Responding to comments made on Control Room

I respond to comments made on the documentary film "Control Room" today. I used this format in this blog before; I was able to make it into an interesting blog entry, and also it gave me chance to read other people's blogs, so I will use the format again today.

The biggest weakness of the film is that it doesn't really offer much history or context about Al Jazeera and its place in the Arab world. There's no narration, save for some captions on the screen at the very beginning, and no real attempt to tell the overall story of the network. Granted, that might not be the intent of the filmmakers, but it does seem like that will ultimately limit the long-term value of the film. Will it make any sense to people ten or fifteen years down the road, when the immediate context of the war is but a memory?

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The film says that Al Jazeera is the most watched TV network in Arab world and that it is the most controversial one because of its liberal and open view (from the perspective of Arab world). I think that sufficient information is provided and the film will be relevant many years from now.

It is a film that makes you think about what we expect of the press, and about whether or not objectivity is possible (or desirable). I could see using the movie in an intro politics course to get at questions about objectivity and truth, both as they relate to the media, and in a wider social science sense.

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Another important message in the movie is how the consent is manufactured in times of war. "the consent is manufactured" sounds rather strong, but the film attempts to deliver strong messages, so I think this sounds appropriate.

First, it does an amazing job of illustrating how closely related Al Jazeera is to Fox and CNN. We are often told that Al Jazeera is nothing more than the "mouthpiece for bin Laden" and Arab propaganda. The reality, though, is that such claims are American propaganda meant to dispel the powerful images of the side of war we don't get to see in the States, but are often seen on Al Jazeera. One great part of the film shows Donald Rumsfeld, with no hint of irony, criticize Al Jazeera by saying, "We're dealing with people who will lie just to advance their cause."

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I agree that Al Jazeera (probably) lacks objectivity in many cases like Fox, CCN, NBC, ABC, CBS and all networks; however, as they say "victors write history". Fox, CCN, NBC, ABC and CBS are on the side of victors, and Al Jazeera is not exactly on the side of victors. This is a pretty important point to remember when we watch Control Room.