Control Room





Control Room

By Arsalan Ahmed

It's not about facts. It's about perceptions.

This is probably one of the most difficult movies to review. Why is that? I'm hoping that by the end of this little piece from me, you might understand.

Control Room is yet another documentary released this year focusing on war and the media. Yet it seems to take a very different approach towards it. The documentary is primarily shown from the eyes of the correspondents at Al-Jazeera network, one of the most controversial news agencies in the Arab world, based out of Qatar. While most documentaries I've seen this year focus on presenting a side of an argument and follow it up by passing an opinion and judgment, "Control Room" is less about the facts, it's less about actual propaganda, and more about perceptions in the Arab world and the stance taken by news agencies to present only their agenda out to the world.

The movie starts off with a great statement made by Sameer Kader, part of the Al Jazeera network. He states that one of the primary elements of engaging in war is propaganda. But instead of looking at a bad thing, he mentions how it is the key to actually fighting a war, and to not engage in it is to adopt a terrible military strategy. Throughout the movie, as I watched it, I kept meeting up with elements like these. The purpose of those comments was not to condemn propaganda, media biases, and control of information but to make people realizes that they are a product of warfare and for someone to denounce them is to be hypocritical. Everyone will engage in it by the end of it.

Based upon what is stated above, I will inform you of a few things that seem to be constant in this movie. It is better to get them out of the way first and acknowledge them.

- The movie is presented from the point of view that this war is wrong.

- The movie presents us with the idea that the Arab people and the western world are not viewing the war in the same way.

- The movie presents Al-Jazeera as any other news station in the world (and sometimes, a bit more). The goal is to provide Al Jazeera with the opportunity to present their point of view.

Though the above 3 points seem almost like common sense, they are very important. While the war itself is presented to be something wrong, this movie does not have an anti-American agenda. A good portion of "Control Room" is spent looking into the faults inherent in the Arab world as well, yet how Americans and Israel are used as scapegoats to deny themselves from taking any responsibility. The people presenting their views state how they would love to work for Fox News, send their kids to the US for education and ask them to make their life there, and in one of the most powerful scenes, mention how it is the American public itself that they have faith in at the end of the day to bring an end to the war. One may think that the American army and the government are frowned upon in the presentation of Control Room, but in reality, they are not. It all comes back to the same point that war cannot exist without propaganda and if the American government has engaged in unfair practices, so have the Iraqis and even the Al Jazeera network.

While the Arabs and the US may not see eye to eye on the war, it has little to do sometimes with the facts that are presented and more to do with the perceptions created in people's minds. Some great examples of this were presented during various discussions with Lt, Josh Rushing, where Rushing does a commendable job of explaining the American side of the argument. While talking to Hassan Ibrahim, another member of Al Jazeera, the topic quickly switches to precision bombing in Baghdad. Ibrahim presents the notion that so many innocent people died during the bombing while Rushing counters with the fact that the American army could have saved a whole lot of money and actually made a hundred bombs in comparison to one precision bomb and gotten its job done. Yet they decided against it to reduce as many civilian casualties as possible. Ibrahim, adopting an extremely aggressive attitude states back that it does not matter how precise the bombings were, innocent people died. The issue here was that in our day and age where the media has so much power and penetration, one might kill 10 times less number of people but the pictures of those who die seem readily available. While in World War 2 where millions die, people outside of where the war is being fought do not have access to what is going on. With videos, pictures and interviews, it does not matter what the facts were. The only thing important was that people saw more carnage on the streets and in buildings and that's the perception people are left with. This pretty much seemed to be the central theme of the whole movie. While it did not offer much in terms of opinions of what is going on, it made it evidently clear the different sides in this war need to realize how the same piece of news, may be viewed differently and interpreted in a different way altogether. A part of the public sees how few people are dying. Another sees the carnage.

Rushing spends some time talking to another person whose name escapes me at the moment. It's a discussion about how Al Jazeera chooses to only view certain types of information to fuel hatred towards the American people, focuses on the tyrannical things the coalition armies have done while not looking at the good they have spent or the atrocities carried out by Saddam. The person replies back telling him the same thing Ibrahim did. The bottom line in the end is an access of information. While Al Jazeera was able to pick up on one side of the story, the American army and/or correspondents who are interested must go out and look for "actual proof" to present their side of the argument. At the end of the day, it's what the people see that matters, not what you know.

The final thing this movie spends its time concentrating on is defending Al Jazeera while at the same time, presenting a view on media in general. On many occasions in the movie, we are made to see how bias Al Jazeera can be at certain times, while at the same time, completely unbiased under different situations. This brings me back to what I said earlier, why it is so difficult to review this movie. The viewpoints presented here play upon perceptions as well. While Al Jazeera might want to convince the world that they are presenting a side of a story but are more than willing to let anyone come on their channel and present their viewpoint, they admit to the fact that they have an agenda, in this case, to cater and care for the Arab public. There are many occasions throughout the movie where an unbiased stance is shown to be taken but in some cases, the façade it not properly kept up. The funny thing is, the people being taped, as well the directors, are completely aware this and is almost done purposely. It is to show that Al Jazeera is no different from anyone else. All types of media is bias. They all have a certain audience to cater to. Presenting both sides of the story DOES not occur at any level whatsoever. Al Jazeera suffers from this, Fox news suffers from this and any other station covering this war or any news item suffers from this. It all ends up as an extremely interesting look at what goes on behind the scenes.

Grade:

Some people might be offended by the grade here. My grade does not look upon the quality of the actual movie but what it tries to bring on the table. Sure, there are many places throughout the movie where there is a spin put on a fact, occasions where something is presented as an actual fact when it is no more than an opinion without justification and viewpoints that will not be accepted by most. What compels me to give this movie the grade I have is that I believe all of these faults in the movie purposely exist to show people that what you hear on TV, or even this documentary is not always correct. War is often more complicated than what is shown in the half hour of headline news, information is purposely controlled by those who have power over it, whether that be Al Jazeera with exclusive footage or the American army. I recommend almost everyone I know to watch this movie for this very reason. Do not try to come out of the movie (or better yet, going into the movie) with a political stance, because the movie is less about Iraq and a look a news. Treat it as such and you will have a great time.

bABA's Grade: A+

Great review bABA! :-)

bABA, a well thought out review.

One fact of this illogical war (No WMD found) is that over 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the invasion and is almost never mentioned in the US media. So much for a free and fair press.

The 100,000 number is actually based upon no facts whatsoever. Its a number generated through taking a sample size and multiplying it over the total land area or number of people or something like that.

For now, I'm cautiously relying more on http://www.iraqbodycount.net

Dolcevita's Review of Control Room

Control Room

Any military leader who wants to embark on a successful war is worth nothing unless he gains the support of propagandistic media. And with such comments from news reporter Samir Khader and others in his profession begins Jehane Noujaim's exploration of the individuals delivering news throughout Arabic speaking communities. Al-Jazeera, a radio and television news agency now well known throughout the world has been in existence for only the past eight years but has already risen to the coveted number one most watched news channel in several middle eastern countries. Control room is not the story of Al-Jazeera's rise in prominence, and it is not an exploration of subtle media tactics. Control Room documents the personal stories and unique insights offered by reporters and military personnel since the United States publicly announced its intentions to enter Iraq. In a long list of recent films documenting the political bias of American and International media, Control Room distances itself from the rest of the pack in the ambiguity of all the interviewee's positions, Noujaim's intentions for documenting those opinions, and the hazy reception of Al-Jazeera by political authorities. Al-Jazeera has been condemned for inciting opposition not just against the U.S. government but against Arab officials as well. So which is it? Is the station's agenda pro or against whom?

Well clearly, the journalists are quick to point out, they are in fact no less neutral than anyone else. Leave considerations of objectivity to a different field; Al-Jazeera is no less objective than U.S. journalism, and they're just not in denial about it. At least so claims one of the network's executives, Deema Khatib, in a very polite interview. And perhaps there is some truth in their words? These journalists have been through much, and have seen even more, and they are refreshingly forthwith with their comments on the war, their own positions, and their own allegiances. One reporter smiles and says he will send his kids to American universities, and that he wishes for the American dream. He still believes he has every right to be critical of American actions in the war however. Another reporter quips often and aggressively that democracy through firepower is not a route to be embraced, and will not win the hearts and minds of Iraqi people. No one is going to cry over Saddam's death believe me, he offers, but also comments that Bush's many errors have mobilized a certain support and sentiment for the former dictator that is alarming and shocking. These are the many musings of reporters who see more of the carnage and fire in Baghdad than almost anyone else.

One soft-spoken journalist prophesizes that in the near future Iraqi civic society will no longer harbor any support for those with similar dispositions as his own. The only position today is of polarized aggression and ignorance, not of diplomacy, intellectualism, and words. As he speaks, images Al-Jazeera cameramen have recorded air of a young boy enraged and demanding persecution of Baathists and the killing of Americans.

Lt. Josh Rushing, as well as other U.S. military officers, offers personal insight into his experience overseas as a compliment to remarks by the reporters. He is very respectful, clearly in support of American troops, and media savvy enough to understand what images do and do not get shown on Al-Jazeera's airwaves. He also turns around and observes that FOX News and other stations employ similar tactics. Rushing offers to converse with reporters, and clearly befriends them. He claims that they are friendly and intelligent people, but Rushing also acknowledges that after having seen images of both Iraqi and US soldier casualties on TV, he was far less troubled by the blood and death of the former images. His greater aversion to one set of images over the other is why he hates war he explains, but he also realizes it is the reason why such combat will always exist.

Control Room treads the same observations in its own self-reflexive habits. Clearly antagonistic towards Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld, Noujaim only presents them through mediated images and negative interviews. Noujaim, however, also takes the time to insert comments about Arab civilians' lack of support for Saddam Hussein's past Kuwait excursion, and journalistic derisions into the region's lack of sympathy for many of its current leaders. Control Room then is ultimately about how well informed people in the Arab media industry balance their own nationalist sentiments and their journalistic integrity. This movie offers nothing new in terms of film documenting approaches or cinematography, but what it does offer is small pearls of wisdom into the current international situation.

A-

Control Room: Spintastic!


Control Room is the new documentary about the first days of last year's US invasion of Iraq as seen from the perspective of the Al-Jazeera news network. This is an outstanding piece of film-making and couldn't be more timely. If this doesn't make you question the "objective" role of the media in the western world, please retreat to your bomb shelter and await further instructions. Otherwise, get out and see it!

Anyone opposing the availability of Al-Jazeera on cable TV, should first see this film. And besides, even if you're a total patriot, why would you not want to know your enemy?

As a matter of fact, we have been treated to a trilogy of excellent documentaries this year which expose the sordid underbelly of what we call modern "civil"ization. The Corporation, Control Room, & Fahrenheit 9/11 when seen together, act as an instant education in the present. Plus, as an added bonus, earlier this year we had the excellent prequel to this trilogy - Fog of War - in which we get to see an example of the type of evil super-genius who manipulate the puppets appearing on stage.

6 out of 5.

{Note: Please do not adjust your calendars, the above review is resurrected from my archives. BTW, I wonder how that whole Iraq invasion thing went?}

I remember this doc on BBC a while back. Its a great dissection of how the words "free media" mean different things to different people. I enjoyed the bits with the uppity Fox News people being told to go stuff themself.

That was a brilliant review btw bABA.