Control Room Response

I found the film The Control Room to be very information and shocking. The graphic images that Al Jazeera showed of the wounded US soldiers is something that we are not used to seeing here in the US because it is considered disrespectful and it is not allowed on American television. I feel that in the U.S., many people are unaware of Iraq’s point of view, and in Iraq, many people are unaware of the U.S.’s point of view. For me, it was very interesting to be able to see the news reports from both Al Jazeera and the United States because I was able to see the differences between the broadcasts. Each program is heavily biased, so no matter which one you watch, you aren’t getting the full story.

            I was surprised by the way Al Jazeera portrayed the American soldiers. They showed propaganda of US soldiers blowing up Iraqi women and children, but failed to mention that that Al Qaeda members were using these civilians as a sort of “human shield” leaving the US soldiers no choice but to bomb them in attempt to get to the Al Qaeda officials. At first, I found it hard to believe that people actually believed everything their government told them without ever questioning it’s validity, but after thinking about it for a little while, I realized that the same thing happens worldwide. People are going to believe whatever they are told because they don’t know any better.

            Although the Al Jazeera broadcasts were full of propaganda and lies, the US broadcasts were not completely truthful either. They didn’t exactly lie, but they did a lot of work to make themselves seem innocent. They twist the broadcast to make it seem like everything they are doing is completely necessary, even though a lot of times it isn’t.

            Overall, I found this film to be very informative. I learned so much about the way news companies operate and the lengths they must go to in order to gain support and have people believe them. Watching this film really made me question the validity of the news I watch and the amount of bias in it. From now on, I will be more aware of what is being said on the news, and I won’t be so quick to believe everything that is being said.