We view reality through our beliefs, attitudes and values.

Empire Film Reviews

Title: Wag the Dog
Plot:

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Upon being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the
president does not seem to have much of chance of being re-elected. However,
hope is restored through the use of a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer
who, together, fabricate a war with the intent of distracting the electorate from
the alleged sex scandal.
Review:
Barry Levinsons Wag the Dog opens with intentionally low angles and
mysteriously dark lightening to prelude to the overwhelming presence of power
and control throughout the film. The manipulation of values, beliefs and attitudes
to view a particular reality are just three of the engines driving Levinsons film
and are highlighted specifically through character Motss (Dustin Hoffman). Not
only this, but the role of spin-doctor Brean (Robert De Niro) works to display
how other additional factors such as authority figures can assist the way we
perceive the world around us.
Just as the film claims the president is a product, Motsss audience of the
American public are forced to view a reality that is too, a product as he uses the
device of personification and manipulates our values to make the war he is
creating more believable. When confronted with extremely large statistics
regarding a horrific event, while they do provide feelings of temporary shock and
distress, these feelings cannot be compared in the slightest to those experienced
when hearing in-depth details regarding the tragic back-story of one particular
victim. The ability for personalized and specific facts to be replayed in our minds
days after hearing them can be explained by our sense of humanitarianism and
the universal value of human life. This knowledge leads to Motts so skillfully
developing a war hero and disclosing that amongst this solders desperate
attempts to save his country, he was still able to carve in Morse code the term
courage mom. By linking this individual sollidier to the beloved relationship
between a mother and her son and exposing this to the world, Motts receives his
predicted response, that people will weep and therefore, plays on the
audiences values to cause them to experience particular emotions. Through
Hoffmans sophisticated acting, it is evident Motts is aware that once he has
sparked the emotions of the audience, their vision becomes blurred and they
become less concerned with the facts of the alleged war, allowing him to
carefully construct a reality that will assist the president. Your discussion of the
prompt is good, but I feel youre losing a bit of the film review voice. Try and
add something like with masterful direction, Levinson is able to evoke or
not unlike some of his previous cinematic masterpieces, Levinson touches the
heart of the viewer with a delicate and sensitive expos of the reality-warping

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Comment [RD1]: Maybe add somethin

in here like Masterfully portrayed by
Dustin Hoffmann or a line about him
playing the character.
Comment [RD2]: Same again, here.

Comment [RD3]: If you are reviewing

the film, and talking about the world of the
film, I think itd be good to refer to people
third person, i.e. manipulates the public
values to make the war he is creating more
believable.

Comment [RD4]: Be careful with the

difference between personalisation and
personification. Theyre not the same thin

nature of the media at least once every two or three sentences. They dont
necessarily contribute to the discussion of the prompt, but they make your
understanding of the term writing in context clearer.
In the film, Motts is aware that there is an attitude shared by all Americans, a
patriotism so strong that it has the power to defy all logic in order to remain in
support of America. Levinson demonstrates once more his refined ability to cut
straight to the heart of the discussion of reality vs. fabrication. Therefore,
thereThe film focuses on Motts realization that there is no easier way to create
an us and them mentality and fuel exploit this American patriotism than the
presence of a war. . Throughout the war, Motss is able to produce merchandise in
the form of iconic American emblems such as clocks and cheeseburgers as
well as and spark trends such as the throwing of shoes in remembrance of hero
Shuman. Engaging in these acts and purchasing these products makes the
American audience who comprise the titular dog that the media moguls, the
tail, are wagging in the film feel as though they are fulfilling their duties as an
American and we witness them eventually become so consumed in this duty
they owe to their country that they become less concerned with the happenings
of the war. Providing a distraction through Americas devotion to their country
demonstrates how we view our reality through our attitudes and how this can
lead to use believing a false reality constructed for us.
The narrative deployed in Levinsons film story line, specifically his choice of
focusing on the role of the media and the role of the government in our lives,
works to demonstrate how authority figures, as well as our attitude and beliefs,
affect the way in which we see the world. RespectObey your elders is a teaching
that has been instilled in us since we were children and placed us in a vulnerable
position to having our reality constructed for us by authority figures. It is a
common belief that those who have or, as Levinson propounds, appear to have
more knowledge than us (the media) and those who are deemed responsible
for us (the government) have our best interests at heart when this is not entirely
the case. Levinson proficiently displays this by demonstrating how easily Motsss
American audience believe what is fed to them through news reports and
President addresses, when this information is actually corrupt and produced by
spin-doctor Brean himself. In one key news report detailing the progression of
the fake war, the presenter states that her information is from a reliable source
and that she cant tell whom this is, but it she can assure it is from the highest
level. Language choices such as these work to create a sense of authority, not to
mention a highly warped sense of reality which stems from a blind and nave
faith in the powers that be, and lead to no further questioning by the American
audience due to their predisposition to respectobey their elders.
Verdict:

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Solid, sharp and weighty. Wag the Dog explores the idea of reality and how our
view of reality is controlled by our attitudes, values and authority figures and
thus, can be easily manipulated by others.
X X X X X (5 stars)