War Made Easy

Journalist Norman Solomon's book of the same title provides the basis for Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp's documentary, which argues that over the past half-century the American government has repeatedly misled the public into support for military action, while the news media have been accomplices in the deception. Narrated with suitable gravity by Sean Penn, the film largely consists of archival footage punctuated by commentary from Solomon as it sketches the record of U.S. engagements from the Korean conflict to the present day, contending that in each case the sitting administration waged an astute propaganda campaign to insure a burst of patriotic fervor for interventionism. But War Made Easy also pointedly argues that the manipulation involved not just government sources but also journalists, who have regularly abrogated their rightful role of critical analysis to serve as virtual cheerleaders for the war effort, promoting the official line and dismissing anti-war voices as misguided cranks until after the tide of battle turned and public exhaustion set in. Although the coverage extends back to 1945, the emphasis here is on the prevarication of the Johnson and Nixon administrations during the Vietnam era, and, of course, the Iraq War—with the arguments of the Bush administration in favor of invasion coming in for special opprobrium. War Made Easy may be a polemic, but while it's hardly a balanced presentation it offers strong evidence of pernicious and systemic conduct on the part of government and the media in regards to war. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)