The War You Don't See (2010)

Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it.

Directors:

Alan Lowery, John Pilger

Writer:

John Pilger

Stars:

John Pilger, Stuart Ewen, Melvin Goodman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Pilger	...	Self - Host
Stuart Ewen	...	Self - media historian (as Professor Stuart Ewen)
Melvin Goodman	...	Self - Former CIA analyst
Dan Rather	...	Self - CBS news anchor 1981-2005
Saddam Hussein	...	Self - President of Iraq 1979-2003 (archive footage)
Byron Pitts	...	Self - CBS reporter (archive footage)
Arwa Damon	...	Self - CNN reporter (archive footage)
Paul Wood	...	Self - BBC reporter (archive footage)
Kerry Sanders	...	Self - NBC News reporter (archive footage)
Mark Mardell	...	Self - BBC chief political correspondent (archive footage)
Bryan Whitman	...	Self - US Assist. Secretary of Defense
Rageh Omaar	...	Self - BBC world affairs reporter 2000-2006
Greg Philo	...	Self - Glasgow University Media Group (as Professor Greg Philo)
Andrew Marr	...	Self - BBC political editor 9th April 2003 (archive footage)
Dahr Jamail	...	Self - journalist & author 'Beyond the Green Zone'

Storyline

Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it. WWI, Vietnam War, post-2001 Afghanistan, post-2003 Iraq, Palestine: a historical account of PR, embedded journalism, lies and cover-ups, but also of courageous journalists who disclose the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

fake news | american war crimes | war monger | iraq war | vietnam war | 

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Did You Know?

Quotes

John Pilger: Those whose job it is to keep the record straight, ought to be the voice of people, not power.

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Connections

References The Deer Hunter (1978)

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Soundtracks

57 Channels (and nothin' on)
Written by Bruce Springsteen
Performed by Bruce Springsteen
Published by Bruce Springsteen

User Reviews

A really good and much too under-seen documentary

Embarrassed to have never heard of John Pilger before today, but I thought this was great, and am gladly going to seek out all his other documentaries that I can get my hands on.

You do have to get past the presentation, because while it's feature length (and content-wise much more informative than many movie length documentaries), it's not really presented in a particularly cinematic way. I didn't mind this once I adjusted to the style, because the arguments and interviews and statistics were more than compelling enough. I only mention it as one of the only potential negatives with the overall documentary (oh and a little unfair putting The Deer Hunter and The Green Berets in the same boat. The former probably can't be viewed as propaganda exactly, but the point about it honing in on the American perspective and framing them as the victims was eye-opening and honestly a good point).

I love how straightforward Pilger is, I love his interview style, and I love the fact that he does interview people on both sides. Overall he strikes me as an incredibly intelligent guy who can nonetheless break down complex issues and explain them in ways that are straightforward and easy to digest, even if you're not particularly knowledgeable about what he's covering.

It covers conflicts from years long past, but its central message about the media's potential to manipulate the presentation of war is still relevant, and unfortunately is likely to remain so indefinitely.

Details

Official Sites:

Bullfrog Films JohnPilger.com

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2010 (UK)

Also Known As:

La guerra que usted no ve

Filming Locations:

UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dartmouth Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1