Representations of politics often reveal the worst of human nature, however, intentional use of the media can trigger a reaction from the audience that shows the best of human nature and a call for change within society. Wag the dog (Barry Levinson 1997) and Beware (Leunig 2003), both highlight the conflict between politics and reality. This conflict is shown through literal and visual techniques, context and perspective. Both wag the dog and beware are written with a context of war, public manipulation and individuals being lost in a sea of consumerism.
Politics and the public’s reality is separated by many factors including propaganda, distraction, concealment and privileged perspectives. Modern politics relies on the media to capture the …show more content…
The audience is affected by themes of patriotism, dissidence and loyalty that reflect real life scenarios such as the war on terror and the Iraq war. Wag the Dog was released in 1997 and references many real life scenarios such as the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the assassination of JFK and World War II. Beware on the other has a much more specific aim, to alert the audience to the propaganda surrounding the Iraq war. In Wag the Dog 's “old shoe” campaign, ideology and values of patriotism appeal to the internal audience. Their reaction is extreme, with acts such as hanging shoes on streetlights and power lines to prove their honour duty and freedom. Modern government has a distrust of a free press since the Vietnam War when it created a public dissidence which effectively brought the war to an end. This illustrates the power of the press and the fear of the possible anarchy that could come with informed public debate. The political and economic ties of loyalty that are made are also important. For instance the suitcase bomb in Wag the Dog being placed on the Canadian border mimics the placing of nuclear missiles in Cuba during the cold war. Through these examples it becomes clear that the context strongly influences the meaning extracted by the audience and is crucial to provoking a …show more content…
Through the portrayal of the characters and storyline, in both wag the dog and beware, the audience sees the foul play and injusice that goes on in politics and the media. In Wag the Dog, the protagonist Conrad Brean is portrayed in a good light for the use of satire. However as the movie progresses the audience starts to see the worst of his nature shine thought. This is evident with the nonchalant way he kills off his right hand man. By doing this levinson challenges the audience’s approval of brean and therefore makes the external audience rise up against what he symbolises, propaganda. In this same scene the external audience can clearly see the director 's choices with medium. Mr Brean is shot from a low angle looking down at the camera through a window that is reflecting an American flag. He is also shot from behind a curtain, in a stereotypical villain way. This shows both his loyal patriotism and his superior power over Motss and the internal audience, as well as indirectly revealing his evil nature to the external audience. In this last scene Motss is representing the internal audience, having just been played, and Brean representing the all-powerful manipulator. Furthermore Leunig’s choices are displayed in Beware through the cartoonist’s animation of the characters and their words. The speaker in each section is depicted
Politics and the public’s reality is separated by many factors including propaganda, distraction, concealment and privileged perspectives. Modern politics relies on the media to capture the …show more content…
The audience is affected by themes of patriotism, dissidence and loyalty that reflect real life scenarios such as the war on terror and the Iraq war. Wag the Dog was released in 1997 and references many real life scenarios such as the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the assassination of JFK and World War II. Beware on the other has a much more specific aim, to alert the audience to the propaganda surrounding the Iraq war. In Wag the Dog 's “old shoe” campaign, ideology and values of patriotism appeal to the internal audience. Their reaction is extreme, with acts such as hanging shoes on streetlights and power lines to prove their honour duty and freedom. Modern government has a distrust of a free press since the Vietnam War when it created a public dissidence which effectively brought the war to an end. This illustrates the power of the press and the fear of the possible anarchy that could come with informed public debate. The political and economic ties of loyalty that are made are also important. For instance the suitcase bomb in Wag the Dog being placed on the Canadian border mimics the placing of nuclear missiles in Cuba during the cold war. Through these examples it becomes clear that the context strongly influences the meaning extracted by the audience and is crucial to provoking a …show more content…
Through the portrayal of the characters and storyline, in both wag the dog and beware, the audience sees the foul play and injusice that goes on in politics and the media. In Wag the Dog, the protagonist Conrad Brean is portrayed in a good light for the use of satire. However as the movie progresses the audience starts to see the worst of his nature shine thought. This is evident with the nonchalant way he kills off his right hand man. By doing this levinson challenges the audience’s approval of brean and therefore makes the external audience rise up against what he symbolises, propaganda. In this same scene the external audience can clearly see the director 's choices with medium. Mr Brean is shot from a low angle looking down at the camera through a window that is reflecting an American flag. He is also shot from behind a curtain, in a stereotypical villain way. This shows both his loyal patriotism and his superior power over Motss and the internal audience, as well as indirectly revealing his evil nature to the external audience. In this last scene Motss is representing the internal audience, having just been played, and Brean representing the all-powerful manipulator. Furthermore Leunig’s choices are displayed in Beware through the cartoonist’s animation of the characters and their words. The speaker in each section is depicted