The film entitled Wag the Dog was directed by Barry Levinson in 1997 which was about the manner in which media can deviate the populaces attending on the presidents sex dirt with a fire beetle miss. The characters of the film do this by making a bogus war with the state Albania which was suggested by Conrad Brean ( played by Robert De Niro ) who was one of the chief characters in the film. They are able to deviate the whole sex dirt state of affairs through the expertness of a movie manufacturer named Stanley Motts ( played by Dustin Hoffman ) . The media uses images, symbols and marks in order to catch the populace ‘s attending on issues that may non be of import to them but what they may necessitate to ‘complete ‘ their lives. This is derived from the construct of the postmodern epoch where our encephalons are being saturated in such images, marks and symbols. The populace will believe that it is world yet it is the media ‘s version of ‘reality ‘ . This is the manner in which Motts uses to deduce the public off from the president ‘s sex dirt.
At the get downing scene of the film, the scene was dark and cryptic as Conrad and the president ‘s advisers were speaking about the issue of the sex dirt and happening out ways of deviating the populace from that issue. Through this, we can see that this peculiar scene is used to connote the closeness of a dark scene as most disclosed programs are made underground or under a tunnel off from the populace. This is represented the same manner as in society in the present twenty-four hours where most gang members do the same. We can already see Conrad ‘s character as being demanding, misanthropic and intelligent as he is the 1 who has the thought of the bogus war with Albania. He is the leader of the whole operation and has to do certain that all goes good harmonizing to program. Stanley Motts is seen as a typical Hollywood manufacturer that Conrad visits to take a firm stand him on bring forthing his bogus war. Stanley Motts acts similar to any other movie manufacturer in the present twenty-four hours as all they of all time think about is recognition towards a peculiar undertaking and to go celebrated by accomplishing something great.
The thought of Conrad proposing Albania is to demo that the state is little and he knew that Albania as a whole have non done anything fallacious to America. As stated in the film, Anne Heche who is Conrad helper says that she knows “ nil ” and in response Conrad says, “ They seem devious, standoffish ” . This is similar to the present twenty-four hours where the toughs in school ‘pick on ‘ the weaker kids indistinguishable to America ‘picking on ‘ Albania to strong-arm them.
We can see that Conrad and Motts had the same political orientation of making a war to deviate the contention off from the populace. As the stating provinces, “ Great minds think alike ” . As any other politician, Conrad knows how to play the game as he offers Motts a place of being an embassador, nevertheless Motts wants to make it for the merriment it. This shows how manipulative a politician can be to acquire his/her manner by adverting ways of giving them a wages which in this instance was the place of an embassador. However, whatever politician say may non ever be true even through their line of expertness as they try to ‘spin ‘ the information on person, in this instance Conrad does this on Motts to actuate and animate him to bring forth his bogus war. From this, we can state that Conrad is referred to as the president ‘s spin physician because he relies on Conrad to do the state of affairs alteration off from the public implying the stopping point relationship presented by the president and Conrad.
During the scene of constructing the war, Motts uses a simple teenage miss to play the function of an Albanian miss to re-enact her in a war zone, nevertheless, the miss was keeping a bag of french friess alternatively of a white kitty as Motts could non happen the kitty he wanted. As shown in the film, the white kitty was edited subsequently alternatively of the bag of french friess to connote how media can easy play around with images utilizing modern engineering which the populace will non cognize about and will believe that it is existent. The white kitty that was edited in the scene is to mean artlessness, peace and pureness onto the public and do them more interested in the lost miss at war and non the president ‘s sex dirt. We can already see how the media rapidly changes people ‘s heads into another dramatic concern at manus which is similar in our modern-day civilization where we acquire saturated into certain advertizements, such as an advert for Disneyland where we live in a hyperreal universe and both worlds of media and the existent universe are blurred in as one.
Another mark of political relations is shown within the film where Conrad and Anne are holding a conversation with a CIA agent claiming that the Albanian war is all a fraud. We can see how Conrad ‘spins ‘ and twists the information on the CIA agent to alter the whole statement converting him that the war is ‘real ‘ . At the same clip, we see another side of Anne as she does non look to be involved with the operation which shows her fearful side of her character due to the punishments that she may confront. Another mark of artlessness, peace and pureness was shown during the bring forthing of the war where a immature ‘Albanian ‘ miss offers the president an offering of assisting her and her female parent. At the same clip, the president offers his coat to the immature miss ‘s female parent to bespeak that he is giving her shelter and commiseration towards her emotions due her agony in the war.
Motts independently states within the film that, “ This is nil ” implying that as a movie manufacturer, one is to be prepared for bad lucks that may happen in the line of bring forthing and happen ways to develop the original thought to convert the populace that the ‘war ‘ is still alive. The manner in which he says, “ This is nil ” , he was really unagitated about it as he knew what he was making being a Hollywood movie manufacturer, similar to what Hollywood manufacturers would move in the present twenty-four hours. He named it as Act Two where we witness the development of the ‘war hero ‘ Schumann. The music used in the film has both a military melody and a national melody. By a military melody, it is that it has a 2 by 4 beats meaning that the armed forces are processing onto war or during war as shown at the beginning of the film and during Schumann ‘s funeral. This gives the feeling of hard-looking and ferocious work forces with their thorax out and shoulders unsloped and besides being tidy. At the same clip, there is a national melody that is sung by a choir similar to the manner to the vocal of the late Michael Jackson with assorted creative persons known as ‘We are the universe ‘ . This connotes the nationalism that is revealed through the vocals. This is done to do the public ‘fall in love ‘ with the vocal, affect their emotions and experience proud to be an American every bit good as to do them bury about the sex dirt contention.
At Schumann ‘s funeral, a Canis familiaris is shown following to the coffin as it is being carried off my other soldiers to demo the trueness and fidelity that the Canis familiaris has towards Schumann even though it is non existent. With this taking topographic point, Motts does non experience comfy as he has to the truth hence the phrase, ‘Letting the cat out of the box ‘ as he wanted to expose all that had happened because it all looked existent and honest towards the populace. However, once more we see how the game of political relations is played as Conrad sends for his work forces to kill Motts as he was traveling to state the truth. We can see that Conrad merely used Motts for bring forthing his war and there was no usage for Motts any longer demoing how manipulative Conrad was when he was converting Motts to hold with the production. It is better to maintain a secret than to allow it out because one can non swear anyone but particularly in this instance, politicians, as they can be lead oning.
