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Summary: The Use of Propaganda in a Free Society
Review: Chomsky examines how propaganda can be just as effective in a free society as in a totalitarian society, citing multiple examples of the American people being misled and the irresponsible complicity of the media establishment dating back to the days of Wilson.
Considering the atrocious use of fear in the current presidential campaign and the recent admission by much of the mainstream media that they were not sufficiently critical during the leadup to the most recent Iraq war, I would consider this a must-read.
This quote from the back cover sums it up pretty well:
"The issue is whether we want to live in a free society or whether we want to live under what amounts to a form of self-imposed totalitarianism, with the bewildered herd marginalized, directed elsewhere, terrified, screaming patriotic slogans,fearing for their lives, and admiring with awe the leader who saved them from destruction, while the educated masses goose-step on command and repeat the slogans they're supposed to repeat and the society deteriorates at home."
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Summary: The System or Perception
Review: His reality
"the here and now" said one
So much for bias
Rating: 
Summary: So what, Noam?
Review: I found Noam's writing style to be clear and plainly delivered, and thought his definition of terrorism was pretty accurate. The rest of the book is really a re-hash of details already available in many others, but since so many others quote Noam, it's hard to know who's re-hashing whom.Like the other books of this type, the main failing is to address the issue of what is to be done to improve matters, so that the 'bewildered herd' can make a significant impact for their own benefit. It is presumed that some heroic figure or figures will take heed of all the problems and assume the mantle of responsibility to make it all better. Why should they? After all, if the bewildered insist in adopting a gimme gimme herd mentality there's not much beyond business as usual. Until such times as Noam and his associates are prepared to write about how things as they are currently, are to be changed, without creating yet another propaganda machine to keep it all in check, he and they are simply throwing stones at the windows, and the herd will remain diverted by their unreal, 'Reality TV'. Those interested in such a development should give the Ayn Rand school of thinking a look see, until Noam, etc., get it together.
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Summary: Chomsky. Lucid and captivating.
Review: I sat down to glance at this book. I thought I would skim through the first chapter to see if it was interesting. I spent the next 45 minutes reading the rest of the book and thinking about what I had read. This short pamphlet is very interesting and informative. A real eye opener. This is a non-fiction book that you will actually read more than once. A must have for anyone who is at all interested in foreign policy or afraid of their lack of real knowledge of what is happening in D.C.
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Summary: We live in the Brave New World
Review: If you haven't read this book, do yourself a favour and read it. You will realize that whenever you felt that the official polemic, and the popular opinion were not perfectly pristine; that there were serious gaping holes in officialy sponsored beliefs, most probably you were not alone. Chomsky indirectly encourages us not to abandon reasoning under fear of ostracization. Some readers have complained about simple diction employed by Chomsky in unveiling the "spectacular achievements of propoganda". In my opinion, Chomsky's achievement lies presenting his case lucidly, without being verbose and without losing objectivity. Moreover, let us leave circumlocution for the propogandists of this world! Even Camus employed simple words in "The Outsider" to contrast honesty with meaningless official sounding verbiage.
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Summary: Propaganda is to Democracy What Force is to Dictatorship
Review: In "Media Control", Noam Chomsky provides a clear and penetrating analysis of how the American media represents the interests of state and corporate power by spreading disinformation among its audience including the popular myth of its own objectivity and public service. Chomsky provides a brief historical overview of how the American media has served corporate and government interests at the expense of average people and then examines how a truly objective, public minded media would cover the "war on terrorism". HISTORY OF AMERICAN MEDIA CONTROL
According to Chomsky, American Media control truly began with the Creel Commission that was established by President Wilson in 1916 to convert American pacifist sentiments into popular support for war with Germany. The success of the Creel Commission subsequently influenced a generation of liberal democratic theorists such as Walter Lippman who divided society into a tiny minority of specialists (the specialized class) and the less intelligent majority (the bewildered heard). Limppman argued that the majority was incapable of deciding matters for itself and consequently had to have its consent manufactured by the specialist class. The specialist class did not act on its own, but served the interest of the powerful elite, namely the large corporations. Chomksy correctly points out that this approach is largely identical to Marxist-Leninism, since both political philosophies advocate an elite minority controlling the thoughts and aspirations of the general population that is too stupid to decide what is good for itself. Consequently, except for their participation in a few ceremonial events, the American people are spectators and not participants in the democratic process. DIVIDE AND STUPEFY
The United States, according to Chomsky, pioneered the public relations industry whose primary function has always been to atomize the population with carefully targeted messages, advertisements, and disinformation. Atomizing the population prevents any kind of collective organization and thus renders people into spectators instead of participants in democracy. PERCEPTION INSTEAD OF REALITY
The media frequently distorts facts and then promotes the distorted information to the point where it becomes an accepted reality. For example, the media has frequently led the public to believe that the average number of Vietnamese civilian casualties during the Vietnam War was approximately 100,000 when it fact it was more than 2,000,000 by conservative estimates. Chomsky then asks how would we view Nazi Germany if we believed the official holocaust death toll was in the neighborhood of 300,000 instead of 14,000,000. THE WAR ON TERROR IS NOT NEW
Chomsky points out that the current war on terror is not new but is a re-declaration of the original one declared by Ronald Regan in 1980. The only circumstances that have changed are that terrorists have attacked Americans on U.S. soil. Other than that, the perceived enemies (anyone who stands in the way of American interests) and the leaders on the home front (members of the Regan and first Bush cabinet who are once again in power) are the same. THE OFFICIAL DEFINITION OF TERRORISM IS UNUSABLE
Chomsky demonstrates that the definition of terrorism in official American military and government publications is unusable by the current administration because it closely resembles actions perpetrated by the U.S. government and its allies. For this reason, both the government and the media unofficially define terrorism as any act of terror perpetrated against the U.S. and its allies. Since this generally takes the form of weaker countries or groups that cannot oppose the United States militarily, terrorism is defined as a weapon of the weak. My only complaint about this book is that the language has been simplified beyond belief and at times reads like a Dr. Seuss propaganda critique. This minor flaw aside, "Media Control" is indispensable to understanding how the media is uses to distort reality and to mold public opinion.
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Summary: A thorough scrutiny of Media's pervasive role in society!
Review: Initially, I would like to say that this is without doubt the most intelligent book on the subject matter! It reveals the insidious methods commonly employed by the Media. Accordingly, these methods are used to manipulate and mislead the public's mind, especially in areas concerning foreign politics, domestic issues including racial discrimination and unjust distribution of wealth! People have to face the indisputable fact that the Media is controlled by the government. Unedeniably, the media frequently misrepresent the facts in order to protect the government from public discontent! I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to understand how the media control the public's mind. Buy this book immediately! Noam Chomsky is a master!
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Summary: Chomsky continues to prove his point...
Review: It's true that there is little new in the linguistic theoretical treatment of the media in this book. Chomsky uses it to update with facts the validity of the theory he most articulately developed in earlier works. Those who read it with open mindedness intelligence will appreciate and respect his unique contribution to modern thought. It is interesting, but not in the least surprising, that those who write against this book and its author generally, never attack its content with alternative explanations, but continue to vilify and redicule the man himself. It does not go without notice.
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Summary: Eye Opening!
Review: Just in case you thought you knew about how the media stinks get ready, you haven't seen anything yet. Unlike most political writers, Chomsky uses EXTENSIVE research in portraying the true power the media has on the way we think. Don't forget that this guy is a Linguistics professor at MIT so he definitely has a wealth of knowledge on the science of language and he applies this knowledge into his writings. You might never realize how much nonsense we get fed until you read this book or perhaps a book like it. Great read!!
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Summary: small book... powerful ideas.
Review: Media Control is perhaps the best short introduction to Chomsky's thought on politics and propaganda around. Whereas books like 9-11 and "What Uncle Sam Really Wants" are choppy and prone to misunderstood interpretations by readers not already accustomed to Chomsky, Media Control is coherent, in depth and very easy and quick to read. The essay is from the time after the U.S. invasion of Iraq known as "Desert Storm" and traces the uses of propaganda and misinformation from that era back to the Wilson era and Walter Lippmann's theory of media control. Chomsky perhaps displays his dry wit in this short volume more than anywhere else, with his comparisson of the typical slogan "support our troops" to the absurd slogan "support the people in Iowa." What this makes clear, is the emptiness of the slogan. The question "do you support our troops?" cannot be answered with a "no" unless one is completely depraved. That question however masks the underlying question "do you support our policy?" which is something that elites in the govt. and media would prefer you not think about, because the answers would be more ambiguous and require real democratic discussion. The rulers and media heads would prefer to make those decisions for you, through what Lippmann dubbed "consent without consent". The mass media (now controlled largely by six major firms who all have holdings and enter into joint ventures with one another.) constrain debate on issues to within a moderate range, so of course most of the media will look to be at the "liberal" end of the allowed spectrum, but that only has the effect of cutting anything further to the "left" out of the discussion, so arguments many tend to go between something like the "hawks" who are for immediate war, unilaterally, and the "doves" largely represented in the media, who may tend to stand for "multi-lateralism" or waiting for more info. Thus, many who have other ideas on the subject are left out of mainstream debate, and thus seem to not exist. What we are left with is a host of false-dichotomies and debates that we don't even want to be in.
... Also, this new edition of Media Control is expanded to include transcript of a talk, previously printed in FAIR, which is a little thought experiment about how a journalist from Mars (which is what journalists who work with a critical edge are often treated like), who is highly trained at the best journalism schools in the U.S., would cover the "war on terrorism." It is interesting to read the current essay in light of the essay on the Iraq conflict ten years past. (and the new cover and print is much more attractive than the 1st edition).
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