Search - Control Room on DVD

Out-"Foxed" by Al-Jazeera...Media Spin is Multilingual

Ed Uyeshima | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having just seen Robert Greenwald's "Outfoxed" about the media manipulation we are subjected to by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, specifically the Fox Network, this eye-opening documentary is a fascinating counterpoint from the perspective of the famous and sometimes infamous Middle East news agency, Al-Jazeera. I cannot think of two more diametrically opposite news agencies reporting on the events in Iraq, but the key difference between them is that Al-Jazeera appears to admit to their biases rather than claim to be "fair and balanced". What is more startling is how much more similar they are in operation than they are different in their presentation of political opinion disguised as facts. Obviously filmmaker Jehane Noujaim takes a more sympathetic portrait of Al-Jazeera and does supply clear evidence where Al-Jazeera is right and the American government is wrong on certain Iraqi events. As an overview of the first independent and now most popular news channel in the Middle East, the film takes a hard look at the key milestones from Bush's threat of invasion through the toppling of Saddam Hussein.



One would think Michael Moore funded this documentary from the damning evidence presented, but Noujaim is nothing but thorough in illustrating the Bush administration's changing rationales for invading Iraq, the use of fear in the media to manipulate public opinion, the martyrdom of Jessica Lynch, the card deck identifying the most wanted men in Hussein's regime, and the suspiciously coincidental bombing deaths of three different Arab journalists on the same day by American planes. Al-Jazeera's perspective is unsurprisingly countered by Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, who accuses the news agency of faking pictures of civilian deaths. But Noujaim cuts to indisputable pictures of real victims from the American bombing. One of the most revealing moments in the film is the Al-Jazeera team's shocked disbelief witnessing the fall of Hussein's Iraq as they try to make their emotional response correspond to what they must rationally have expected all along. Noujaim spotlights several of Al-Jazeera's personalities, and each provides a unique opinion on both their news coverage as well as that of their American counterparts. Their begrudging respect for the Fox Network, for example, is an intriguing revelation among many presented here. Ultimately though, their disgust over American imperialism is clear, as reporter Hassan Ibrahim, as bitter an idealist as you'll ever see, decries, "Eventually you'll have to find a solution that doesn't involve bombing someone into submission... democratize or I will shoot you." Another eye-opener is how Al-Jazeera does not hesitate to invite Americans to give their point-of-view on the network, which is something the Fox Network purports to do but does so miserably due to the bullying tactics of their own personalities, Sean Hannity and of course, Bill O'Reilly. Those who have grown tired of the spin coming from the Bush administration will find this documentary valuable viewing. Highly recommended."

Who Saw What and Why. The Role of Media in Modern Warfare.

mirasreviews | McLean, VA USA | 10/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Control Room" is a revealing look behind the scenes of Al-Jazeera Satellite Channels' coverage of the war in Iraq, from the American buildup to invasion in March 2003 until shortly after Baghdad was captured. Al-Jazeera was founded in 1996 as the first independent television news network in the Arab world. It's Western style coverage quickly made the Al-Jazeera persona non grata is several Arab nations for covering viewpoints critical of government policies. Al-Jazeera takes the view that objectivity is impossible to achieve in news coverage, and it is dangerously naive to think otherwise. At least in theory, the network attempts to give voice to all sides of the issue, encompassing all biases. If everybody hates them, Al-Jazeera believes it's doing it's job. If only one side hates them, their coverage must be inexcusably biased. I should mention that this is a typical Arab perspective on the news media. And it's certainly how things worked out with the United States. President Bush has accused Al-Jazeera of being "the mouthpiece of Osama Bin Laden", while Iraq banned Al-Jazeera for broadcasting "American propaganda".



"Control Room"'s director Jehane Noujaim, whose last documentary was "Startup.com", is half American and half Egyptian. The film's producer and cinematographer, Hani Safama, is half Bosnian and half Egyptian. "Control Room" not only shows the other side of coin, the what and why of Iraq war coverage by an Arab network, but the film contemplates the role of the media in modern warfare. Jehane Noujaim obtained daily access to two Al-Jazeera employees, whom we get to know well over the course of the film. Samir Khader is a world-weary, stressed-out Senior Producer at the network. Hassan Ibrahim is a Sudanese-born journalist, formerly of the BBC, who grew up in Saudi Arabia, attended college in the United States, and has covered 10 wars in the course of his career. Both of these men are perceptive and articulate in their views of the machinations of the press and politicians alike. (They speak English.) Ibrahim is an affable idealist who adores the US Constitution and hates this nation's politics. Khader is more pragmatic by nature, and his astute observations give the film weight. Khader's attitudes are very typical of educated Arabs, whom we don't often hear from in the American press. Other Al-Jazeera staff whom we meet include Producer Deema Khatib, Manager Joanne Tucker, and one of the network's simultaneous translators. These people are all very idealistic about the power for positive change that an independent network such as Al-Jazeera can bring to the Arab world by bringing uncensored political and social discourse into the homes of 40 million Arabs.



"Control Room"'s crew spent 5 weeks at the US Central Command, called CentCom, that had been moved from Tampa, Florida to Doha, Qatar for the invasion of Iraq. It is here that the world press gathered to broadcast announcements and ask questions of the US military. Press Officer Lt. Josh Rushing, of the Marine Corps, also gave the filmmaker's a lot of his time. It was his job to represent the American military operation to the world press. He assisted journalists however he could, all the time trying to make the US look good. The US Military couldn't have chosen a better representative. Lt. Rushing is generous with his time, friendly, fair, idealistic, remarkably patient, and always eager to understand all points of view. We also meet CNN correspondent Tom Mintier and MSNBC correspondent David Shuster at CentCom. CentCom, itself, is an interesting phenomenon. The war is being conducted from this isolated place in the middle of nowhere in Qatar. Journalists and military Press Officers alike are cut off from direct contact with the war and rely entirely on long distance communication in and out of CentCom.



"Control Room" is truly a fascinating film about the media's role in modern warfare. Seeing what Arabs saw and why is ironically revealing of what Americans saw and why. Populated with interesting characters and pointed insights, "Control Room" is a must-see. In English and Arabic with English subtitles.



The DVD: Bonus features include 31 deleted scenes, 3 audio commentaries, and a theatrical trailer. I didn't watch all of the deleted scenes, but I found they contain a few interesting tidbits, but nothing essential. The scenes are mostly interviews with Hassan Ibrahim, Samir Khader, David Shuster, Deema Khatib, Tom Mintier, Lt. Josh Rushing, and Moafak Tawfik. There are also some Al-Jazeera promo spots and 2 additional pieces about the day that 3 journalists were killed by American fire. The deleted scenes are organized according to whom they feature, so it's easy to find what you may be interested in.



The first audio commentary is by director Jehane Noujaim and producer/cinematographer Hani Safama. They talk about the history of Al-Jazeera that compelled them to understand the people behind the network and how they convinced Hassan Ibrahim, with whom they lived during filming, among others, to give them access. The commentary includes some interesting observations about the Al-Jazeera journalists and the American Press Officers. The second audio commentary is by Capt. Josh Rushing (Lieutenant in the film). He talks about his experiences at CentCom, the characters featured in the film, and the role of media in warfare. The third audio commentary is by Hassan Ibrahim and Samir Khader. They talk about each other, how they became involved with the film, their feelings about events depicted in the film, and decisions that they made in covering the war in Iraq. Samir is more pointedly critical of the Bush Administration in the commentary than in the film, as he gives his analysis of the aftermath of the war in Iraq. All three of the commentaries are worthwhile. Subtitles for the film are available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish."