FINAL EXAMINATION PART 2 - Militainment Inc.

THESIS: All forms of media portray war as a device for our entertainment, softening the amount of death and destruction, in order to captivate audiences and increase the average US citizens desire for consumption.

5 FACTS:

1.The footage of Saddam’s statue being pulled down was staged by the US to make it look as though they had little involvement, where in fact it took a US tank off screen to get the statue to the ground.

2.The news simulates war missions for public consumption

3.Weapons are often depicted as beautiful.

4.The media (president included) often associates Iraq with Al Queda, although, in reality, this is a serious contradiction.

5.The bombings in Baghdad were described by the media as a “light show.”

TRUINE BRAIN:

1.The government uses music as a reqcuitment tool. This is dangerous because music most directly affects our emotional limbic brain, and our emotions have very persuasive powers.

2.Our neocortex absorbs the way in which news casters describe the war in poetic, ambiguous terms that play a role in de-humanizing the tragedy of war.

3.Our reptilian brain is captivated by the “light show” that use very specific camera angles, so the public doesn’t witness the true destruction of the bombs.

EIGHT TRENDS:

1.Epistemological shift: With the ability to capture images of war, instead of just a narration of events, people have more opportunity to see first hand accounts of the events of war, however it is also another device fore media to manipulate.

2.Aesthetic shift: The way in which war is portrayed in America is a perfect example of the clear blurring of the line between news and entertainment. War “news” has become a way for news channels to gain mass viewership by exploiting war, and making it an entertainment event.

3.Cultural shift: it has become a normalcy in American culture to accept entertainment as news, however this closes our ability to see the human lives lost when bombs fall.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES:

1.How does the media use the viewers perception of reality to de-humanize war? The media doesn’t show the destruction done by western bombs, just the pretty lights they make when they go off. They also made sure that the US tank was not in the shot of Saddam’s statue coming down.

2.What emotions does the way in which media portrays war provoke in viewers? American viewers don’t feel the agony of war because during the Iraq war coverage has only given numbers of those American soldiers dead and not those Iraqis that have died. The true numbers would really “shock and awe” them…

3.Did the documentary effectively use pacing? I felt that yes for the most part, but when taking notes I found it impossible to record all the necessary information. In the way of viewing pleasure, well done.

4.How did ownership affect the meida’s portrayal of war? With the media and the government forming a sort of alliance in reporting the war gave the war the look of an army recruitment add. The government was able to show off all kinds of weaponry and army scenarios that may appeal to the army aged citizen.

PERSUATION TECHNIQUES:

1.Group dynamics- using “we” instead of ”the military”

2.Diversion- the media diverts our attention from mass deaths and directs it towards
pretty lights

3.Name calling- Associating Iraq with Al Queda.

4.Card Stacking- he often took short clips of speeches as examples but he may have been leaving other disproving parts out.

5.Rhetorical Questions: the video asks “don’t you want the real truth?”

6.Fear/Defensive nationalism- Hussein was compared to Hitler to Beef up the nations support against Hussein

YOU’RE THE BOMB DR. DUB, HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

Peace and love always,
Stephen Garner