The Brainwashing of My Dad

2015 "The truth behind the right-wing media machine that changed a father--and divided the nation"
7| 1h30m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 29 July 2015 Released
Producted By: Cinco Dedos Peliculas
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/
Synopsis

A filmmaker examines the rise of right-wing media through the lens of her father, whose immersion in it radicalized him and rocked the foundation of their family. She discovers this political phenomenon recurring in living rooms everywhere, and reveals the consequences conservative media has had on families and a nation.

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midian09 I came across this on Amazon Prime. I thought that this documentary was informative, thoughtful and compassionate whilst exploring the creation of the fierce and angry media machine that supports the right wing political machine. It shows the triumph of capital over humanitarian values through the lens of the writer/director's personal family struggle; it shows the toll on her family and others simply and clearly. I think someone called the machine's proponents "faeces-chuckers" at one point - this elicited a childish giggle from me but it was also a beautifully illustrative example as their stuff sticks, even when patently nonsense or false. I kept hearing about how strange Fox news is but, as I am in the UK, I was unaware just how uninformative their 'news' actually is. It was really eye-opening (eye-popping even) learning how the process of 'brainwashing' works and its payoffs. It was fascinating and has deepened my understanding of how people become so heartless and why they think that this is a good thing. Bringing what I watched up to date, it is a bit scary thinking that Fox News want to bring this extreme brand of disinformation to the UK - as if the Express and the Mail aren't bad enough already.I am also appalled to think that President Trump insists in his tweets that Fox is his main form of 'news'; this does not bode well for the either the US or us in the rest of the world.
SalTBalsak This is strictly a liberal propaganda piece brought to you by far-left organizations such as Media Matters and DemocracyNow!. Not a single conservative interviewed or anything opened up for a dissenting opinion. The liberal bubble in all its pathetic glory. In one segment you can tell the director has never even listened to Rush Limbaugh. She also blames Rush for her father not wearing a seat belt when driving a car. No, I'm not making that up. The "big lie" told by FOX News is apparently that "no-go zones" in Europe don't exist. A simple YouTube search will prove that THEY DO. I mean 60 Minutes has a whole report on Swedish no-go zones. Just go on YouTube and type in "60 minutes no go zones" and you'll find their report. I guess 60 minutes is lying to you as well. Honestly, I laughed through the whole movie. It's particularly ironic that Media Matters is a STAPLE on MSNBC which has had to issue at least 10 apologies over the past 8 years and had multiple anchors and producers fired for perpetrating fake news and unabashed bias. This mockumentary actually makes Michael Moore look like Edward R. Murrow. Truly, truly, TRULY sad.
bruce-129 Firstly, this movie was excellent in terms of getting Americans to start thinking about the media, ideas, rhetoric and emotional tone we are steeped in on a daily basis. I have been more and more disappointed in the media since the mid-80's, but especially since the 90's forward.This documentary tells us why, and surprise, it is almost the same as everything else in this country and the world that have gone sour ... the political prioritizing of having every facet of our society taking over by money, corporations and billionaires. This movie does a good job of covering that in a broad sense. I always thought it really hit home when they struck down the "Fairness Doctrine" which I think we desperately need in the media if we are to foster a culture where people can think for themselves ... because otherwise what goes freedom or speech mean if all we can do is parrot someone else's words?The weaker part of this documentary, and the reason I could not award it a 10/10 is the story of the family and the Dad who turned into a right- winger. We don't really get any clear sequence of events leading to the documentarian's father and what he was like, what drove him, what changed him and what ultimately changed him back.By the time he is interviewed it is clear he has some kind of dementia, and pieces of his conversation are being cherry picked to back the narrative of his "brainwashing". I have had relatives too that have this same problem. The turning of one's thoughts into right wing anger is very depressing when you like someone and all they can do is to push their ideas that they get from radio or FOX News without any critical thinking at all.I didn't feel it was very nice or respectful to turn one's father into a puppet for the making of a documentary, particularly if there is no real proof or theory as to how he got to where he was. They speculated it was the long drives to work listening to the captive audience of drivers alone in their cars. But many jobs themselves have pressures for people to either buy into right wing rhetoric, or to remain silent about criticizing those who criticize. For me there were many reasons not to appreciate the story of the father.I also was a bit disappointed to hear certain left wing websites recommended as the cure for these right wing sites. The whole problem is that only people who agree with each other are on specific sites, so many of the Left wing sites are just as bad as right wing sites ... they just do not have as many and as much money. But the intolerable part of both sides is that it is impossible for anyone who does not want to argue and name-call to participate in these forums ... which we should be able to do, and our form of government really demands.I don't know there are any answers here, but there are some suggestions and a lot of thought provoking information, which is great. We need more of this kind of documentary. I recommend this documentary and that all Americans begin to understand how their country has been evolved around them to cut most of them out from knowing what is going on and what they should do about it.10/10
Frances Causey As she did in THE VANISHING CITY, Jen has delivered another great feature documentary film that is timely, smart, cogent, and incredibly thoughtful. THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD is an important film that all Americans should see so they can understand the intentional manipulation of their minds by the free market ideologues who bought media outlets right and left to masquerade their so-called cause as patriotic, intentionally playing on the patriotism of well intentioned folks like Jen's father. FOX NEWS was never conceived as a real news organization dedicated to informing the public. Instead FOX NEWS was born out of an abundance of cynicism, and as nothing more than a shill machine for those bent on seeking monolithic political power and the insane profits, their real aim, that result. All of this at the expense of the rest of us.