Blog Week 2 - Manufacturing Consent

The movie "Manufacturing Consent" is a film about how media is controlled by what the corporations owning media want people to see. The film looks at different aspects of mass media such as propaganda from the government and big corporations influences on what people see and hear today. The movie used a lot of behind the scenes clips of broadcast companies to portray the real life world behind media. This allowed the viewers to see how structured broadcasting is. It also showed how broadcasting companies have the ability to make television propaganda as they can pick and choose what the audience see’s in their nightly news. They have the ability to leave out whatever they want and work with what they feel the audience should see.
Also used were old illustrations used in England when media was first starting to develop. The contrast between media back then and today is very apparent and this can be seen in Noam Chomsky’s “Propaganda Model.” This model explains how media is controlled by five major filters including the corporation who owns it, the investors of that corporation, or by anti-communist agendas. This gives the idea that we really have no control over what we here or see because there is a “higher power” in the business world dictating his views to us.
The “Propaganda Model” shows how media back in the day was not constantly used for propaganda until way later when governments realized they could use the outlet for their own good. Unfortunately Noam Chomsky was looked down upon for thinking outside the box for this theory even though the truth is apparent.

-Anna Hossnieh