DrSmellThis
07-31-2004, 01:14 AM
Seeing and
understanding
perspectives
different
than my own is
not
something I
try
to avoid like sidewalk poop. It's
only another's shoes one ends up stepping in, after all! Believe me, I'd like
to be able
to
say that I look
at all the
perspectives I can,
sympathetically,
at
least for a
minute or
three.
Unfortunately, I know I
consistently fail at
this
project, by my own
standards.
Althou
gh staunch
conservatives -- for whom such
open perspective seeking would
be like seeking to
step on
the poop -- and people
with a misguided
faith in
the
integrity of Fox News are sure
to dislike Control
Room; perhaps
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t is why I was really moved by
the
honesty of
this
excellent
documentary
about coverage of
the Iraq war, from
the
perspective of a
motley crew of Al Jazeera
journalists. To understand things
from their perspective for a moment was enlightening.
[/font]One correspondent died on
the rooftop of his
Baghdad offices after it was
struck by an American missle, while he was
reporting live.
Indeed, on
the same
day, U.S. precision bombs killed
three TV
journalists from
three
different Iraqi news
networks, including Al
Jazeera, while they were
at
their offices
reporting
the war. The
military said
they
took
hostile fire from the
Jazeera office and were merely defending
themselves.
But obviously,
the timing of the
events could
not have been a coincidence. The
U.S. military was trying to send a message. The more compelling
story is
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t [/font]the news
networks were being
chastised, and
effectively
prevented from
reporting
the
true,
nasty face of war. The film showed
the correspondent just before he died, as well as
at his burial; his wife pleading for his colleagues to continue in their mission of journalistic
integrity. But Iraqis increasingly refused Al Jazeera
interviews afterwards; due
to fears
they
too would be
targe[
font=SimSun]t[/font]ed. The military information control strategy was brilliant.
To merely round up the journalists and shoot them, after all, would have caused more repercussions than solved
information control problems.
I was really
struck[/co
lor] by
the
honesty and
sincerity[/co
lor] of
the
journalists regarding
their jobs. As an American and a
psychologist, I
immediately recognized
their sincere passion for
democracy, freedom of information
and the power of
tru[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font]h. In
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] way most of them
struck me as more American in
spirit
than many American TV
journalists. They
exhibited
the same
healthy cynicism, reasonableness,
humor, and
detachment all
the
best
reporters share. One of
them was a former BBC
correspondent, and the
others hailed from various other
countries, some
Western. Despite the fact that
most of them were of the Muslim faith, I really got
the sense
they
weren't overly
emotionally
att[fo
nt=SimSun]ached [/font]to any one
position or
another. Though
sympathetic
to
the views of average Iraqis,
they were
mostly
passionate
information junkies,
at
the same
time
they
admitt
ed their biases and
sympathy. They
wanted
to wake up
the Arab world and
get
them
to open
their minds
to
different
perspectives -- especially
the
benefits of democracy(!) -- as
much as anything else. They even
expressed admiration for
the
intelligence and
effectiveness of
the American "war propaganda
machine" -- which reportedly trucked in non-Iraqi "extras" to act as the famous "celebrating masses" the day they
pulled Saddham's statue down! They kept showing the same people from different angles in different locations in the
square waving their same white t-shirts! There were in fact no actual Baghdad residents in the Square, reported
Al Jazeera, as they were huddled in their homes, scared to death of the tanks. It was nonetheless a
great stage performance, worthy of Hollywood. Still, the
most cynical among
them admitted he'd "go work for
Fox in a
heartbeat," as his dream was to move to America and become well to
do. He said no one can win a war
withou
t propaganda, and seemed to take a pragmatic view. Touchingly,
another senior journalist expessed
great
faith in
the American people and
Consti
tut[co
lor=black]ion -- that America itself would surely
defeat
the
current ugliness being
exhibited in our foreign policy.
He sounded more
patrio
tic (in an American sense) and
passionate
about
this idea
than would
most Americans, perhaps due
to his naive idealism
about democracy as an
outsider. So Control Room
was also a film about the beauty of America and its ideals.
Ironically, even as Rumsfeld and Bush
were calling Al Jazeera a horrible
terrorist[co
lor=black] propaganda machine
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] needed
to be disciplined (and indeed
it was disciplined), officials
from the
Sta[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font]e
Department and
Central Command
military
information office, who were
interviewed for the film, developed
tremendous
respect for
the network through working with
them closely, even admiring their
willingness to
present all sides of an issue and
offer Americans equal airtime.
Though I, along
with
other Americans, have been spoon
fed the view of Donald Rumsfeld
and major Network news
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] Al Jazeera is merely "Bin Laden's
mouthpiece"; I could
not help
but come away from the film
with
the view
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t [/font]they are
rather
like
the PBS we know and love on Sunday
afternoons; in a
different locale;
with a
different consumer base. Being
where they are, with various
offices throughout Iraq, no reasonable person could have
expected
them
to be
just like Fox, NBC, CNN, or CBS.
In contrast, the film showed that all these major networks' main Iraq offices were located right in the middle of
the Coalition Central Command suite; next to, or across the hall from, those of various generals. You'd think all
those reporters buzzing in and out would have been in the way of military planning, but apparently not. ;) As
I said, it was an enlightening film.
:type:
understanding
perspectives
different
than my own is
not
something I
try
to avoid like sidewalk poop. It's
only another's shoes one ends up stepping in, after all! Believe me, I'd like
to be able
to
say that I look
at all the
perspectives I can,
sympathetically,
at
least for a
minute or
three.
Unfortunately, I know I
consistently fail at
this
project, by my own
standards.
Althou
gh staunch
conservatives -- for whom such
open perspective seeking would
be like seeking to
step on
the poop -- and people
with a misguided
faith in
the
integrity of Fox News are sure
to dislike Control
Room; perhaps
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t is why I was really moved by
the
honesty of
this
excellent
documentary
about coverage of
the Iraq war, from
the
perspective of a
motley crew of Al Jazeera
journalists. To understand things
from their perspective for a moment was enlightening.
[/font]One correspondent died on
the rooftop of his
Baghdad offices after it was
struck by an American missle, while he was
reporting live.
Indeed, on
the same
day, U.S. precision bombs killed
three TV
journalists from
three
different Iraqi news
networks, including Al
Jazeera, while they were
at
their offices
reporting
the war. The
military said
they
took
hostile fire from the
Jazeera office and were merely defending
themselves.
But obviously,
the timing of the
events could
not have been a coincidence. The
U.S. military was trying to send a message. The more compelling
story is
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t [/font]the news
networks were being
chastised, and
effectively
prevented from
reporting
the
true,
nasty face of war. The film showed
the correspondent just before he died, as well as
at his burial; his wife pleading for his colleagues to continue in their mission of journalistic
integrity. But Iraqis increasingly refused Al Jazeera
interviews afterwards; due
to fears
they
too would be
targe[
font=SimSun]t[/font]ed. The military information control strategy was brilliant.
To merely round up the journalists and shoot them, after all, would have caused more repercussions than solved
information control problems.
I was really
struck[/co
lor] by
the
honesty and
sincerity[/co
lor] of
the
journalists regarding
their jobs. As an American and a
psychologist, I
immediately recognized
their sincere passion for
democracy, freedom of information
and the power of
tru[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font]h. In
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] way most of them
struck me as more American in
spirit
than many American TV
journalists. They
exhibited
the same
healthy cynicism, reasonableness,
humor, and
detachment all
the
best
reporters share. One of
them was a former BBC
correspondent, and the
others hailed from various other
countries, some
Western. Despite the fact that
most of them were of the Muslim faith, I really got
the sense
they
weren't overly
emotionally
att[fo
nt=SimSun]ached [/font]to any one
position or
another. Though
sympathetic
to
the views of average Iraqis,
they were
mostly
passionate
information junkies,
at
the same
time
they
admitt
ed their biases and
sympathy. They
wanted
to wake up
the Arab world and
get
them
to open
their minds
to
different
perspectives -- especially
the
benefits of democracy(!) -- as
much as anything else. They even
expressed admiration for
the
intelligence and
effectiveness of
the American "war propaganda
machine" -- which reportedly trucked in non-Iraqi "extras" to act as the famous "celebrating masses" the day they
pulled Saddham's statue down! They kept showing the same people from different angles in different locations in the
square waving their same white t-shirts! There were in fact no actual Baghdad residents in the Square, reported
Al Jazeera, as they were huddled in their homes, scared to death of the tanks. It was nonetheless a
great stage performance, worthy of Hollywood. Still, the
most cynical among
them admitted he'd "go work for
Fox in a
heartbeat," as his dream was to move to America and become well to
do. He said no one can win a war
withou
t propaganda, and seemed to take a pragmatic view. Touchingly,
another senior journalist expessed
great
faith in
the American people and
Consti
tut[co
lor=black]ion -- that America itself would surely
defeat
the
current ugliness being
exhibited in our foreign policy.
He sounded more
patrio
tic (in an American sense) and
passionate
about
this idea
than would
most Americans, perhaps due
to his naive idealism
about democracy as an
outsider. So Control Room
was also a film about the beauty of America and its ideals.
Ironically, even as Rumsfeld and Bush
were calling Al Jazeera a horrible
terrorist[co
lor=black] propaganda machine
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] needed
to be disciplined (and indeed
it was disciplined), officials
from the
Sta[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font]e
Department and
Central Command
military
information office, who were
interviewed for the film, developed
tremendous
respect for
the network through working with
them closely, even admiring their
willingness to
present all sides of an issue and
offer Americans equal airtime.
Though I, along
with
other Americans, have been spoon
fed the view of Donald Rumsfeld
and major Network news
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t[/font] Al Jazeera is merely "Bin Laden's
mouthpiece"; I could
not help
but come away from the film
with
the view
tha[fo
nt=SimSun]t [/font]they are
rather
like
the PBS we know and love on Sunday
afternoons; in a
different locale;
with a
different consumer base. Being
where they are, with various
offices throughout Iraq, no reasonable person could have
expected
them
to be
just like Fox, NBC, CNN, or CBS.
In contrast, the film showed that all these major networks' main Iraq offices were located right in the middle of
the Coalition Central Command suite; next to, or across the hall from, those of various generals. You'd think all
those reporters buzzing in and out would have been in the way of military planning, but apparently not. ;) As
I said, it was an enlightening film.
:type: