An essay about a movie from Baghdad.

For this discussion board, you will need to watch the movie Live From Baghdad from HBO Films. The film is just under 2hrs long and is available on YouTube and HBO On Demand. While the film is technically considered Not Rated, it does contain profanity in keeping with the realism of war journalism. If you feel that you cannot ignore or overlook the profanity and focus on the content, then you need to email me in advance of the due date for alternatives.

Government and politics in democracies are heavily influenced by media, who serves as a watchdog, a filter, and an agenda setter for the people. What we know as 24-hour news today actually began during the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s when CNN (then, the only 24-hr news network) was the only news crew able to broadcast during the first wave of U.S. bombings. Live From Baghdad is the dramatization of the real life events of that CNN crew. First, discuss the differences in how the media operates for the democratic audience while being inside of an authoritarian society. Second, do you think the CNN crew was successful in their influence of viewers? of government? Finally, from the events depicted in the film only, which side of the incubator story do you think is true?

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