Psywar

Film evenings begin with potluck refreshments and social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by a discussion after the film.

Psywar
Directed by Scott Noble

This film is a deep, richly illustrated study of the nature and history of propaganda. It exposes the propaganda system, providing crucial background and insight into the control of information and thought. It tells the evolution of both propaganda and public relations in the United States in particular, with an emphasis on the relationship between war, propaganda, and class. It shows corporate and government use of propaganda and public relations to manipulate American people. It includes interviews with a number of dissident scholars including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Peter Phillips, John Stauber, and Christopher Simpson. The film focuses on the inception of U.S. propaganda which resulted from media exposure to Robber Baron corporate labor practices, and government/oligarchic interest for U.S. involvement in World War I. This history extends into our world of the present with U.S. corporate media dominated by pure propaganda in all key policy areas for money and power. This is obvious because an independent media would expose the Orwellian unlawful U.S. wars, the paper-thin lies propagandized as “reasons” for war, and the unprecedented transfer of trillions of American tax-payer dollars to the oligarchy through rigged, casino economics.

The film shows how the U.S. government staged events to manipulate public opinion about the Iraq war, like the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, the supposedly spontaneous mob that pulled over the larger-than-life statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It also discusses the Pentagon pundit scandal and the hidden activities of the Rendon Group, a public relations firm specializing in spinning war. The film exposes how government and corporate activities blur the lines between real news and fake news, as well as the development over time of public relations misinformation campaigns, strategic corporate campaigns to generate goodwill and the perception of good works, the the use of staged photo-ops, and other manipulative public relations’ tools that have turned the land of the free and the home of the brave into a place where citizens are now manipulated with great efficiency — and on a massive scale. The film describes the U.S. government as a psychopathic oligarchy committed to its own enrichment at the expense of any consideration for the public good.

Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street

$5 donations are accepted