In government we are watching a movie called Wag the Dog. In the movie Wag the Dog, the media plays a
very important role in what the people’s opinions are. In the film the
president was caught in a scandal that involved a little girl, and in order to
get people’s mind off of that they made up war. The president had a person,
known as a spin doctor, working behind the scenes to divert attention from the
president’s scandal. The spin doctor did this by making up a war; they filmed a
scene where it looked like an explosion happened, that was broadcasted all over
the news. Even though the war was fake people still believed it because they
saw it on television. Not only did they constantly broadcast the war but they
completely stopped reporting about the president’s scandal. The president was
being accused of something very serious but because it wasn't reported enough
people just forgot about it. The media played a huge role in helping the
president gain the votes he needed to win the election.
The
media has the same effect on us today. Anything that is displayed in the media
is portrayed to be true. As a nation we have not been taught to question the
government; we've been taught to trust the government because they are only
doing what’s best for the nation. We need to learn to question these things we
hear in the media because most of it is just what the government wants us to
hear. I think that what the government is doing is a subtle form of propaganda.
The media isn't there to inform us, it is there to tell us what we should
believe. We need to always keep in mind that not everything we see is true.
