Conflicts That Arise from Particular Ways of Seeing the World Are Made Evident Through the Shaping of Texts-Barry Levinson’s Film “Wag the Dog” and Michael Moore’s Documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11”

One of the most noteworthy developments in postmodern literature is the ability to combine historical elements with fictionalized elements to create a story that presents an alternative truth—one that could be true and yet significantly deviates from the reported truth. Don DeLillo’s poignant novel Libra is a prime example of historiographic metafiction, bringing fictional characters, conversations, and events together to tell the story of Lee Harvey Oswald and the conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Likewise, philosopher Jacques Derrida poses the idea that the media has total control over the information presented as news. In his interview “Deconstruction and Actuality,” Derrida states, “…the time of this speaking is produced artificially. It is an artifact. In its actualization, the time of such a public act is calculated and constrained, ‘formatted’ and ‘initialised’ by (to put it briefly) the organisations of the media—and these alone would deserve an almost infinite analysis” (Malpas 75). DeLillo also addresses Derrida’s beliefs that organizations have more control over information and that the population needs to question in Libra.

What people may perceive as reality can be created to benefit the goals of those who are in power. Wag the Dog explores the distortion of truth for the upholding of power and also explores how the government manipulate its citizens in faking the reality and playing on the naiveté of the public. Therefore, in Wag the Dog, Levinson poses the question of how truth is manipulated by power. In the opening we are asked to reflect on what is real in regards to public rule in the democratic electoral process through the metaphor of the title of film considering that the idea of the tail wagging the dog warns the public to the shocking truth of manner in which the government manipulates its

Michael Moore's latest film, "Fahrenheit 9/11," presents a critical look at the administration of George W. Bush and the War on Terrorism. In this film Moore investigates the rapid growth of the United States government and its trend of trampling the rights of individuals, and the corporatism that is spawned out of the close ties between big government and big business during wartime. Michael Moore may not convince all audiences, but is successful for its factual accuracy in which the evidence spoke for itself, and at the same time proclaimed Moore's artistry in transposing and splicing scenes to create impressions that supported his allegations and opinions. Michael Moore has employed two main techniques in an attempt to successfully

Now I realise it seems a bit hypocritical of me to attack the media’s representation of a news event when I myself am a part of the hype-generating circus we call mass media. However, the voice of my wise, high-school English teacher echoes in my subconscious that we should always be critical of the texts we consume and conscious of the

Writings on terrorism and inter-state violence have never been so relevant, given the large Middle Eastern conflict and global impact of ISIS. I had knowledge of previous Middle Eastern conflict from A Level History when I investigated oil as a weapon in the region. A Level English language and literature also contributed to my interest in politics, through stories that emphasised the human and emotional impact of policies. Having studied ‘The Crucible’ as well as ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ and the Cold War in history, I appreciate the politics within this topic in a more nuanced way. Literature sparks my political passions and is a source for my political investigations.

Media has an increasing part in public life, provoking emotions and swaying opinions. The power of the media is played out using language which is specially designed to persuade; But it is through rhetoric; ethos, pathos and logos (especially logos and ethos) that it tries to earn some credibility. Webster’s meaning for ‘Rhetoric’ is the art of speaking or writing effectively. Considering this, the tools of rhetoric- ethos, pathos and logos can be seen in the media coverage surrounding the events of 9/11, the Vietnam War and the Beaconsfield Mine disaster. The media at the time of 9/11 swamped the masses and portrayed ethos, persuading the viewers of an American unity, that could not be crushed, no matter how evil the attack.

People hear about political issues all over the news and form their own opinions on them, but are they really deciding beliefs for themselves or are they just believing whatever the media tells them? Because of the modern day media biased, many people do not think independently, even when they think they are. They merely believe the lies the media feeds them and do not research the matter themselves to get an accurate idea of what is truly going on and how the control of information will impact the world around them. Because of people’s tendency to accept any piece of information that gets shoved down their throats, the US is slowly digging itself into the same government-controlled, no-freedom world as in the book 1984 by George Orwell.

The cognitive abilities and processes have a massive influence on personal behavior adjustments while physical surroundings also active and influence individuals’ decisions making. Those decisions making always include the discrimination about racism, sexism, capitalism and classism. Individuals’ behaviors are articulated by what they perceive and what is stored in their memories, however, with the changes of the environment and with the time flows, those perceptions that stored in people’s mind might be changed. In “The Power of Context”, Malcolm Gladwell depicts that people’s characters are not only related to the cognitive association, but also affected by the physical surroundings because things that exist in individual’s residence also shape who they are. Similarly, Leslie Bell in her article, “Hard To Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom”, discusses that because of the change of physical surroundings, women now have more courages to express what they want, especially the needs of sexual activities, but the cognitive associations of the public would bring women who have desire of sex prejudgments that are harmful to their dignities. Similarly, Michael Moss, the author of “The Extraordinary Science of Additive Junk Food”, talks about the extraordinary science behind tastes and junk food addictions, and how multinational food companies struggle to maintain their "stomach shares" in the face of mounting evidence that their foods are driving the

In conclusion, both films Fahrenheit 911 and Fahrenhype 911 use opposing juxtapositions to shape the viewers; bias by using statistics, interviews, news footage, and clippings

Human beings are influenced by what they see, hear, or read on the news. Today we have several sources to receive news: newspapers, internet, and radio. However, with this information people come to question what is truly the truth. The Cable News Network (CNN) displays footage of current events happening all around the world. This well-known 24-hour news broadcasting system began to change its traditional pattern of news began to encapsulate the way media directs the foreign policy formulation. For the individuals behind the scenes, including policy makers and academics, the 1990’s was a time of media empowerment and growth. Piers Robinson thesis in the “CNN effect revisited” is the ways in which the media influences foreign policy formulation, socially and politically. In his argumentative essay, Robinson discusses the development of foreign policy since the “war on terror” and the “humanitarian war.” Additionally, Robinson discusses the ways media intervened with political decisions and how the media’s voice created military action. The media that has the privilege to voice opinions, can result in less freedom for the press

Michael Moore’s latest film, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” presents a critical look at the administration of George W. Bush and the War on Terrorism. In this film Moore investigates the rapid growth of the United States government and its trend of trampling the rights of individuals, and the corporatism that is spawned out of the close ties between big government and big business during wartime. Michael Moore may not convince all audiences, but is successful for its factual accuracy in which the evidence spoke for itself, and at the same time proclaimed Moore's artistry in transposing and splicing scenes to create impressions that supported his allegations and opinions. Michael Moore has employed two main techniques in an

Millions of people globally supported the ‘war on terror’ at one time, largely because the discourse around it was successful in divisively framing the identities involved and attributing a ‘truthful’ nature to that framing. Governments, with the Bush administration seemingly as the lead, created ‘the other’ to be ‘the terrorist’, and those ‘terrorists’ were probably Muslim or Arab. The fear was then created by the comparison of this ‘other’ to the self; or ‘them vs. us’.

“The media are a primary source of those pictures in our heads about the larger world of public affairs, a world that for most citizens is ‘out of reach, out sight, out of mind’ and what we know about the world is largely based on what the media decide to tell us” (McCombs).

Independence Day is an interesting film that is full of cohesive visual political and cultural meanings that represent the United States of America. Through its major genres of war and disaster its able to attract all categories of audience and bring out the true colours to the world that USA is composed off. This paper through these two common cinematic genres will reveal an interesting set of political ideologies that most Americans represent and pursue when approaching the people and countries that live in this world.

Kegley and Raymond stated: “The shape of the world’s future will be determined not only by changes in the objective conditions of world politics, but also by the meanings people ascribe to these conditions.” Terrorism is presently a major factor in international relations and has impacted the world to change in many significant ways. Terrorism is a political ideology that has been problematic in defining definitely because of its various interpretations around the world, as well as the fact that it is constantly evolving. Since the terrorist events of 9/11, the lives of many have been changed forever. A small group of individuals, which are a mere fraction of the population of the world, have managed to impact and shape the way international and domestic relations are looked at and handled. People question how secure and safe they feel due to uncertainty of public safety because of events such as 9/11. The war on terrorism in the 21st century has certainly and inevitably changed the landscape for global politics. However, the relationship between terrorism and global politics is troublesome and in ways problematic to describe accurately. Both terrorism and global politics individually are complicated phenomenon. It is erroneous to propose that one is responsible for the other or vice versa, but they are inextricably and inevitably linked. In the study of international relations, there are multiple theories and theoretical perspectives. In this essay, realism and liberalism