With a cast including President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the controversial documentary Control Room has won 7 Best Documentary awards from organizations such as the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Directors Guild of America.
However, even though the president and Rumsfield are the stars of the show, they are not pleased with the awards, or the film.
Control Room has been criticized by Pentagon officials for inappropriate footage of civilian causalities and American prisoners of war and many have called the documentary a report with an Iraqi bias.
According to the film’s Web site, however, the film shows the world everything about the Iraq war the Bush administration wishes to remain covered—including the human suffering inflicted on Iraqi civilians and American soldiers.
Control Room premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, and is still making waves in political circles. Chronicling international perceptions of the war in Iraq, the film focuses on the actions of the Arab world’s most popular news outlet—Al Jazeera News Network. Throughout the film, Al Jazeera does not hesitate to show viewers the horrific side of Bush’s War on Terror.
Last Thursday, senior Paul Poenicke, along with Associate Professor of Spanish Carmen Wyatt-Hayes and Associate Professor of Philosophy Donald Turner attended a showing of the film and a speech by pundit Jehane Noujaim, who wrote, produced and directed the film.
Poenicke said the film provides a chance for intelligent debate and an alternative perspective.
“While many Hillsdale students would hate this film, it is something that everyone should see,” Poenicke said. “It shows how both sides, in this golden age of media propaganda, will rely upon images and emotional reactions rather than reason and honest debate.”
Poenicke also said the film emphasized an important fact: United States foreign policies have impact on real lives.
“The film should be seen,” he said. “It presents an image of the conflict that is at odds with many of our assumptions; it humanizes war. We see the bloody results of bombing, the homes destroyed and the reporters killed.”