oh NOam!

Noam Chomsky made a few valid points in this documentary, yet he tended to go overboard on several of his statements.

The professor from Massachusetts theorized that mass media was dictating the mindset of Americans. I agree with this statement to a a certain extent. Yes, I think that media companies have some influence over us because they control what we read in newspapers, therefore deciding what news we hear about. I do, however, think that people can think for themselves and are not completely influenced by what the media exposes us to. I believe Chomsky blew this out of proportion because many people choose not to believe everything the press publishes, which gives them less power over us than he believes to be true.

Chomsky also makes a statement about the media using certain articles, such as sports, in order to distract Americans from more important things that are going on. I disagree with this completely. People have the ability to think for themselves, and can take interest in sports and entertainment without being distracted from foreign events. We, as a country, have enjoyed sports for as long as I can remember. This is not something newly invented to change the way we think.

Another major point Chomsky made was about propaganda. He believes that American media is being filtered, therefore limiting the content in which citizens have knowledge of. Chomsky used two examples of foreign events to illustrate American media and its bias in favor of the status quo. The atrocity in Cambodia was given extensive attention, while the one in East Timor was almost completely ignored. The reason for this was because news of the Indonesian invasion would have had a negative effect on an American ally. This news about East Timor would not have been useful, so the media focused their most of their attention on Cambodia instead. After the information is put through many filters, only the most "newsworthy" is published, even if that means omitting crucial information about the event. I agree with Chomsky on this topic. The media is leaving out necessary information about foreign and local events. The effect of this is that Americans are oblivious to conflicts around the world, whether it involves our country or not. I do not think this is acceptable because citizens should have the right to know what is going on in other places.

This film was long and sometimes difficult to keep up with, but Chomsky did, in fact, make a few statements that I must agree with. He used historical events such as Cambodia and East Timor to exemplify his idea. There were times where he made a valid point, but as the video progressed, he got so wrapped up in his own thoughts that it went bit overboard. Overall, I think this video helped us understand a bit more about mass media and its influence over the United States.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz1nIHv6P6Q