Monday, July 25, 2005
Shoring up the Ship of State
First off, my apologies to linguistics scholars, students of psychological warfare, and media studies devotees. Secondly, to everyone else who has suffered through another startling discovery by CBS 60 Minutes.
Rarely do I watch, but when forced to by circumstances beyond my control, I usually leave my dinner hosts regretting they invited me.
This is not to say there is no value whatsoever to the content of the program; on occasion we actually learn something important, albeit well-buried beneath the sensationalistic gotcha format of this highly-scripted show. And that is how my day began--thinking about how this icon of mainstream liberal America once again served the invidious interests of the ruling class it works for, while simultaneously portraying itself as the guardian of democracy. Not a pleasant thought to wake up to.
But that is the point of the show: to appear to be in opposition to the criminal elite, to give it their best shot at being tough on tyrants and villains, and then, in the end--after showing us all the insidious doings of our national security, secret government: lying, torturing, and sleeping with brutal dictators around the world (which we, by the way, already knew)--end up throwing in the towel when totalitarian authority figures from the Pentagon or CIA or law enforcement are handed the punchline on a platter.
By this point in the show, I'm sure many viewers are emotionally drained by the pseudo intrigue and sordid details of the "investigative reporting" that even 60 Minutes admits they got much of off the Internet. But what is the point of this candid admission? Could it possibly be to plant a meme in the minds of viewers that perhaps information on the Internet should be restricted in order to protect us? Hard to imagine they would be so callous after doing a closeup on the CIA spokesman saying he has no problem violating international law by illegally detaining innocent people and outsourcing their torture and beating to brutal countries if it MAKES AMERICANS SAFE.
Now guess what message watchers carried away with them to bed last night. And in case you doubted the unlimited American capacity for vengeance based on unfounded fear, pick up a copy of Baghdad Burning at the bookstore.
Rarely do I watch, but when forced to by circumstances beyond my control, I usually leave my dinner hosts regretting they invited me.
This is not to say there is no value whatsoever to the content of the program; on occasion we actually learn something important, albeit well-buried beneath the sensationalistic gotcha format of this highly-scripted show. And that is how my day began--thinking about how this icon of mainstream liberal America once again served the invidious interests of the ruling class it works for, while simultaneously portraying itself as the guardian of democracy. Not a pleasant thought to wake up to.
But that is the point of the show: to appear to be in opposition to the criminal elite, to give it their best shot at being tough on tyrants and villains, and then, in the end--after showing us all the insidious doings of our national security, secret government: lying, torturing, and sleeping with brutal dictators around the world (which we, by the way, already knew)--end up throwing in the towel when totalitarian authority figures from the Pentagon or CIA or law enforcement are handed the punchline on a platter.
By this point in the show, I'm sure many viewers are emotionally drained by the pseudo intrigue and sordid details of the "investigative reporting" that even 60 Minutes admits they got much of off the Internet. But what is the point of this candid admission? Could it possibly be to plant a meme in the minds of viewers that perhaps information on the Internet should be restricted in order to protect us? Hard to imagine they would be so callous after doing a closeup on the CIA spokesman saying he has no problem violating international law by illegally detaining innocent people and outsourcing their torture and beating to brutal countries if it MAKES AMERICANS SAFE.
Now guess what message watchers carried away with them to bed last night. And in case you doubted the unlimited American capacity for vengeance based on unfounded fear, pick up a copy of Baghdad Burning at the bookstore.
