Orwell Rolls in His Grave (2003)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Robert Kane Pappas

Writer:

Robert Kane Pappas (writer)

Release Date:

19 November 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Deregulation | Media | News | Media Manipulation | Politics

Cast

Charles Lewis	...	Founder of the Center for Public Integrity
Robert McChesney	...	Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mark Crispin Miller	...	Author, Professor, New York University
Bernie Sanders	...	Congressman from Vermont
Danny Schechter	...	Author
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vincent Bugliosi	...	Attorney, Author
Jeff Cohen	...	Himself - Founder of FAIR
Dennis Kucinich	...	Himself (as Rep. Dennis Kucinich)
Mark Lloyd	...	Visiting Professor M.I.T.
Michael Moore	...	Himself
Greg Palast	...	Reporter
Tim Robbins	...	Himself (archive footage)
Helen Thomas	...	Herself

Directed by
Robert Kane Pappas

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Kane Pappas		writer

Produced by
Robert Kane Pappas	....	producer

Cinematography by
J. Alan Hostetter		(as Alan Hostetter)
Robert Kane Pappas

Film Editing by
Robert Kane Pappas

Production Companies

• Sag Harbor-Basement Pictures

Distributors

• Sag Harbor-Basement Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)

Runtime:

USA:84 min | Argentina:103 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:Unrated | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Sag Harbor-Basement Pictures

Great documentary, more important than Fahrenheit 9/11

This is an excellent documentary and, in my view, is more important than Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11, in that it points to a fundamental, systemic problem in American society; the free flow of information. The movie paints a frightening picture of influence over the media, exerted by large corporations, and demonstrates that there is indeed a "vast right-wing conspiracy", aiming to control the media diet of American citizens.

Fed on managed, nutritionally devoid meals of sound-bites, sensationalism, and outright falsehoods, the average American citizen is made to exist in an unreality that is eerily similar to George Orwell's novel '1984'. Because of deregulation started in the Reagan era (if you see the documentary you will find that the word 'deregulation' is a misnomer), large multi-national corporations are now allowed to swallow up monopoly interests in various media outlets, thereby controlling the flow of information. This movie helped to confirm for me that American mainstream news is, at best, useless, and at worst, foisting upon us, an agenda that services the interests of the rich and powerful interests in this country.

So, go out and see this movie, or buy it online. The guy that made this film deserves a medal. Also, check out the "Center for Public Integrity" which is a news organization cited in the documentary. It is a non-partisan organization that is interested in uncovering corruption, wherever it is found.