Symbolism In Wag The Dog

AO4 = relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts; explain how texts have been influential and significant to self

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

Explore how this is evident in you prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

The film Swing Vote is an American political culture film that relies heavily on film subtext to depict the negative attitude many Americans have towards voting, corruption inside a political election, and the spectacle of media frenzy. While the film gives a light hearted impression of a rare political snafu it is still consistent with the main themes of other political films of manipulation, money lust, and power hungry political heads that will stop at nothing for their own personal gain. We also see the political candidates merely as puppets while their campaign managers are the ones truly calling the shots. Swing Vote is a unique political culture film because due to the ordeal in the film’s plot, the politicians are at a disadvantage when they are usually the ones in power. With the tables turned we see how they construct their corrupt schemes and the direct effect it has on the character representing the American perspective. The strong symbols that convey the cultural norms in America’s political system are in need of a deeper analysis.

Provide answers to three of the following questions based on your readings and your personal experiences. Answers should be 100-to 150-words each.

Provide answers to three of the following questions based on your readings and your personal experiences. Answers should be 100-to 150-words each.

All throughout history we have used metaphors to describe people, places, events and emotions; so it is perfectly fitting to describe the mediums with which we project our ideas as a metaphor as well. This is Neil Postman 's basis for his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Television and other media outlets have conditioned us to accept entertainment in every aspect of life; but most of all it masks the state of public affairs and politics. Through his book, Postman begs that we recognize the ways in which media shapes our lives and how we can use them to serve us instead of hurt us. Broken into two parts, Amusing Ourselves to Death focuses on a historical analysis of media, then discusses the television media-metaphor in more detail. Postman examines how media has infected every aspect of public discourse by prizing entertainment as the standard of truth.

Peter weir’s film “The Truman show” visually communicates his concerns about the power of the media and the impact it has on society and individuals, through the use of many techniques the composer attempts to engage and inform their audience about how through its manipulations the media affects society and individuals. Victor Kelleher uses manipulation of the visual to communicate ideas about his novel “The Ivory Trail” through the book cover.

Opening the book, Postman explains how he will fulfill showing that a “great media-metaphor shift has taken place in America, with the result that content of much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense” (pg. 16). There are two major points First: under the printing press, discourse In America was different from what it is now—generally coherent, serious, rational. Second: under the governance of television, it has become withered. This made me think about how much media affects us on a daily basis.

"[It's] not a war. It's a pageant. We need a theme, a song, some visuals," states Conrad Brean, the White House's Mr. Fix-it, referring to the plan designed to divert the public's attention from the incumbent's recent disastrous decision-making. The fabricated war and astonishing public response depicts the unfortunate credulity our society suffers from in Barry Levinson's Wag the Dog. Produced in 1997, the satire displays phenomenal insight into the media's effective use of rhetoric to influence the public opinion.

Discuss the role of conflict in three of the texts you read in Units 4, 5, or 6.

In 1985, when Neil Postman penned, Amusing Ourselves to Death, CNN, and the twenty-four-hour news cycle existed in its infancy and televangelism was still unscathed by the Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart scandals. A B-movie actor sat in the Oval Office. Conceivably most importantly, television, the love child of the photograph and the telegraph, had reached maturity to become fully entrenched in American culture after thirty some years (p. 100). Newscasters, preachers, and politicians had become celebrities. The information presented on the tube was deficient in meaningful content and lacked context. Nevertheless, the public’s level of amusement rode high. Television’s capacity to manipulate public persona and information on the news, in religion, and in politics creates a vaudeville atmosphere on these modes of public discourse.

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

D. A. Pennebaker’s The War Room is a film about the figures behind the scenes of a political campaign. Given a subject that historically lends itself to drama and narrative tension, Pennebaker makes active choices in filming and editing to find the story within the story. The film becomes a sort of meta-art: a media narrative about the people responsible for controlling media narratives. Pennebaker approaches the film as an appreciation of fellow craftsmen, giving credit to James Carville and George Stephanopoulos’ tactical brilliance. Through the use of carefully thought-out editing, intentional camerawork, and intimate access, The War Room lays bare the hidden layers of communication present within the campaign.

The media has become so powerful in today’s society that it has come to the point of controlling our daily lives. “We accept the reality of the world with which we’re represented. It’s as simple as that”. This was said by a character in the movie, The Truman Show that was released in 1998, distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Peter Weir, and includes stars such as Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Natasha McElhone and many more. There is a crucial need to criticize the media in order to explore the way something is presented and to be sure that we are thinking for ourselves because the media is not always accurate in its portrayal of facts.