Documentary or propaganda?

October 8, 2004 11:53 AM

David Sterritt has given great reviews to Uncovered and Outfoxed, and at least a few readers have given him flack. In response, he very effectively explains:

It seems to me that all these movies are both. They're documentaries as long as they display real people, places, and events. They're propaganda as long as they are motivated by an ideology or agenda. ... When writing about political documentaries, I assume there's an agenda present in all of them - and a key criterion for the movie's quality is that the agenda is right upfront, so we can agree or disagree as we choose.

Contrast this to Fox News constant claims of zero bias. Since they refuse to brand themselves properly, Outfoxed will do it for them. And it looks like it's helping their ratings -- wonder what it's doing for their advertising sales?

Documentary or propaganda? (10.08.2004)

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