Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The chilling documentary film "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" examines the relationship between the media, corporate America, and government. In a country where the "top 1% control 90% of the wealth", the film argues that the media system is nothing but a "subsidiary of corporate America." It's a stunning fact that the media received 1 billion dollars in campaign ads for the last election. Large corporations own the television networks, and the sheer number of stations/channels available gives the public the "illusion of choice." Yes, there are tons of channels to chose from, but this "ostensible diversity conceals an actual uniformity." "Orwell Rolls in his Grave" gives the big picture of the media system in America and asks why some important stories are not covered by the mainstream news and remain invisible. Other stories appear and sink rapidly--while some stories are repeated over and over. Using references to George Orwell's masterpiece "1984" the filmmakers establish the idea that "1984" isn't just fiction any more. The premise of Orwell's novel is that language is redesigned and history rewritten to control people's thoughts. According to the filmmakers, the American media system at best--filters the news to the populace, and at worst--is the mouthpiece of its corporate and political masters. This information packed film examines the ties between media, corporations and the government using facts and figures--as well as a number of news stories. The film focuses on media coverage of the 2000 election, and the juicy detail of the purging of Florida voter rolls. According to the filmmakers, when journalist Greg Palast broke the story for the BBC, major American networks declined to explore the story further as Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, and naturally the focal point of any investigation into Florida voting, debunked the story. The filmmakers point out the outrageousness of the squashing of a story simply because the person being investigated says it's not true. This section of the film also gives details regarding the Supreme Court Justices who voted to terminate the Florida recount. It's interesting to see who voted against the recount, and that two children of these justices then got positions in the Bush administration. Is a quid pro quo system at work behind the scenes--are deals made, jobs given, contracts awarded to 'friends' of the administration? Well watch the film and decide for yourself. The film includes interviews with a number of experts on media--including Charles Lewis, the director of the Centre for Public Integrity. Lewis has an engaging candor that is refreshing and genuine. Michael Moore appears in a few brief clips from a speech he gave, and there's also some clips from George Bush. Witty and entertaining Vermont congressman, Bernie Sanders weighs in, and there are also interviews with Danny Schecter, director of "Weapons of Mass Deception", and legal expert Vincent Bugliosi. The film winds up with information on the FCC (Michael Powell, son of Colin Powell is head of the FCC), lobbyists, corporate watchdogs and regulators. For a behind-the-scenes look at the structure of the American media system, I recommend "Orwell Rolls in His Grave." The information here is at once enlightening, chilling and downright depressing--displacedhuman