.
The movie, released in early 1998 (note the proximity to the beginning of Bush’s first presidential campaign), is set in modern times, and is about an American president running for re-election. A scandal occurs immediately before the election that threatens to cripple the President’s campaign, but before the scandal can undermine the President’s chances, his political advisors realize that the best way to win re-election is to divert public attention away from the scandal by creating an even bigger story: a war. So, they set out to manufacture a war.
