William Randolph Hearst, an American publisher in the early
20th century, was in bitter rivalry with his competitor Joseph
Pulitzer. The competition was so fierce that all ethics were thrown to the
winds. Mr Hearts for example had sent his artist along with his important
reporter to Cuba to draw pictures to support the reports of the uprising there.
Days after the war was over, and when the artist Remington said, ‘Everything is
quiet. There is no war. I wish to return’, Mr Hearst was reported to have said,
“Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”
Director: Barry Levinson
Film Clip
Well, USA has the dubious distinction of creating wars when
there were none, for wars were important for its leaders to survive. The story
of the film Wag the Dog is very
similar. Here is a President who is caught up in a sex scandal which mars his
chances of being re-elected. So, he has to divert the attention of the people
to help his cause. The obvious choice before him is to create an illusory war.
Accordingly, a Hollywood producer is employed to create visuals to support his
make-belief war. Despite many doubts and questions raised by the Opposition Party
and the media, the President succeeds in his ‘mission’.
The scenes in the film are a depiction of how several
Presidents of USA have functioned in the recent past. Be it George W. Bush
senior, or his son, or Bill Clinton – they all had one thing in common: they
created wars playing on fear psychosis, just to divert attention from major
issues troubling the nation and scandals they were personally involved in. In
fact, President George W. Bush, when he set out to attack Iraq in 2003, used
some of the dialogues from this film, the story of which is somewhat similar to
his own story of lies and deceits.
The film may look like a satirical comedy, but it is conceived
on important contemporary facts which have time and again proved to be true,
especially in the US political history. Hence, the film is an important visual
parody of the politics that our leaders and government play.
- Melwyn Pinto SJ
'Wag the dog' is a classic commentary on the nature of political communication. The general belief is that the media is dependent on the government as source of news. But this film displays how governments and political leaders rely on the media to shape public opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe deceptive nature of political spin, the theatrics behind weaving a news story and the murky reality of politics is candidly captured in this Clinton-era movie, which remains very much relevant even today.