First, I found it amusing the facts that were brought up about how the White House was, in a sense, big noting itself and basically telling the country to keep their eyes peeled for the action to come, and forgetting that the power of the media and complaining about the war being different to what they had planned for. It's not always wise to create such a big hype, particularly to make yourself look good, and warn the opposition of your game plan, I'm not some experienced strategist, but even I see the lack of sense in that.
The most alarming point of the reading, and one which made me feel quite naive, was that regarding Private Jessica . Exploiting a story and stretching the facts to gain audience approval, and in this case, approval of the nation in regard to their involvement in the war, including special effects to add 'dazzle', and to be entertaining and 'gamelike', in order to win much needed support.
Interesting was the discussion about propaganda, and the use of entertainment to convey and manipulate audiences with a message that suits the requirements of their own regime. The underlying messages in Casablanca is remarkable. I for one have never seen the movie, but I know it is a great romance, little did I know it was passing on such a message. I guess I need to look at movies a little more critically now? Otherwise I won't fall in love and live happily ever after unless I support the war in Iraq, right?! Where do I finds me a soldier?!
References
Stockwell, S., & Muir, A. (2003). The military-entertainment complex: A new facet of information warfare. The fibreculture journal (1).
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