These days, it may seem as if war and propaganda are as American as apple pie, but in the critically-acclaimed and highly compelling film, WAR MADE EASY, a disturbing 50-year pattern of government deception is uncovered. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, this documentary currently in limited theatrical release, is a scathing indictment of five decades of U.S. media coverage of American-led military interventions, and the pro-war spoon-feeding of the American public. On March 25 – marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq and as the race to the White House heats up -- the film hailed by critics and called “a superb form of visual investigation” by noted author Howard Zinn (“A People’s History of the United States”) will make its DVD debut, only from The Disinformation Company.
Based on the Book by Nationally-Renowned Media Columnist Norman Solomon,
Will Make its DVD Debut on March 25 for $19.95SRP
NEW YORK, NY – These days, it may seem as if war and propaganda are as American as apple pie, but in the critically-acclaimed and highly compelling film, WAR MADE EASY, a disturbing 50-year pattern of government deception is uncovered. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, this documentary currently in limited theatrical release, is a scathing indictment of five decades of U.S. media coverage of American-led military interventions, and the pro-war spoon-feeding of the American public. On March 25 – marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq and as the race to the White House heats up -- the film hailed by critics and called “a superb form of visual investigation” by noted author Howard Zinn (“A People’s History of the United States”) will make its DVD debut, only from The Disinformation Company.
Based on the work of media critic and best-selling author Norman Solomon, who traveled with Penn to Baghdad just before the war to call attention to the dangers of a U.S. invasion, WAR MADE EASY reaches into the Orwellian memory hole to expose 50 years of government spin and media collusion that has dragged our country into one war after another
-- from Vietnam to Iraq. With remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W. Bush, the documentary exposes how presidential administrations of both parties have relied on a combination of deception and media complicity to sell one war after another to the American people.
Giving special attention to parallels between Vietnam and Iraq, WAR MADE EASY sets government spin and media collusion from the present alongside virtually identical patterns from the past, guided by Solomon’s meticulous research and tough-minded analysis. Rare footage of political leaders and journalists from the past includes Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and news correspondents Walter Cronkite and Morley Safer. According to Solomon, whose work has been praised by The Los Angeles Times as “brutally persuasive,” the positive attention the film has received may indicate a new willingness to counter years of pro-war media spin and government deception. “These deep patterns of ongoing ‘perception management’ must be demystified and decoded if we're going to move beyond the horrors of perpetual war,” he said. “The way War Made Easy is being embraced could be an important step in that direction.”
An Official Selection of 2007’s International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam and the 2007 Montreal and Vancouver International Film Festivals, WAR MADE EASY, directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp, is an invaluable introduction to war propaganda and public relations that transcends partisan politics, and raises serious questions about the role of journalism and political communication in our society.
Available for interview: Norman Solomon
Solomon is a nationally syndicated columnist on media and politics, as well as the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy researchers and analysts. He has been writing the weekly “Media Beat” column since 1992. The book on which the film was based, “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death ,” was published in 2005 and The Los Angeles Times called it “a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come.” A collection of his columns won the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, and his books include “Target Iraq”; “Wizards of Media Oz: Behind the Curtain of Mainstream News”; “False Hope: The Politics of Illusion in the Clinton Era”; “The Power of Babble: The Politician’s Dictionary of Buzzwords and Doubletalk for Every Occasion” and many more. Solomon has also appeared as a guest on media outlets including the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN, and NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Talk of the Nation; his op-ed articles have appeared in a range of newspapers including the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, New York Times, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun, and many more. His latest book is “Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State” (October 2007).
The Disinformation Company Ltd. is active in TV production, book publishing and home entertainment. It is most widely recognized for its distribution of products on subjects not usually covered by the traditional media. Recent DVD exclusives from The Disinformation Company include the best-selling Robert Greenwald documentaries Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War, and Unconstitutional: The War on our Civil Liberties, as well as Robert Baer’s The Cult of the Suicide Bomber, and Greg Palast’s Bush Family Fortunes.
