Brainwashing Machines

by Fazeel Chauhan

(Published in Paksitan Link  ~  4-14-92)

On April 11, Muslim Media organized a panel discussion at the Al-Medinah restaurant. The two guests were Heather Allen, an executive of NBC tv and Dan Fischer, the editor of L. A. Times' World Report. Irfan Mirza was impressively articulate in serving the function of host.
The event will receive coverage in other parts of this paper, therefore, I'll take a slightly different approach. During the discussion, Heather disclosed some honest facts about the weaknesses of the media, whereas Dan stressed the credibility and excellence of his staff. I am grateful to both of them for taking the time and courage to appear before the Muslim community. Although they tried to paint a positive picture of the media, most reporting is not favorable towards Muslims. Usually, journalists get their news from government releases and hardly question the accuracy of the "facts". The media becomes a brainwashing machine of disinformation and keeps the masses ignorant.
When was the last time you saw a positive portrayal of a Muslim in the media? Usually they are shown as violent and crazy terrorists. Minorities and immigrants in general, and people of color in particular are presented in their worst case scenarios. Some people call it a conspiracy. Former CIA director William Casey owned 20% of the New York Times. The more we learn about what happens behind the scenes, through sources such as "JFK" and books like "The Insiders", the more scary and hopeless the situation seems. Big business and advertisers influence what the media talks about. Who pulls the strings behind the scenes? There are definitely powers that censor the information that you and I receive. The Soviet Union was presented as the enemy for so many years. Then it was Iraq, and by election time, maybe it will be Libya. The media has served as a brainwashing machine and has created a negative stereotype of Muslims. The media is a big authority and an individual is not. The Muslim lacks a magic cleaner to wash away the negative views in other peoples minds that stain his/her reputation.
Both Heather and Dan agreed that they could do a lot more to change the stereotype of Muslims. But they also relayed that they were small cogs in the big machine. The media is an extremely powerful tool to represent us. Other groups such as the jews learned this a long time ago and they are very influential in the world, through the media, especially the movie industry. How many jewish directors, actors and comedians can you think of? And how many movies about hitler have you seen? How many times have you seen a tv show involving nazis? These movies are shown throughout the world. But do you remember a positive movie which promotes better understanding of the billions of Muslims in the world? The jews are also powerful in government. As discussed by the panel, the more influence people have, the more coverage they get. Kirkpatrick, the former U. S. embassador to the U. N. was Jewish. Can we even imagine an American Muslim in such a powerful role? The oil producing Muslim nations did not learn the lesson from Jews to unite and command the world through their immense wealth.
Heather mentioned that the nightly news consists of only twenty two minutes. There isn't enough time to cover areas such as the Muslim world. Dan said that his paper's World Report does not make any money. And that's what the media is about - making profits. Whatever sells is what's put on tv, producing couch potatoes and vidiots. Most Americans use the tv to get their information. "If it's on tv, it must be true". They read less than one book a year. A small percentage read the mainstream newspapers and even a smaller group uses alternative media as sources of information. Even in that arena, you'll find bias, such as Santa Monica College's KCRW. It is "National Public Radio", but a closer listen will show the presence of a jewish director, who's influence can color the whole radio station. Can you imagine the type of programming we could broadcast if the director was Muslim? African Americans, East Asians and Hispanics also exercise their power through politics, business and the media. Muslims should learn to play that game. The least we can do is write letters to the editors and to our elected officials to let our voices be heard. Together, we can change the situation. In childhood, they taught us: "Knowledge is power". Today, whoever is powerful gets the most coverage in the media, making it a world where "Power is Knowledge". That's very scary for those who are not so powerful

Mind and Media

by Fazeel Aziz Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link ~ 1-7-93)

Knowledge is power. At a recent gathering to celebrate Quaid-e-Azam's birthday, I learned how much he stressed the importance of attaining knowledge. In his will, he distributed all of his belongings among three schools. In today's fast paced information age, the media of film, tv and radio can be excellent sources to provide us with knowledge.

Many people have suggested that education can solve a lot of our problems. If people are well informed, they tend to become more objective. They may become more tolerant of other points of views and may some day use non-violent means instead of resolving conflicts through fighting and warfare.
The U. S. as a super-power, can influence the events taking place in the world. This country and its people have the potential to create a world focused on destruction or on peace. Therefore, it is very encouraging when the media does a good job of informing the people. Without information we are blind. Learning and growing is what life is all about. I would like to draw your attention to some of these refreshing, and some very courageous efforts on the part of the media.
I was glad to see a famous director, Oliver Stone, use the medium of film to inform the people about one of the most popular leaders of this country, John F. Kennedy. The movie "JFK" tells us that he wanted to end the Vietnam war and cut military spending. He wanted to dismantle the CIA, and he was against attacking Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He also played a role in helping Blacks and other minorities get equal rights. JFK had some revolutionary ideas about changing the policies of this country in the world. But he was viewed as a threat by some, and was assassinated. The conspiracy theory points the finger at the CIA, the military and even the Vice-President, Linden Johnson. This high budget and widely distributed movie by one of the country's leading directors is being well received by the movie-going audiences. It has made people raise questions about what really goes on in the government. The film is an eye-opener and I highly recommend it.
There are other good movies also, which have a similar theme as "JFK". Since Pakistanis love to see movies, I'll mention some of them. An excellent movie about the Iran-Contra affair is "Cover Up". It has been showing in Santa Monica for the past few months but is also available on video. The Christic Institute is a law firm that has taken on, and won, historical issues such as the Karen Silkwood case. The movie "Silkwood" was based on this case. The Christic Institute has a case pending against the people involved with the Iran-Contra affair. They have researched and documented evidence that supports the claims of the movie "Cover Up". It tells how Reagan and Bush knew all along, about the CIA's involvement in weapons and drug smuggling. A movie with some positive and enlightening ideas is "Mindwalk". It deals with personal, political and global issues.  It is based on a book by Fritjof Capra. He is a leading scientist in Physics who connects it with mysticism. "Dances With Wolves" tells us that all people are the same and that the real enemy is within each of us.
PBS uses the medium of television positively, with their wide range of programs, to effect the lives of the viewers. One of my favorite shows is "Frontline". A few months ago, I saw two movies on Channel 28. Award winning, "The Official Story" from Argentina deals with the disappearances of thousands of people in their country. Another very disturbing film "State Of Siege" is from Uruguay. It is about the police departments of countries around the world. Many countries send their top police officers to be trained in the U. S. Torture techniques and fear tactics are some of the topics covered in the training classes. The police headquarters in Uruguay were partially run by an American "advisor", in 1971. This was how the U. S. was able to exert direct control over the people of that country.
A good source for news and information on the radio is listener sponsored KPFK, 90.7 FM. An enlightening talk show on KLOS, 95.5 FM with host Frank Sontag comes on Sunday night at midnight.
I commend all the people in the media who are trying to empower us with knowledge. I hope this trend continues and that we'll see less of the usual sex and violence and more of vital issues that effect our world and our lives.