Movie Response Assignment
Manufacturing consent is an Australian documentary film that tries to explore the political life and ideas of one of the most renowned linguists in the world and activist, Noam Chomsky. The documentary, through various sources, archival material and biography and graphical illustrations as produced by Peter Wintonick, attempts to highlight the linguist’s analysis of media and the forces behind the everyday news. Part of the documentary is the examination of coverage of East Timor by one of the world’s leading legacy media houses, The New York Times. The narration at the beginning of the documentary regards Noam Chomsky as “arguably one of the most important intellectuals alive.”
I agree with the sentiments made in the documentary that “propaganda is to democracy as violence is to a dictatorship.” It is also likely that we live in a world where elementary truths are hidden from the public due to the possible backlash they may provoke. While the freedom of the press is of paramount importance to any democratic nation, there are contentious issues that can disturb the harmony of a country. Such issues are usually orchestrated by the high and mighty in society and are therefore hidden from the general public or sometimes misrepresented in the form of propaganda. According to Chomsky’s thesis, media houses are corporate institutions; hence, they are driven by profit-making. From the argument, we can deduce that it is also likely that while media houses may be formed on the fundamental objective of delivering news to the public, they are also vulnerable to manipulation and thus further the interests of the elite in society. I, therefore, agree with Noam Chomsky’s assertion that democracy is a game for the elite and not for the ignorant masses who must be marginalized, controlled, and diverted for the greater good of the nation.
The elite thus utilize the fact that media other than delivering news to the public are also formed to make money to dictate what can or cannot be covered. This conception is further complemented by the possibility that the stupidity of the average compels them into following their faith instead of reason, and, the naïve faith is supported by what can be described as necessary illusion or oversimplification which in this case are created by the elite and propagated by the legacy media. While it comes out as manipulation, I think the act can be described as a necessary evil since if exposed to the elemental truths, the average person may grow curious and arrogant and lack the humility to submit to authority leading to anarchy. I believe that while democracy involves people’s participation in their own rule, the creation of illusions and their propagation by legacy media is the very essence of democracy so that people can peacefully submit to authority. In the case of a dictatorship or military state, it does not matter what the subjects’ opinions are since the government has some form of power over them with which they can be controlled.