Documentaries are a strange animal, sometimes they are eye-opening, occasionally the message can be fascinating, and at times they can be little more than average.
Unfortunately "Control Room" fits into the latter category for me. Here is
an unofficial tagline for the film.
for the film:
Startling and powerful, Control Room is a documentary about the Arab television network Al-Jazeera's coverage of the U.S.-led Iraqi war, and conflicts that arose in managed perceptions of truth between that news media outlet and the American military. Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com) catches the frantic action at their headquarters as President Bush stipulates his 48-hour, get-out-of-town warning to Saddam Hussein and sons, soon followed by the network's shocking footage of Iraqi civilians terrorized and killed by invading U.S. troops. Al-Jazeera's determination to show images and report details outside the Pentagon's carefully controlled information flow draws the wrath of American officials, who accuse it of being an al-Qaida propagandist. (The killing of an Al-Jazeera reporter in what appears to be a deliberately targeted air strike is horrifying.) Most fascinating is the way Control Room allows well-meaning, Western-educated, pro-democratic Arabs an opportunity to express views on Iraq as they see it-in an international context, and in a way most Americans never hear about.
I think whether one gets the above impression from the film will largely depend on where you
are starting from. If you are a flag waving, fox news watching imperialist then the film would probably shock you intensely. Ironically, that demographic is also the least likely person to see this film. The film tries (and somewhat succeeds) to tow the middle ground - showing that just as they have an agenda - so too certainly do our American Networks. Much of the most open journalism I've read about the 'situation/invasion/liberation(?)' of Iraq comes from Australia and Europe. The film should hold something for everyone.
The film centres around the moments from the 48 hour warning afforded by Bush to Iraq after the U.N. security council was overruled through to the initial weeks of the troop movement into the country. It seems to be very much in the media game, no less so than FOX/CNN/MSNBC - the spin factor applies on both sides of the equation. The common denominator (those truly affected by the hostilities) is the piece we are left to ponder as usual. The most interesting part of the film is where a US Marine spokesman who is meeting on a daily basis with a Al-Jazeera reporter - trying to manage damage control, semantics and to his credit - find some commonalities.
It's a film that asks more questions that it answers. It now being 2007 we obviously can see the decisions made in real time were premature. Particularly the bold statement of Iraq being under control the battle is over and won' by GW all those years ago.
Sadly, the most natural way we could even begin to understand the media of the Arab world (which may or may not represent its viewers) would be to see it. That of course is not going to happen. A good film, not a great one, it is one of the few chances on the market to see the other side of the coin in what has become the legacy of this decade.
Favorite line "Did he work for the BBC?" 'yes' "Ahh..ok....everyone from the BBC ends up working for Al-Jazeera later". Also, someone said - let's just give everyone an American passport and then this can all stop.
Since an early age growing up just outside of London, Tim Merrick has had a passion for music and film. After being taken to see The Clash just before his 12th birthday, he has had a constant desire to see live music performed and continued with his large record collection. During college his hobby became his income as he worked during school in a record shop.
Tim has returned to his passion by operating a neighborhood online record/film store called Underground Discs. The name was inspired by many years riding the tube (underground) in London. The goal is to appeal to people with any taste of music and film. All genres of music and film are represented. The inventory is constantly changing selection of titles at extremely competitive pricing.
To visit Tim's shop please visit http://undergrounddiscs.com
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