Chomsky on the big screen

Abstract

A review of Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, a documentary by Canadian filmmakers Peter Wintonick and Mark Achbar. The documentary focuses primarily on Chomsky’s critique of the media and its coverage of U.S. foreign policy. The documentary outlines Chomsky’s “propaganda model” of the media, which maintains that the social function of the major media in the United States is to maintain the public’s ignorance or acceptance of the corporate plunder of the planet. A radical critique of several of the basic features of capitalism underlies this thesis, including competition, the drive for profit maximization, and the tendency toward concentration of ownership. The evidence presented consists of facts about corporate ownership of the media and particular examples of biased coverage where corporate interests coincide with U.S. foreign policy. Efforts to distribute the film and its critical reception are discussed.