A film with a powerful message that addresses the role of the media in repetitive wars like Iraq, Afghanistan and also tackles the question, “why do Journalist beat the drums of war regardless of the lies of governments ?”.
The War you don’t see is a master piece of Investigative Journalism. It focuses on the embedded journalism who are to put it in more simpler words actually, ‘In bed with the administration’. The film delves into the history of both embedded and independent Journalism and the role played in many wars since world war one to Japan and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the many invasions in particular Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq.
John Pilger says in the film: “We journalists… have to be brave enough to defy those who seek our collusion in selling their latest bloody adventure in someone else’s country… That means always challenging the official story, however patriotic that story may appear, however seductive and insidious it is.
For propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far away country but at you at home… In this age of endless imperial war, the lives of countless men, women and children depend on the truth or their blood is on us… Those whose job it is to keep the record straight ought to be the voice of people, not power”.
Pildger also brings into the context another war after the focus changes from Iraq and Afghanistan to Iran as a Nuclear weapons capability. We see this in present day 2012 (going on to 2013 in a couple of days) I find this to be a prediction a well-informed one by Pilder, who released this film in 2010. The drum is beating for another war hopefully we are more informed and this war does not occur.
This film is a great eye opener and also provides a rare insight into how the media
actually works. Pilger also interviews politicians to the Editor and chief of ITV and also Julian Assange. A great example of investigative journalism.
Libertyinthedesert 