Ten Best Documentaries & Thirteen Best Books About Why Americans Don't Trust The Mainstream Media

[toddmiller]

This is a link to reviews of ten propaganda and/or muckraking documentaries.

The Ten Best Are

1. Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial

2. Century of The Self

3. Psywar

4. Sicko

5. Capitalism: A Love Story

6. Toxic Sludge is Good For You

7. Weapons of Mass Deception

8. The Wires that Control the Mind

9. George Seldes

10. The War You Don't See

Best Books

1. Manufacturing Consent

2. Brave New World

3. Animal Farm

4. 1984

5. Deadly Spin

6. Media Control - The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda

7. War is a Racket

8. The Uses of Propaganda in Bushes War on Iraq

9. Toxic Sludge is Good For You

10. Propaganda - The Formation of Men's Attitudes

11. Staging a Revolution

12. War, Media and Propaganda

13. Censorship and Propaganda in the 1991 Gulf War

[Warpy]

1. I'd suggest two more

Last edited Sat Nov 17, 2012, 03:21 AM - Edit history (1)

"The Hidden Persuaders" by Vance Packard. Yes, a lot of the stuff is dated but admen are still using the same old tricks today. It's a great introduction to manipulation and then to propaganda because we all know politics is now infested with admen using focus groups.


"Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot" by Al Franken. The chronicle of Fatso's lies that he has gotten away with along with some behind the scenes shenanigans on his show making sure no opposing viewpoint is ever heard is a study in how propaganda is constructed and disseminated.

[prairierose]

2. Those are both great books...

I would also suggest Franken's Lies and the lying liars who tell them.

[toddmiller]

5. 2 books

I agree Hidden Persuaders should be on the list. Al Franken's book is hillarious and really shows how it's rare that Rush, Coulter rarely say anything that isn't completely false but the book as I recall, I read it a long time ago, doesn't really mention any propaganda techniques or why they have built loyal audiences. It does show that a lot of PR men like Rush propaganda is about selling stuff that just isn't so.

[Hestia]

3. I would add "Life and Debt" - it's about how globalization has affected farmers

around the world, and the setting up of Free Trade Zones in those countries. Shameful.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

4. K & R-ed and bookmarked. Thanks.