When we think about Media Awareness, we often think about the stories we don’t know, the angles, values and views through which we make our opinions on issues, cultures, and countries. Control Room shows us another side of the dialog, one that’s often not part of our dialog, and one that can lend insight to how we see ourselves, our nationality, and our ideology beyond our own borders.
This space is for you to comment on the film, in light of you taking the bias test, and thinking about your presumptions of the Iraq War and it’s aftermath on our country.
Thanks for your contributions
“Control Room” was really eye opening, especially in terms of my personal definition of how aware Americans are about the war in Iraq. We generally have this notion that we are told about the war from all angles, but usually only consider those angles to be from the two political parties. The media presents the different views on why we’re in Iraq, if we should pull the troops out or not, etc. However, American media never covers true other side of the war.
Although some of the footage from Al-Jazeera didn’t agree with me personally, I think it’s important for Americans to see how Iraq reports the war based on how it affects them. Our own media will of course portray our mission ONLY as liberating, and joyful to the Iraqi people. But, in most cases, the actual civilians living through it see it differently, mostly due to cultural differences. I think the most interesting portion was the comparison in reporting the demolition of the Saddam statue. It was shown here as victorious and a remarkable day. But, looking at it through the eyes of Al-Jazeera gives you a different understanding. War is of course never pleasant, but it also should not be sugar coated or censored. To think that nothing has happened in the war thus far that makes America look bad is incorrect, and the blame can only be placed on the media itself.
I felt a bit ashamed about my reaction to the film, because I was completely not offended by any of the imagery. Showing the POWs, the bodies, it didn’t bother me. I suppose I could be able to see why it is morally questionable for some, but I didn’t feel as strong as many others, so I felt bad about being so apathetic about human life. You also have to remember this is old footage that the filmmaker chose to include. The whole film is like a peepshow…you know that this kind of stuff is in there and you’ve already chosen to see it to get a better understanding of how it all operates.
I found myself being understanding of some of Al Jazeera’s views, like with the playing cards, and how the dismantling of the statue was all posed. And I found myself conflicted about the swarthy producer, because he would so easily flip-flop–does that mean he doesn’t really hold a personal bias, making him apt for news media, or does that mean that news media has been so commoditized that news itself can’t exist. He only sees it as something to package, something to slant. He knows what he’s doing isn’t unbiased– but I respected him for chided an underling for bring a crazy extremist in for an interview instead of having a legitimate guest. I think Fox News would be fine with those so far to the right that its ridiculous(after all, conservatives like hearing consonant messages even if they’re so ludicrous it makes the argument less credible).
I totally agree with what Christina wrote here, very thoughtful, and I often feel the same way.
I just want to add, a part of the film that really hit home with me was when the senior Al-Jazeera producer said that he still has plans to send his kids to the states after they finish high school. That resonates with me, because it completely complicates the ideas of identity, prosperity, truth, and culture.
Just figured I’d add….
When the war began I was old enough to realize what was happening but not mature enough to fully grasp the scope of what it all really meant. Even today I know I don’t know enough about the situation to form a fully developed and well-educated understanding of this complex issue, and “Control Room” more than ever made me believe this to be true. My parents have always watched BBC World News, so I have gained a slightly different perspective than from what is shown on the American network news. I can’t specifically recall a certain newscast that showed dead soldiers, or dead Iraqis, but the images of violence and war were generally like the ones I was used to seeing on BBC World News. The images are shocking, but perhaps now from the length and constant news of death and violence in this part of the world, I have become desensitized to them. The one thing Al-Jazeera showed that shocked me, was the footage of the American POWs. Perhaps because it was video instead of just images, or because they were alive and still in great danger as opposed to victims that had already suffered, it was shocking. But why shouldn’t Al-Jazeera show it? It is part of war, it is happening, it should be shown, and it should be shown everywhere because its true.
What I gained from the film was a better understanding of what Al-Jazeera is producing. In my head I had a very different image, the idea that Al-Jazeera was extremely biased against America, but from the film that didn’t seem to be. They were upset and disagreed with the war, they were scared when they lost one of their colleagues, but they were very interested in finding out honest and complete information to make strong and factually supported news reports.
Seeing the press at CentCom, and the variety of stories that came from one briefing reminded me of the Swiftboat stories from True Enough. Its all connected, with today’s media, 24 hr news, spin happens without anyone realizing it and the only way to counter that is by being dedicated enough to seek out and review the different spin on the same subjects to try to pull the truest truth out.
I really liked “Control Room.” However, I found it to be frustrating at times. The whole time, I grappled with the idea of unbiased reporting and finally came to the conclusion that there is no such thing. Al-Jazeera does about as good a job as any news source can do, but a lot of the time its reporting is skewed when they’re only able to get one side of a story. You might ask why they don’t just leave out stories they don’t have both sides on. Well, the reason they don’t do that is that it can also be considered biased to filter what makes the news rundown. Another thing that frustrated me in the film was the way the U.S. Army was perceived. Like someone said in class, there is only so much information you can publicly disclose. As a broadcast journalism major, I can relate to the journalists who were frustrated with the evasiveness of the Army, but I really think they were in need of a reality check.
I felt the film, “Control Room” depicted the various contrasts of reporting the Iraqi War by Al Jazeera and the general national news agencies which were located in the secured central district. It seemed that the American forces higher command personnel were controlling the pictures and information which could be accessed by the major news agencies to ensure a positive spin. The American information tried to project a positive outlook to engage a supportive environment back home. I found the Arab media broadcast depicted a more violent picture of the Iraqi war and the hardships the Iraqi people were subjected to due to the war. The easy access to the internet and mobile communication enables the Arab agency to disseminate their values to the massive Islamic population.
I really enjoyed “Control Room,” but saw myself getting disgusted as the movie progressed. I hate how there really is no such thing as unbiased reporting. The one part of the movie that really caught my attention was how staged the Irag war actually looked at some points. It looked like the Iraq is just a series of staged events. An example of a staged event during “Control Room,” would be where they took down Sadaam’s statue. The comment the woman reporter made about the young Iraqi who just happened to have an old Iraqi flag with him was really eye opening. She made me heavily believe that there is a strong chance that some parts of the war could have been staged by the Bush administration. Whether it was staged or not, I remember watching the news during that particular time and feeling that there was hope for the war to end soon. So maybe there is a point to what they stage and what they don’t?
The one major problem I had with the movie was with how it ended. I felt like the movie ended by acknowledging that independence, and even truth itself maybe misleading and non–realistic. After watching this movie, I’m left feeling kinda scared actually because my certainties in this world are now twisted and my assumptions are now shaken of what was and is now occurring in this war.
“Control Room” really made me look at the Iraq war through a different light. Before seeing the film the War was something that was so distant from my mind, despite the fact that news of it litters most of our media networks. I always knew it was there and knew it was happening and I would hear news of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians dying, but it never really affected me. American media I feel safeguards us from much of the reality of war and the actual devastation that it causes. We are a proud nation that does not like to show weakness and our media makes this very apparent. The media does this by portraying our soldiers as heroes to their country and heroes to Iraqi citizens. Most of the actions in a way feel like they were set up for the media and were just one big publicity stunt for the United States. Al-Jazeera had no issue with showing images of dead Iraqis and American soldiers, American POW’s, and American soldiers holding guns to Iraqi citizens’ heads. Al-Jazeera’s coverage made the war seem more “real” to me and I felt they used these horrifying images and video segments to evoke more emotion out of their viewers. When seeing their footage it made me question the views I previously had on the war. I believe it is important to shield viewers from much of the devastation caused by war, but not to disguise it or completely leave it out. Sometimes it is important that we see images of death and chaos because it brings us in emotionally. Quantitative information, which the American media mainly focus on, does little to evoke our emotions and make us want to take action.
After watching the opening minutes of the film I realized I had seen it once before in a journalism class in my senior year of highschool. It was interesting to me how much more I got out of it the second time around having gained a much broader understanding of the media and how it works from media and journalism courses ive taken the past few semesters. That being said, I feel that “Control Room” says a lot about our media on a whole. What we see and hear on our news broadcasts is most likely very different from what people in other countries are seeing. Clearly, all media is biased and that is something that is difficult to avoid however when we are given the opportunity to view media that is aired in foreign countries it becomes a whole different ball game. As Americans it is difficult to see images such as POW’s in captivity. That scene in addition to the images of dead American soldiers were two specific instances that really hit home as it would for Iraqi people to see innocent civilians suffering. It just goes to show you that the news is difficult to articulate; where is the line between what we need to see to portray an event and what should be withheld?
Control Room illustrates a need for moderation in media coverage. Journalists in the film serve as representations of all that I see as negative about the industry: they believe that the First Amendment gives them limitless power and that they are sacred keepers of the Constitution. In demanding confidential military information – and I will not even touch on how inappropriate and unprofessional their attempts were – they demonstrated a profound lack of respect for American troops and for the US government’s goals.
Being that the focus of “Control Room” was Al Jazeera, while watching the discussions amongst his remarks to the director’s camera, it looks as if the Arab network is biased in the siding of Hussein’s regime to admitting to the distortions of nationalism and Fox News’s national loyalty. The fact that he had to confess everything he knew and once stood by, ran horrid thoughts through his mind while seeing photos of dead Iraqis. That fact that this doesn’t affect him the same way it does when he sees similar photos of US military was upsetting. The movie showed how difficult it can be to search for that common ground, especially among journalists who hold different beliefs and values. Also seen in the movie as an unbroken conflict between the viewers in America and the Arab world. It seemed as if everyone was struggling for nothing but the truth, however Al Jazeera continued to stay unbiased, and I respect that. I enjoyed how the movie concluded, even after all the forceful accusations and realities of struggle within the US side. I feel more open minded and willing to learn about those who must live with decisions they’ve made.
Control Room seemed fairly insightful, though there were some obvious biases on the side of the media. To me it is the most important thing that information attempt to stay objective. The movie also made me really, really hope that
a) not all of American soldiers speak as off-handedly as the one interviewed
b) seeing our own POW interviewed by their media outlets makes our own country more curious about the people WE hold hostage and
c) people recognize that journalist’s constant questioning is the only thing that gives me any hope for our government and military.
I think that the journalists were not necessarily asking for confidential information, just ANY information, anything to confirm to the people they are representing that they did not bomb journalists on purpose. I think they have every right to ask– they ARE the checks of the constitution, and the military has every right to say “confidential”, if its for our protection and the protection of our soldiers.
“The important thing is to never stop question.” – Albert Einstein
It’s weird that I rarely seek information about the war but I’m somewhat offended that if I cared enough to look it might just all be propaganda anyway?
I don’t like the feeling of only getting information that’s convenient to the government and I didn’t like finding out seven years later that the U.S. may have bombed the media on purpose, it makes me uneasy.
I do however realize it’s war. In the documentary I felt like people were flabbergasted by the fact that people were actually dying. I’m not a fan of war, but I do realize that if someone declares war on my country that people (innocent or not) will die.
I greatly enjoyed Control room, I wasn’t aware of how much the United States Army interacted with Al Jazeera. It made me reflect on the beginning of the Iraqi war and remember those POWs that had been captured. I was totally unaware of the Al Jazeera reported that was killed by the United States airstrike and it made me more aware of the true censorship that the United States media has. Although I do not agree with Al Jazeera’s graphic filming of the US POWs it was somewhat refreshing that they cross boundaries in order to provide their public with the real story.
I found “Control Room,” to be very interesting. I must admitt, before watching this film I had never heard of Al-Jazeera before. It was interesting to see the war in Iraq from a perspective other than the ones that are portrayed to use here. I found details shown in the film about misrepresentation in the film to be exteremely vital. For example, towards the end when members of Al-Jazeera had said that the people taking down the statue and chanting in the street were not from Iraq, the one man had made a comment that he had grown up in Iraq and knew what their accent was, and that those people were not it. I think that is a perfect example of how details can be altered and are altered to show a certain point of view, to get people to respond to the information that is presented to them in a certain way. I also think it is an example of how viewers don’t really know what they “aren’t” seeing. It is important to get information from various sources in hopes to come as close to the truth as possible. It is hard for me personally to agree with what I think the message of this movie is trying to convay because my own personal opinions on the war in Iraq. I feel that this movie definitely makes points about the United State’s place in Iraq and takes a position on how Iraq sees the U.S. Being an American citizen, and again having my own opinions on this topic, the movie did prove its purpose that there is serious bias in the media due to extremely conflicting views, however I do disagree with some of things that were portrayed.