When a documentary seems like a movie, then it has succeeded in capturing the audience's attention. It induces the audience to listen to and ponder the story that it is telling and here it is a compelling story, one that has to be told. By cutting through all the propaganda and blasting through all the spin the producers of this documentary provide a frank and comprehensive picture of how news coverage is distorted, depending on who controls the flow of information. And this is directly related to the the question of freedom of the press and how that freedom can be eroded if enough pressure is applied. This documentary also reveals several interesting facts relating to the Iraq War itself and the relationship between western and Arab news media, and their relationship with the U. S. military. Ultimately this documentary is about integrity and about why we must have a free and open press that will keep the public informed and shed light on the actions of the government.

This is my first review, mostly because I have never felt so obligated in my life to defecate on something. I am completely appalled by this hypocritical nonsense; however, it should be noted that I am a liberal democrat against the war. First of all, I have noticed that people are comparing this documentary to Fahenheit 9/11. I must say, please don't. Michael Moore is a filmmaker and should not be treated otherwise. He is a propaganda spewing reject. Haven't you noticed that he picks docu-topics that everybody is is currently whining about? You ever wonder why??? Because the crap sells!!! That swindler is living the good life because all you...and myself bought his tickets.Now that I got that out of the way, I can talk about Control Room. First of all, I bought the film thinking it was going to be some unbiased chitchat about the roll of media in modern society. However, to my disappointment, the film was all biased propaganda surrounding the war. I'm in no way defending America and our actions in Iraq, I just think it is bull that this documentary was preaching against America propaganda when the documentary in itself WAS propaganda. How does no one else see that?!?! Honestly. Every media outlet has an objective, and this docu was obviously anti-American. I have some anti-American thoughts myself; but, I am not dumb enough to view an anti-American docu without a skeptic's eye. Shame on all of you for eating up this docu's bull and shame on all of you for eating up Michael Moore's bull.

In "Living Room Wars," author David D. Perlmutter, a senior fellow of the Reilly Center for Media and Public affairs, claims that the "pretense that we are better informed than ever in history about wars in distant lands is the big lie in the television age." We live in the most powerful country in the world with the most powerful military. However, we have no true understanding of what war really is because we have the benefit of not having to experience it. Our relationship to war is completely mediated by the major media corporations in the United States. What makes "Control Room" worth seeing is that it allows Americans to see another point of view in the Iraq War."Control Room" helps us to see the Iraq War from the perspective of the Al Jazeera Satellite Network, a controversial, popular Arab news network. The main point of the documentary is not to convince viewers that American intervention in Iraq is right or wrong, but instead to get people thinking about the role of the media in shaping our perception and understanding of the Iraq War and whether our opinion is justified based on correct evidence or not. It is no hidden secret that the media, if manipulated correctly, can be a powerful weapon in war. The beginning of the documentary opens with a candid shot of an Al Jazeera Network executive saying that war cannot be waged without the media and that the media should be on the top of the military agenda. Perlmutter also agrees that because of the prevalence of the television, "the military could no longer completely ignore or completely censor the press, yet they would wage war under the assumption that the battle to control the content and captioning of TV pictures was decisive as campaigns in the air, sea, and land." One of the most shocking examples of the power of the media in the documentary was when the US bombed the headquarters of Al Jazeera and another Iraqi television news networks which resulted in the death of one of an Al Jazeera reporter. After the Al Jazeera headquarters was bombed the reporters who worked for them were forced to leave wherever they were because the Iraqi people thought they were "targeted" by the US military and did not want to be put in danger by aiding an American enemy. Obviously, the US military viewed Al Jazeera as a threat or it wouldn't have bombed them in the middle of the city. A US military official said the US spends massive amounts of money to buy precision bombs so they don't make mistakes on what they're bombing. The day after the bombing took place, there were native villagers who gathered to celebrate the liberation of Baghdad. However, interviews with Al Jazeera correspondents suggest that the whole celebration was staged by the US military in order to spur American nationalism. Only the foreign press was there to cover the event because Al Jazeera was forced to leave. This is a powerful example showing how the management of the media can be used fight wars. The images that we tend to see on TV in America are, as Perlmutter says, "limited, homogeneous, and leave out much of the panorama of war." "Control Room" reinforces that idea. Seeing clips from Al Jazeera television stations left me feeling more informed about the war. In the American media, the most we see of war tend to be images of liberation or of tanks rolling across empty land. On Al Jazeera, American troops are seeing busting through people's doors, cussing, and threatening them with guns. That probably happens on a regular basis. War is brutal, but the American media censors those images out and accuses the networks who don't of showing enemy propaganda. However, this is not to say that Al Jazeera is without bias. Each channel caters to their own demographics nationalism. However, as an American, I find myself at a loss trying to understand how we can pride ourselves on spreading democracy and freedoms that come along with that (including freedom of speech), yet exercise such control not only over our own media but the media of the countries we are trying to spread that democracy to as well. The most refreshing (when I say refreshing, I don't necessarily mean pleasant) about "Control Room" is its subtly. "Control Room" engages audiences instead of repulsing them with an over the top opinionated documentary. Perlmutter says one of the dangers about the visual media is that the "words can say one thing, but the pictures could be almost anything." Part of the beauty of "Control Room" is that there is no narration and there are no fancy visual effects. The simple way the documentary was filmed made me feel as if I were right there watching all of the interviews take place. The interviews felt real instead of staged and rehearsed. The director leaves a lot of room for viewer interpretation and opinion. I didn't walk away from the film feeling like I had just been told what's right and what's wrong. Whether you are pro-war or anti-war, you can find something to appreciate in the film.

All too often in today's world, truth is forced to take a back seat to partisanship. To a combatant who has taken up arms in the fight of left-vs.-right and red-vs.-blue, it doesn't make much difference what's true or not. If the other side said it, it's not true, or at the very best it's either a distortion of the truth or part of some insidious scheme to appear legitimate. Truth has been reduced to a weapon in this fight, used to pick apart every statement of the opposing team, and misconstrue it to mean something that wasn't intended at all. All this partisan bickering has led to real truth going largely unnoticed, often to grievous consequences."Control Room" is all about the quest for truth, in this case as it pertains to the Arab news network Al-Jazeera, which is often portrayed by American politicians and news outlets as being fiercely anti-western. In truth, this reputation surrounds them mostly because they report on things that the American government would rather people not see. They've shown the US military bringing people in from elsewhere to stage pro-coalition events, interviews with Iraqis that vehemently hate the coalition, and video footage of civilian victims of American bombings. The American military even bombed an Al-Jazeera base because of this, killing a reporter, because they were defying a ban on media coverage of the war.Although many Arab extremists hate the US without question, this film goes to great lengths to show that these are not the people Al-Jazeera caters to. What really stood out to me was a scene in which one of the reporters arranged a video interview with a correspondent in Washington. The American man was very critical of his country's government and insisted that the war was only about oil, and that the US was only trying to exploit Iraqis. As soon as the interview ended, the reporter immediately berated the man who had arranged it, insisting that this American knew nothing of his government and he had no concept of the truth of the matter.This film is an earnest look into the minds of all involved in the Iraqi War. It paints a much broader picture than any news segment covering this subject ever could. One of their disputes with the coalition occurred on account of the Al-Jazeera coverage of Iraqi civilians that were killed and seriously injured by various US bombings. The American military has been very critical of the news network for showing this footage, claiming that it is slanted and biased against Americans. But this is about something greater than partisan bias, this is about portraying the truth.