Directed by Robert Kane Pappas, Orwell Rolls in His Grave questions whether the bleak, feverishly regulated world of author George Orwell's 1984 is no longer a dire fictional account of government power gone wrong but a creeping reality of recent American media trends. The film focuses on the media's least covered topic -- itself -- in an effort to trace the process by which newsworthy stories are either dismissed entirely or distorted into something more politically suitable for the heads of
various media conglomerates. It also studies how influential politicos became responsible for an industry that was largely created in order to keep political abuse in check. Among the interviewees include legal scholar and former L.A. prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, film director and author Michael Moore, and Danny Schechter, a former producer for ABC and CNN. Pappas also covers the expansion of the news media and examines whether the onset of competitive 24-hour news stations has actually led to a nationally less informed public. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
For some, Pappas' film will simply confirm everything they've suspected of the fourth estate. For others, it will be a reiteration of points they make themselves. Those who've never thought about these issues may be in for the shock of their lives.
Every incident mentioned in the film was reported in the media, sometimes ad nauseam, and the polls show that about half of Americans like where things are going.
Professors, pundits, journalists and one elected official, Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT), rigorously examine the issue of maintaining a free press in an environment in which journalists are increasingly the employees of major corporations.
A vivid and distressing documentary examination of the state of the fourth estate... a deeply fascinating must-see for anyone interested in the news, politics and civic life.
Even though he refuses to excise about 15 to 20 minutes of unnecessary material, Pappas is nonetheless a steady editor who, less intrepid than dogged, pieces together a sustainably intriguing, suitably distressing exposé.
A bracing eye-opener to anyone who hasn't considered the full implications of recent Congressional debates advocating further media deregulation, debates that, unsurprisingly, have been strikingly underreported by mainstream news outlets.
The persuasion of Pappas' argument lies in the accumulation of original documentation, allowing the political perps to condemn themselves with their own words.
This is a doc. everyone should see. The content is excellent - you want to scream and wonder why no one knows this is going on, but it's obviously because the media doesn't want you to!
The filmmakers here present a pretty strong case for the idea that mainstream media enables the corruption of government. This doc illustrates the importance of the media as a system of information beyond the obvious. Great interviews throughout.
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