The Brainwashing of My Dad

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

The personal story of filmmaker Jen Senko's dad is a cautionary tale many of us can relate to. And it's directly related - we learn - to the disinformation coming from the Right Wing media that has driven so much political acrimony in this country. In fact, the fanatical political divisions in the US are the same ones that divide families on a personal level. By following the thread of American politics and how it relates to the rise of the Right Wing media, Senko builds a solid case. We learn how and why all of this came about.

There have been other films that examined the subject of the Right Wing Media and its negative effects on democracy, but they tend to be dry treatises.

This should be required viewing for anyone who cares about a free and informative media in this country. An important film. And an entertaining one!

This film should be required viewing for all U.S. voters for they will understand just how insidious, wide ranging and effective the right wing media machine (e.g., Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio etc.)has been on the cultural landscape for the past 20 years.

Beyond the expected debunking of what we know is a sham -- Fox New's "Fair and Balanced" misreporting and Limbaugh's outlandish comments -- Ms. Senko's film takes us beyond the dictated talking points of Fox President's Roger Ailes to something much deeper and chilling.

The skill of these propagandists and their toxic effect on ordinary citizens (as seen through the lens of her own father) is an eye opener. The ending was especially moving. See it for yourself.

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.

I fell under the spell of conservative talk radio when I was out of college and working as a delivery driver. I was bitter and angry that the 4-year liberal arts degree I worked hard to obtain was seemingly worthless. As academia had failed to deliver success, I was eager to find and alternate worldview: looking for something to believe in, or, a purpose. Neil boortz, Michael savage, and bill o'reilly were my guides on this fruitless journey. Their rhetoric was effective because they (1) created an enemy: either enemies to prosperity (lazy welfare dependents, illegal immigrants), or enemies to security (radical Muslims): basically, people I could feel superior to. (2) "real listeners" calling in to share their victimization from political correct "social engineering" (3) the hosts' unwavering confidence and focused message, which is amplified by talking over those people who call in with alternate viewpoints. According to this documentary, these tactics are commonly employed by right-wing talk shows and foxnews (great collage of fox news "journalists" shouting over their guests to prevent them from expressing their ideas). How did I manage to give this up? A combination of things: my parents always had fox news on in the house and I grew annoyed at the lack of critical thinking and one-sidedness. I found that my media choices were putting me in a category of people who deferred to their tribal mentality than think critically. I began to see these media hosts more as propagandists than informed critics (Michael Savage's assertion that Obama attended an "Islamic Madrassas" in Indonesia--a country I had some personal knowledge of--was laughable). This documentary was enjoyable as it helped me understand how my political identity went on a certain path for a brief time