In the world of political manipulation and propaganda, the 1997 film “Wag the Dog” has a special place. The satire, directed by Barry Levinson, shows how a political scandal is covered up by staging a fictitious war. The film offers an entertaining but also frightening perspective on how media and storytelling can be used to influence public opinion. (Levinson, 1997). This blog post analyses the way propaganda techniques are applied within the film. The term “wag the dog” already gives insights into what the movie topic is about. The phrase already indicates that attention is being diverted and the focus lies on something else (Wag The Dog | Phrase Definition, Origin & Examples, n.d.).
The film begins with a political nightmare: the US president is confronted with a scandal shortly before his re-election. To deflect public attention, his advisor Conrad Brean, played by Robert De Niro, hires a Hollywood producer, Stanley Motss, played by Dustin Hoffman. Together they want to create the illusion of a war against Albania, by creating fake news, patriotic songs, and a tragic heroine story. The plot reveals how easy it is to create an alternative reality with the help of the media. By manipulating emotions and spreading targeted information, the protagonists control the population’s perception – a central propaganda mechanism.
The film clearly shows how emotionalization is used to capture people’s attention. An invented ‘tragic heroine’ is presented whose fate evokes the audience’s sympathy one of the scenes is where a young girl escapes from a destroyed village with a cat. This scene is particularly impressive and influential. This kind of emotional imagery makes the audience forget that the war itself is not real. Hereby showing that the use of emotions is a tried and tested propaganda method that is also used and implemented in the real world. The film adds the targeted repetition and consistency of the message over and over again. The invented story of the war is repeated again and again in various media until it is accepted as truth within the population. This technique makes use of the famous propaganda rule: ‘A lie that is repeated often enough becomes the truth.’
Another central element within the movie is distraction. The staged war is able to distracts the population from the president’s actual scandal and shows how propaganda can be used to control public perception. The film illustrates how crucial it is to control the media in order to spread a certain message. With this visual and narrative elements are staged really well in the film to create credibility and draw the audience’s attention to the chosen narrative and not the present scandal.
“Wag the Dog” is also fascinating from a different point of view. The way images, music, and stories are used shows the importance and impact designs can have on conveying messages. The fake news reports in the film are an impressive illustration of how visual content can be manipulated to create emotions and with this create a certain type of credibility. With this, the musical backing also plays a very crucial role within the movie. A patriotic song called ‘We Are the Land of the Free’ is composed especially for this fictional war just to make the whole story and idea more convincing for the population to believe. Music is used here as a powerful tool to reinforce emotions and anchor a message.
Although the film was released over 25 years ago, it hasn’t lost its importance and impact. At a time when fake news and disinformation are more common, the message of “Dare the Dog” is more relevant than ever. With this, the film can remind the audience of the importance of critically questioning information and recognizing the power of the media. The mechanisms of manipulation depicted in the movie are even easier to implement today through social media channels and digital platforms and are often more difficult to see through. It shows that those who tell stories have enormous power, which can be used for both a good and bad purpose.
With this the movie “Wag the Dog” is more than just a satire – it is a lesson in how propaganda works and the role that media play in it. The film impressively shows how storytelling can be used to shape reality and influence opinions. At the same time, the film is an invitation to consumers to question information carefully and not to be influenced by a well-told story. As the movie impressively shows, the line between truth and fiction can be very thin. The film can teach that critical thinking and healthy skepticism are the best tools for recognizing manipulation and arming ourselves against propaganda.
Sources:
Levinson, B. (Director). (1997, December 25). Wag the Dog. Baltimore Pictures, TriBeCa Productions.
Wag the Dog | Phrase Definition, Origin & Examples. (n.d.). https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/phrases/wag-the-dog#
