Thursday, November 29, 2012

Wag the Dog



  1. What do you feel is the message the director is trying to express in this movie?  Support your answer with examples.
I think that the message the director is trying to express is the inaccuracy about what we see during elections and in politics in general.  I think that the director wants to show how images on TV can often be altered and untrue but we as viewers often get tricked into believing what we see. For example, the video of the girl running across the bridge was completely untrue and the war was also completely untrue but they got the viewers to believe it. Also, another message is that “the president is a product.”  The president is rarely in the film, yet they are doing so many things to make the president appear a certain way, and get votes. 
  1. If applicable , discuss if you think this movie has accurate depictions of minorities or if they are situational? Why or why not?
There aren’t many minorities in this movie.  It’s mostly white men, with the exception of the one woman that was one of the main characters.  I think that, unfortunately, only white men dominated the political scene at this time, so this may be why there was a lack of minorities. 
  1. Explain if you think the director’s ethnic/cultural/professional background played a role in directing this film?
The culture that we live in often appears as very gullible when it comes to things we see on TV.  This may have been an influence on the directors need to make a film like this.  Also, any deep interest in politics may have influenced him to look deeper into what spin-doctors do. 
  1. What groups (people of color, nationality, culture, class,gender etc.) may be offended or misinterpret this movie and why?
Women and mostly any minority in our country may be offended because of the continued lack of acceptance in politics.  White men dominated this movie.  As I said earlier, this is probably only because it was a reflection of reality at the time.  
  1. What the movie added to your visual literacy?
This movie really made me think about the images I see on TV and online and the information that is fed to the public daily.  I knew before the movie that you have to be careful about what is truthful, but I never really thought about the “credible” news stories and political figured making up as many lies as they could.  I now know to be aware that this could happen.  Also, I understand the impact images can have on an individual.
  1. What kind of artistic and/or visual means did the director use in the movie to focus our attention?
There weren’t a lot of bright scenes in this movie.  It was often rainy looking when they were outside.  This may be to show the audience the negative of what they are doing.  The camera was at eye level a lot and would go back and forth between showing people and their expressions.  I think this was really to get inside of the characters head and show how they were feeling or thinking.  It made it appear there was no remorse about what they were doing, but rather only worry when things weren’t going as planned.  


No comments:

Post a Comment