Manufacturing Consent Documentary

Reviewing Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
3/5 Stars
 The documentary focuses on what the media chooses to present and how it presents this information, as well as its effect on the people. Basically, the main idea is that the media is funded by rich, powerful people  and or companies, and that information is slanted in their favor as a result of them writing the check that pays for it.

I personally found the documentary a bit bland. It had some good points (such as the need of each person to decide what sources are 'good' or relevent, and the difference between honoring freedom of speech and agreeing with a point of view, etc.), but beyond his unique point of view, it wasn't really anything that kept me captivated or interested for very long. It was educational, just not easy for me to focus on.




“Propaganda is to democracy what violence is to a dictatorship.” - Noam Chomsky
The most important part of a dictatorship is to maintain control, and most such governments have done so throughout history by using violence and fear to keep the people 'in line'. In this way, a dictatorship cannot exist without violence. Similarly, without propaganda to sway the people, a democracy (by definition a government run by representatives chosen by the people) cannot be successful.