I should probably rephrase that to "Do you believe there is an escalating amount of conditioning/programming in our media?" Honestly, I have only seen a bloated version of this in movies. More specifically, action movies (because that's what I tend to watch). In general, they all seem to be including terrorism in it. Everything seems to have to have something about terrorism. This was irrtiatingly apparent in Iron Man 3, where the entirety of Mandarin's character was scrubbed clean just to place a Middle Eastern terrorist theme about him. And ofcourrse, America storming through peoples homes in the Middle East, justified by such menace. (not to mention how the Middle East seems to be portrayed as a backwards, cave-dwelling civilization when it is not) I could name a LOT, but I'll focus on Batman. I've come to find that movies that gross the most amount of attention have the most amount of popaganda/conditioning, and what better choice. Batman was just one big roller coaster ride full of it and it made me increasingly frustrated. I'll limit this to the Dark Knight Rises. 1. The law must be broken...to be effective - this is Batman's main incarnation. He's a vigiliante armed with the limitless finances and innovation of corporate power and money. The law is often displayed as clunky, incompetent, and ineffective. The legal process is generally retarded. (Arkham's infamous revolving door policy) Batman symbolizes the shadowy group that operates by no rules. An assassin of sorts, whose goal is the only justification he needs. Batman is never wrong. He doesn't make mistakes. His deduction is infallible. His motives, unquestionable. All you really need to know is that criminals...disappear. 2. Surveillance - the recent Batman franchise really seems aimed at people. The most symbolic is Batman's sonar-phoen thingamagingit. Basically, a freaking snooping device. The obvous message. "Yes, we are spying on you, but it's not on you, but criminals. We do it because we have to. Trust us, we won't do anything else with the information. It's all for the good of mankind...America...Gotham." 3. Stupid Sheeple - while you expect to hear this from considerably edgy conspiracy theorists, you actually hear it more from the media. In a broad spectrum of movies and shows, it portrays people as hopeless and idiotic- if not butal and violent- when order is removed from the world. That civilization will cave in on itself if theres nobody above you in control of things. Now to some extent I believe this is true, but I believe it is an equalizing reaction to general suppressions of many sorts. But this movie teaches people to look at themselves (or everone else, because they could never possibly be that) as animals who must have a leash or they will go crazy and kill or wreck everything in sight. Society must have masters. 4. Bain - did anyone miss the references between Bain and his minions and the Occupy Movement? I didn't. Seemed rather obvious. The point. To potray them as a bunch of pyschotic rogues with a brimming potential for violence and evil if left to their own devices. Bain functions as the incarnation of anyone promoting any kind of change from Democratic-Capitalist society. Such a person must be crazy and evil. Also, I did not miss that part where, when the police first arrive to the scene at Wallstreet, we a told, via one Wallstreetman, the express importance of the survival of wallstreet in our society. 5. Violence/Weapon Porn - the real fact that it is killing people is the seductive payload. The fact that it is new, shiny, techy, and awesome seems to be bonus merits worth considering when considering weaponry. Seeing this kind of violence played out on screen offers a certain level of viacirous diffusion or satisfaction. To see the enemy blasted apart in a myriad of ways....exhilirating. Carnage is freaking cool. Batman is a portable armory with the rather insane policy of non-lethal violence. It's truly a wonder how people can take the character of Batman as a serious superhero. In real life, such force leaves behind much human wreckage. Movies like this make us addicted to the increasing levels of lethal power technology offers us. 6. General Agenda Setting - Terrorism. Terrorism. No longer are the criminals just criminals or megalomaniacs or those old terms. All of them are vile terrorists. Terrorists are evil slick, well-funded, highly-equipped, and are absoutely killable. In the movies, an orgy of evidence is dumped in front of you to convince you they are evil, itself. In real-life, you might not be privy to such information. You might not even know anyone was killed unless it slipped out. Note: There's always been a certain level of propaganda in some movies. No, not all movies. Probably, not even most. I figure, like advertising, you put your ad where the most people will see it. Blockbusters...or really-hyped movies. But these days I often get irritated before seeing a big action movie because I know they'll be propaganda in it. Batman just seemed to be the shining pinnacle- followed closely by Iron Man. Does anyone else see this as a rising feature in our features?
