The War You Don't See

British journalist and filmmaker John Pilger's feature-length cinematic essay pillories the American and British mass media for failing to question their countries' military policies. While noting that government control of news outlets during wartime was first employed in World War I and perfected to absurd extremes in World War II (Allied leaders originally claimed that the Hiroshima bombings produced no radioactive residue!), the film primarily dissects reporters' failure to question the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq or reveal subsequent abuses by U.S. and U.K. soldiers. Pilger periodically appears onscreen, along with assorted talking heads, while archival footage and stills are used to illustrate the critical commentary. President Obama's crackdown on whistleblowers seeking to expose military misconduct is discussed (the film features an exclusive interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange), and reporting on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is briefly covered. Although The War You Don't See claims to trace “the history of ‘embedded' and independent [wartime] reporting,” it suffers from several omissions, failing to mention that uncensored coverage of the Vietnam War was the primary driver in souring American public support, and ignoring the wars in Korea, the Falkland Islands, and Grenada. Nor does Pilger point out that Americans and Britons were overwhelmingly opposed to military action in Iraq, even though newspapers and TV news networks initially presented large amounts of incorrect information that seemed to justify the effort. Despite these flaws, however, this overview should still be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)