Thursday, August 12, 2004
Outfoxed
I finally received the movie after weeks of waiting and I was looking forward to finally seeing the movie and let me tell you I wasn't disappointed. I can't tell you how nice it is to see the info in your head displayed in a movie, without missing any beats. The production value was a little low but not enough to distract you from the message in the DVD yet still you could tell it didn't take a whole lot of money (movie wise) to produce the film. The movie leaves you with a desire for just another hour with more depth to some of the interviews but most people will not sit through a 2 hour movie, let alone a documentary.
The most damning aspect of the film is the use of Fox's own footage against them. Watching them follow GOP talking points, verbatim was nauseating coming from a "Fair and Balanced" "News organization" and to be honest I was shaking my head half of the time in disbelief. When presented with the facts about FOX not opinions from former employees but actual memos and current employees.
Take for example the weekday line up
Neil Cavuto: Republican
David Gibson: Republican
Brit Hume: Republican
Fox All Stars: Mostly Republican a few moderates who have changed more political associations quite often.
Bill O'Reilly: Traditionalist (code for Conservatives without the balls to be honest with their viewers)
Sean Hannity: Republican
Alan Colmes: Democrat
Greta Van Susteren: Democrat
Two Democrats and only one of them discuss politics on their show and that one is an poor debater, looks weird, and incredibly weak when compared to his sparring partner, much like yours truly discussing economic theory against a mute with down syndrome I will come out on top, no different then with Hannity and Colmes. And the other touted Liberal covers court tabloid stuff, the Peterson or Bryant cases and when Greta does a segment she has Washington Times hacks on her show, so to say there is any balance it absurd.
One definite clip really hit home for me, the pre-interview banter between "Campaign Carl" Cameron and then Presidential nominee George W. Bush, apparently Carl's wife was involved with the Bush campaign and they shared some stories about his wife's life on the road with the Bush campaign. Now in order to be objective I would think that the guy covering your campaign shouldn't have such a personal connection to the candidate or a personal stake in the outcome in the election and as *the film pointed out CNN fired someone for being too close to the Gore campaign*. The Supreme court decision in 2000 should have seen Scalia and Thomas barred from ruling in that case Thomas's wife was a member of the transition team and Scalia's son was on the Bush Legal team. Being "Fair and Balanced" is also being objective and in context, something FOX threw away by letting "Campaign Carl" cover Bush and any Journalist worth his salt would agree.
The problem with the movie, the only one I could find is it preaches to the choir a bit, it's red meat for the starving lions but I'm not sure how it will translate to people on the fence or FOX fans. The argument is "Well I don't care if FOX is biased for Republicans, it balances out the Liberal Media", so this film has to go against the mentality of "I don't care, I want my views reenforced" and the film will lose, at no fault of the film makers. People on the fence I think will really appreciate the film for what it brings out, however for Republicans, FOX fans or the close minded in this regard you could show Rita Cosby snorting blow off of O'Reilly's chest while Geraldo and Hannity worship Satan, anointed in baby seal blood in the gayest club SF has to offer and they'd still support it because it reenforces their beliefs and doesn't ask the questions they don't want to answer.
I liked the movie quite allot, buy it and spread the word and hopefully the next documentary can cover the Noise machine of televised news!
Correction:
*I was wrong about the producer being fired, she was taken off of the campagin. No excuses, I screwed up and the film never said she was fired.
I apologize for my error
|
I finally received the movie after weeks of waiting and I was looking forward to finally seeing the movie and let me tell you I wasn't disappointed. I can't tell you how nice it is to see the info in your head displayed in a movie, without missing any beats. The production value was a little low but not enough to distract you from the message in the DVD yet still you could tell it didn't take a whole lot of money (movie wise) to produce the film. The movie leaves you with a desire for just another hour with more depth to some of the interviews but most people will not sit through a 2 hour movie, let alone a documentary.
The most damning aspect of the film is the use of Fox's own footage against them. Watching them follow GOP talking points, verbatim was nauseating coming from a "Fair and Balanced" "News organization" and to be honest I was shaking my head half of the time in disbelief. When presented with the facts about FOX not opinions from former employees but actual memos and current employees.
Take for example the weekday line up
Neil Cavuto: Republican
David Gibson: Republican
Brit Hume: Republican
Fox All Stars: Mostly Republican a few moderates who have changed more political associations quite often.
Bill O'Reilly: Traditionalist (code for Conservatives without the balls to be honest with their viewers)
Sean Hannity: Republican
Alan Colmes: Democrat
Greta Van Susteren: Democrat
Two Democrats and only one of them discuss politics on their show and that one is an poor debater, looks weird, and incredibly weak when compared to his sparring partner, much like yours truly discussing economic theory against a mute with down syndrome I will come out on top, no different then with Hannity and Colmes. And the other touted Liberal covers court tabloid stuff, the Peterson or Bryant cases and when Greta does a segment she has Washington Times hacks on her show, so to say there is any balance it absurd.
One definite clip really hit home for me, the pre-interview banter between "Campaign Carl" Cameron and then Presidential nominee George W. Bush, apparently Carl's wife was involved with the Bush campaign and they shared some stories about his wife's life on the road with the Bush campaign. Now in order to be objective I would think that the guy covering your campaign shouldn't have such a personal connection to the candidate or a personal stake in the outcome in the election and as *the film pointed out CNN fired someone for being too close to the Gore campaign*. The Supreme court decision in 2000 should have seen Scalia and Thomas barred from ruling in that case Thomas's wife was a member of the transition team and Scalia's son was on the Bush Legal team. Being "Fair and Balanced" is also being objective and in context, something FOX threw away by letting "Campaign Carl" cover Bush and any Journalist worth his salt would agree.
The problem with the movie, the only one I could find is it preaches to the choir a bit, it's red meat for the starving lions but I'm not sure how it will translate to people on the fence or FOX fans. The argument is "Well I don't care if FOX is biased for Republicans, it balances out the Liberal Media", so this film has to go against the mentality of "I don't care, I want my views reenforced" and the film will lose, at no fault of the film makers. People on the fence I think will really appreciate the film for what it brings out, however for Republicans, FOX fans or the close minded in this regard you could show Rita Cosby snorting blow off of O'Reilly's chest while Geraldo and Hannity worship Satan, anointed in baby seal blood in the gayest club SF has to offer and they'd still support it because it reenforces their beliefs and doesn't ask the questions they don't want to answer.
I liked the movie quite allot, buy it and spread the word and hopefully the next documentary can cover the Noise machine of televised news!
Correction:
*I was wrong about the producer being fired, she was taken off of the campagin. No excuses, I screwed up and the film never said she was fired.
I apologize for my error
|
