Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media

1992

Biography / Documentary / War

8
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 94% · 9 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 94% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.1/10 10 5098 5.1K

propaganda media professor psychoanalysis manipulation of the media political activist

Plot summary

A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.

Director

Mark Achbar Photo
Mark Achbar

Top cast

Noam Chomsky Photo
Noam Chomsky as Self
Peter Jennings Photo
Peter Jennings as Self
Tom Wolfe Photo
Tom Wolfe as Self
Mark Achbar Photo
Mark Achbar as Self - Interviewer
480p.BluRay
1.44 GB
720*480
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
N/A
Seeds 30

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jackinbox1982 8 / 10

Mind blowing but rather subjective

Reviewed by rachael-songqi 8 / 10

The heart behind the intellect

Reviewed by prabumds 8 / 10

Powerful, interesting and thought provoking

The movie is a critical evaluation of the media practices and journalism standards in many countries and the general trends, all over the world. Viewers are shown about some of the gripping facts of news making, including what goes behind the scenes. The end-to-end process of news making as explained in the movie including other elements like vested interests, controlling factors exposes the audience to several dark truths. After watching the movie, any viewer will be in a better position to judge news and news making, whether or not they are from the media background. Some of the topics are quite controversial, but it helps us in understanding the rigor that Prof.Chomsky uses to advocate freedom of expression. For instance in the section on 'Holocaust Denial,' Prof.Chomsky mentions that there is a difference between expressing your own views and protecting the views expressed. He makes this statement while arguing that he had supported the French intellectual who published a book to explain that the Holocaust, mass murders actually did not take place. He also emphasizes that he does not endorse the views of the French intellectual, but supports him, in the context of expressing his own views. Prof.Chomsky's statement "States are violent institutions," is a connotation, well expressed. There are chilling evidences to support his statement in the movie. For instance, while analyzing the news articles that appeared in the media in the United States, during the initial phases of Indonesia's aggression on East Timor, there were negative reports. He explains that this was on account of the fact that East Timor was a former Portuguese colony. However, after the invasion of East Timor, U.S supplied arms to Indonesia and there was no coverage of the genocide and atrocities committed by Indonesia in East Timor. Similarly, he also remarks that every Post-war American president should be hanged, if Nuremberg laws are to be applied. Some of the definitions and framework put forward by Prof.Chomsky helps in understanding theories like Manufacturing Consent and Agenda Setting, better. For instance he says that marginalizing the public is the intention of elite class. Similarly he also explains that elite and big media are agenda setters and that 80 percent of the population are followers in a democracy and the remaining 80 percent is composed of the elite and the political class. The movie is a very interesting eye-opener for all audiences, be it a novice or a historian or a media professional. However, some of the concepts like manufacturing consent and agenda setting are repeatedly explained. Further editing can improve the quality of the movie and especially remove the repeated explanations.
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