Just saw Control Room

Suprisingly the theater was almost 3/4 full, although it was a small theater.  I had seen the large man on the Daily Show so I had a small idea about what to expect.

Watching the movie only reinforced in me the feeling that our media is ballless.  Al Jazeera has been banned in several countries because they were taking stances with which the government did not agree.  American Media have no such luxery.  American media also have the problem of competitors; if a network runs or asks something with which the current administration disagrees then the current administration stops giving them access (c.f.  Helen Thomas)

Seeing both Bagdad Bob and Donald Rumsfeld berating Al Jazeera as lying was truly funny (it was the only bit of the film which drew audible laughter from the crowd), as was seeing Rumsfeld talk about people eventually learning the truth.  I would LOVE to find out exactly when that footage of him was taken.  Watching Rumsfeld's hand movements reminded me of the photoshoped image of Force Lightening coming out of his fingers.

I especially loved seeing the BBC (I assume) reporter asking increduously for access to the fabled deck of cards.  Pin push them to the wall for god's sake, have several decks for the media to examine.  He was able to get his story off without card access, he made a joke about finding out who would be on the Joker.  What a stupid, stupid stunt. (Full Disclosure: I have played with a deck of those cards)

The film talked about the whole Statue Toppling Affair, the man whom I later describe as Parisian claimed the men were not Iraqis, they had the wrong accent.  It touched on the close up shots versus the wide angle whole square shots.

The movie touches on the airing of the POW footage and how the current administration whined about violating the Geneva Convention and it's brought up in counterpoint about the current administration's prisons in Guantanamo and how they bomb civilian targets (Al Jazeera and two other Arab media outlets had their Bagdad offices bombed on the same day.  For an administration which believes outting CIA operatives I don't find it hard to believe they would also bomb foreign journalists) and invade sovereign countries without UN authorization.

The words of the last man are powerful.  (he reminds me, frankly, of  what I would expect an early 20th century Parisian novelist to talk and act like.  The accent, the smoking, the outlook on life.)  If you have victory you need no justification.  Victory itself justifies anything for many people.  This is what is causing Bush problems, not only were the justification for going to war lies, Bush has not achieved Victory.  He has claimed he has (c.f. "Mission Accomplished") but the American people can see through the bullshit, this is why they fight so hard to prevent us from seeing the images of the coffins of our fallen soldiers.  Both Al Jazeera and the current adminitration get it.  

Pictures matter.  The force of imagry on the hearts and minds of humans should never be underestimated.  The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the camera is mightier than the pen.