In Sunrise Over Fallujah, most of the manipulation comes from the media. Birdy and the other soldier notice it pretty quickly, since they are seeing things in Iraq that the media isn't reporting. The news reports are pretty rosy. They show low death counts on the American side and Iraqis cheering for them. The message they're trying to send is clear: America is winning by a landslide.
But is that really what's happening?
Questions About Manipulation
- How might Americans watching at home have interpreted the news image of Iraqis tearing down the statue of Saddam Hussein?
- Why did the news reports only count the deaths of soldiers who died on the field, rather than later, in a hospital?
- How might keeping IEDs out of the news protect Americans from the enemy?
- Why does it bother Birdy and the other soldiers that what they're seeing on the battlefield isn't making the news?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The American media reports had to skew positive to protect the soldiers from the enemy.
The overly positive media reports of the war contributed to the war failing, not succeeding.