John Cusack, et al, Try to Slip a Big Wad of Hot, Slippery Propaganda Past Bill O'Reilly!

In a recent broadcast Bill O'Reilly called War Inc., the new film starring John Cusack, Marissa Tomei and Hillary Duff, "propaganda".

Propaganda, as we all surely remember from 8th grade, is information or ideas or rumors that are methodically spread by an organized group or government to influence people's opinions, to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc., especially by not giving all the facts or by secretly emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts.

In the solipsistic world of Fox News one is either for the Iraq debacle or he or she is not patriotic. Are we emphasizing only one way of looking at the facts, Mr. O'Reilly? To watch Fox News is to be told over and over one must either suspend Habeas Corpus or one must die in a terrorist attack. Not exactly a full spectrum, there, either. Fox News puts all the news in one context: America is infallible and deserves to have its way whenever and however it pleases. It frames those that disagree in one way only, that is, from the lunatic far lefty view that America is nothing but evil. If this isn't propaganda- methodically cherry picking information to emphasize one point of view in order to influence opinion- then propaganda does not exist in the world.

Does Fox News provide a platform for other points of view? Kindasorta. They offer some facts that don't mesh with their version of reality, but not all the facts required to elevate their broadcasts above the level of propaganda to actual journalism. For example, Fox News does not, to any significant degree, pursue a critique of the Iraq war as outlined by War, Inc., among others. Such critiques are quickly dismissed as un-patriotic or self-hating or some other kind of psychobabble. There is no room for facts or analysis.

When Scott McClellan's recent book critical of President Bush came out Fox News focused on McClellan's motivation and character and quickly side-stepped the credible allegations in the book that Bush and Cheney committed a vicious act of treason. They moved on quickly and re-focused on Rev. Wright, who, despite his gassy, ugly rhetoric has never committed treason. They routinely downplay, falsely discredit or exclude facts and other information that would contradict their entrenched world view. They clearly, easily meet the definition of an organization which dissembles at least some measure of propaganda. So much for Fox News.

Does War Inc. exclude facts in order to emphasize one point of view over another? By its very nature as a feature film, War Inc. must focus on one point of view among many, but does it omit any important facts or relevant points of view in order to support its own view of the world?

John's character is an assassin/business man poised to reap huge rewards in the aftermath of the invasion of a fictional sovereign Middle Eastern country, Turaqistan, by the fictional corporation "Tamerlane", which has strong, deep ties to the White House. In other words, John plays a neo-con. Not that all neo-cons are assassins. Many are not. But there are plenty of guys like that in the Middle East. Seems accurate to me.

Neo-cons believe in using America's considerable economic and military muscle to remake the world's trouble spots into lots of little, subordinate to Washington versions of America. That's straight from the Neo-Con handbook. That's not propaganda. That much is clearly represented in the film without exaggeration or omission.

Halliburton is a corporation with close ties to Washington that is currently slurping up huge, obscene gobs of money servicing the Iraq war. The corporation at the heart of War Inc., Tamerlane, replete with its own army and the ability to manhandle the levers of power in Washington, is a neo-con's wet dream. Tamerlane is what Halliburton wants to be when it grows up. That's not propaganda. That's true. The fact that Halliburton is so absurdly predatory it has become a satire of itself is just reality and too bad for Halliburton. Next time the country is at war show a little restraint.

Marissa Tomei's character is a liberal journalist who seeks to expose the gruesome reality of the hideously botched invasion and paint Tamerlane as a greedy, murderous criminal enterprise in the untrained eyes of the world. That is her character's point of view. The blogosphere is filled with people who see things that way. Seems accurate to me. Nothing left out there. Most people more or less fall in to some version of either character -- Iraq was a good idea and good will come of it or its a disaster.

What about the facts on the ground? In Turaqistan the streets are dangerous and in some places hellish. Just like Iraq. In Turaqistan many people are torn between survival and personal loyalties. Just like Iraq. Turaqi Government officials believe they are puppets and fear for their lives. Just like Iraq. The Americans are hunkered down and under constant threat of attack. Just like Iraq. The list of similarities goes on and on.

Is anything egregiously omitted that if otherwise present would alter the conclusions reached in the film? Does War Inc. show Tamerlane soldiers painting schools and kissing babies? No. You got me there. But it does show a business convention where Turaqi phone rights are sold off to the highest bidder. That's supposed to be what neo-cons call stabilizing the Middle East, right? That's the whole point- give Iraqis a better life. That's supposed to be a good thing. Seems fair and balanced to me.

The crucial facts are all represented in War Inc.'s satire, Mr. O'Reilly; they're just presented in a way that reveals a side of reality not commonly seen in other media outlets, most especially yours. The fact that War Inc. does not shine a flattering light on some of the real world results of neo-con ideology does not make it propaganda. It makes it opinionated if not entirely objective. And personal. That's allowed.

The purpose of the film is not to fully articulate all points of view, which it cannot possibly do, but to frame neo-con ideology in light of the Iraq war. That in and of itself is a whole lot to cram into a feature length film, perhaps too much. Yet, despite its limitations, War Inc. is far more ideologically inclusive and far reaching than anything presented by Fox News, which sees the world and everyone in it as either loving or hating America, or roughly through the eyes of an especially dull child.

Bill O'Reilly is free to be proud of the mess in Iraq and see in it proof of America's unfailing nobility, just as others see grievous but correctable mistakes. Dissenting opinion, however, is not propaganda, and some times, all personal bias aside, as in the case of War Inc., it's richly satisfying.

Comments

[ibsteve2u]

"America is infallible and deserves to have its way whenever and however it pleases.".

Well, if you mean the segment of America whose gross income matches or exceeds the level of Fox's commentators.

It is only the fact that Fox has this war to focus on that keeps them from focusing on "entitlement spending" and "the corruption of organized labor", "Social Security should be privatized" (so Goldman Sachs et al can get their hands on it), etc. etc. etc.

[PILAR]

I think propaganda it´s what always do the USA everytime they are involved in a war (which if you think about it, always have "some others reasons behind").
Propaganda it ´s telling us, the rest of the world, that there were massive killing weapons in Irak when they knew it was false.
Propaganda it´s to have destroy the country, kill thousands of people and them tell us they will leave Irak once they have re-constructed the country ¿?
But , I think also the film War Inc is propaganda. Personal propaganda.
I think you do know what your goverment is doing, (the rest of the world sees it, I suppose you do it also); do you really need a film to show it?

[protagonia]

FOX NEWS is for bitter, ignorant people to pretend they are informed.

The "News Anchors" all act just like the people who believe in them, bullying - short tempered - unable to be reasoned with. Like a gang of mean drunks all slapping the books out of the hands of some kid who wants to be smart.

FBC = FAT BULLYING COWARDS.

ALL bullies are cowards - every last single one of them - (Or there would be no need to scare all of the innocent people around them)

[Hallucinocynic]

Bill O'Really's 'America' is a fictional veneer that fascists use in their attempts to defuse any resistance to their hegemonic and openly imperialistic adventures.

As a shill he has been superb. He has no ability to examine two viewpoints, much less one, and his own political philosophy is morally bankrupt. He is the antithesis of Ed Murrow and the banner carrier for those interests whose goals are, exclusively, anti-freedom, anti-humanist and anti-democratic. But as a political theorist, or historian, he is a complete wash.

I doubt that O'Really was part of the audience that Cusack is aiming for. The last war film that O'Really liked was probably 'Heartbreak Ridge' or 'Green Berets,' or Mel Gibson's guilt-compelled, sanitized VN redux.

[samuelpablo]

So another movie/book/show telling the truth fades away into the sunset...

[edtastic]

Its nice to see what the truth looks like after years of having to figure it out on our own. We have been betrayed by the Media and our supposed free press. We have been sold out for short term gains by media moguls and stock holders advertisers and special interest. After all this who do we get the truth from, BILL CUSAK. This is the first person i seen lay down the truth about propaganda. Not the I work in the media and ought not make it look bad truth, not that I write propaganda from time to time truth, but the real deal unadulterated common sense truth about whats is, and has been going on. We need to have a WAR ON PROPAGANDA, those who speak it shall not hear the end of our wrath, the truth will reign again cause our survival depends on it.

[chascates]

That is catchy. Free falafal!

[yappnmutt]

i don't recall any liberal journalists opposed to the war. i recall a futile grassroots effort to stop the war and the disaster it became but all the mainstream liberal press supported the runup to the war, the war and its continuation. one fair and balanced fact might have been how the democrats swept into congress with a pledge to do something about the war and, after being elected, claimed there was nothing that could be done about the war or the potentially criminal white house.

[Swedishgal]

First of all, the media has never been liberal. They presented the facts and if the facts happened to favor liberalism, that was no fault of the press. I remember Walter Kronkite as news anchor and he only presented the facts. The problem we have now is that facts are deliberately omitted and that favors conservatives and is why so many people are truly ignorant of what's going on in the world. I would say the press, with the exception of KO and Dan Abrams, is conservative now not liberal by any means. I agree with you about the Democrats. I am so sick to death of Pelosi and Reid obstructing what the true Democrats/progressives want to accomplish. They need to go and soon.

[spaceman3838]

actually a pretty wide range of opinions can be found on fox. i think they have done a pretty good job of bringing is some straight news guys over there. oriely is an opinion show and he gives his opinion on the movie. to his credit he often brings in guests that disagree with him completely and gives them plenty of time to state their views and make their case. he is in no way any worse then olbermann or mathews which do not allow much if any dissenting opinion on their show.

[in4success]

you have earned your handle.

[janvoght]

i've seen the movie, and did not feel it to be propaganda! the truth is, there IS much profiteering going on for the last 6 years. those that stand to lose, are the soldiers and their families, and the good people of the united states of america. if this war was a win win situation, no one would be objecting. someone is feeling an inequitable situation going on...and my guess is it's not the ones that have hefty bank accounts due to this war. my thanks to john cusack, for caring enough to creatively express the feelings of those on the other side of the profiteering! he is a modern day hero....bring our troops home and let those that had six years to make their riches, find another way, that does not amount to death, maming, or emotional distress of our military for war brought on by lies. enough is enough.

[protagonia]

So, let me get this straight - spaceman3838 is the one sent in to try and put a reasonable face on FOX NEWS?

LOL!

Magnificent!

[rini]

Bill O'Reilly knows what he is doing.

Simply by using the word "propaganda' he is resuscitating ancient cold war stereotypes for his minions. The fact that it is this administration and those in power who usually release "propaganda" for ulterior motives eludes the O'Reillyites. I guess Cusack and his ilk have an ulterior motive. They want their opinion heard. That's all. What could be more American?

[realpolitic]

If O'Reilly says the new Cusak movie is propaganda then it must be because O'Reilly is an expert on propaganda. He dispenses it in large doses daily. And if you disagree with me then you must on the looney left.

O'Reilly complains about many, many movies not sufficiently patriotic enough for him. O'Reilly probably has not liked a movie since John Wayne did his take on the Vietnam war in the film 'Green Berets.' Of course, Americans could do no wrong in the film.

If O'Reilly had his way all films and art in America would be like Soviet realism which portrayed all art to be for the greater good of the motherland. O'Reilly's idea of America must be very sad and corrupt seeing that he thinks all dissenting voices must, must at all costs be silenced until Fox News becomes the giant megaphone of the country to cheerlead all wars.

[django707]

The language of the new world order is very simplistic and easy to understand.
You accuse the opposition of the the crimes you commit.

Hence, the barking dogs of the Fox propaganda network accuse alternate views as "propaganda."

All those opposed to the rise of American fascism are called "fascists."

Simple. Really. And very effective.

[dzho]

One big difference:
Cusack calls his fiction. The White House calls theirs facts.

[blublu]

Sounds as if "old billo" has become the new editor of Der Strumer.

[DrBlizzardo]

Yup...one other point that might be made..."War, Inc." does not bill itself as a news-reel or documentary, yet Fox News bills itself as "Journalism". Worse than the kettle calling the pot black, it's like the chamber pot accusing a proudly black kettle of being...a proudly black kettle.

Hmm...am I straining that analogy a wee bit far? Forgive me, I've been in Canada all week...

[realpolitic]

We need 'truth in advertising' about news stations. Fox News is far from actual jounalism and much closer to -well, I do not know what it is....

[blackmouth]

Fox is the ultimate corporate media. I won't say new media because what they spew is not news, it's regurgitated information compiled to fit News Corp.'s idea of how it sees reality. The rest of the media is hardly any better. Until laws are passed to separate media, print and broadcast, from big corporations control there will be no news that's fit to believe.

[BeyondGoodAndEvil]

We had those laws until Bill signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which gave us Fox and Corporate controlled media. It was called "regulation".

[Bushwillresign]

A little regulation and Fox and Billo will advertise "24 hour News from the right, most think it's wrong". Hey, that's kind of catchy.