Hollywood and the Media

Hollywood is the Whore of Babylon.






http://www.opinion-maker.org/2011/01/media-is-the-hub-of-falsehood/


Everyone who has access to electronic media needs to understand a basic fact. Whatever they are about to see is nothing but ‘The Illusion’. It is amazing that such a big dilemma has never been bought to the limelight.

Hal Becker, a syndicated writer in 46 Business Journal Newspapers worldwide, said in an interview in 1981, “I know the secret of making the average American believe anything I want him to. Just let me control television… You put something on the television and it becomes reality. If the world outside the TV set contradicts the images, people start trying to change the world to make it like the TV set images.'' This was the case then and it is now. Instead of the ‘average American’, we see people believing what they see on television.

The situation is alarming. We have witnessed war plans being sold on the media stage. The blue prints of the Iraq war were being sold by Bush and Blair. Iraqis were terrorised at a grand scale before the actual war and then it was covered up by deception. The disinformation of Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and Iraq being a danger to the rest of the world created hype across the globe. This gave the American Government a green signal from peace loving nations and the American public to invade Iraq.

Masses in America and around the world have started to think about America’s gain in invading Iraq. They began to question the legitimacy of the reports which stated that Iraq housed weapons of mass destruction. They were not told that they were making 740000 women widows and 4.5 million people homeless. They were not told that the population of Iraq would be made to suffer. This is where Hollywood comes in.

Hollywood is considered the Mecca of the film industry. The Hollywood filmmakers have a wealth of experience. They show people a world, painted with illusions. The American government is well aware that public events have been manipulated by filmmakers and that people’s views of these events are what they have been shown in films.

An example of this was after the Vietnam War. Films such as The Deer Hunter (1978), Platoon (1986), Good Morning Vietnam (1987) and The Green Berets (1968) depict the war. They turn the truth into fiction and filmgoers believe these to be a true representation of the Vietnam War where as they just perpetuated illusion.

After any major world event, Hollywood never fails to produce films depicting these events. The Iraq War was no different. Films like Jarhead (2008) and the Oscar-winning The Heart Locker (2008) entered cinemas around the world. People have to realise that what they are watching about Iraq war is a ‘lie’ because this war has been orchestrated purely for financial benefits. These wars have provided a very legitimate rout to American ‘elite class’ to bring half of War budget back into their personal bank accounts through different war contracts.

The relationship between Hollywood and Pentagon can be said to be a marriage of interest or mutual exploitation. Moviemakers who toe Pentagons policies of military portrayal get free support in war equipments. Hence it works better for both parties Pentagon gets access to the scripts with authority to alter them and moviemakers get the support. Tanks, jets and all other military equipment is borrowed from Pentagon for movies, that means American tax payers money is being invested to show them illusion. It’s a win-win situation for both of them but those who suffer are general public, who are being kept away from the truth.

All war movies supported by Pentagon are reviewed by Admirals and Generals before they go for release. Philip Strub, who heads the Pentagon's film liaison unit can be scene credited at the end of several war movies.

We as general public have to stop allowing ourselves to be influenced by the subtle but powerful illusions presented by television and war movies. It leads to a kind of mass madness that can have rather frightening implications for the future of the world. We have begun to see things that aren't there, giving someone else the power to make up illusions for us.

God Bless us!

Awais Bilal was born and raised in Islamabad, Pakistan and currently lives in the UK. He is a writer and a Marketing consultant. His articles have been published in several Pakistani news papers. His major area of research is ‘impacts of media on society’. He holds an M.Sc Advertising and Media degree from University of Hull, UK.