Spin

wow! i wasn't expecting a lot from this documentary since it seemed to deal with a dry subject, but it just sucked me right in. using only 'found footage' (satellite feeds from across the USA broadcast networks, which include on-the-fly footage and almost imperceptible ostensibly-off-camera conversations, all of which are not supposed to be recorded, let alone aired!?), Brian Springer has fashioned an eye-opening exposé of media manipulation and those ruthlessly efficient and mechanically precise 'spin doctors', around the time of the 1992 presidential election. some of the candid conversations and expressions caught unawares, are jaw-dropping, alarming, and hilarious...often at the same time. the way Larry Agran, a strong (initially, that is) candidate was 'blanked out' by the media to the point where probably nobody even remembers him running for the post, is spine-chilling stuff, all the more so for being non-fiction! unlike Michael Moore, however, there is no manipulation, or bias towards (or against) any party. what we see is so matter-of-fact, it makes you wonder if these people really belong to the human race at all.

this 56 minute film is a must-see for students of mass media, politics, propaganda, and American history. as per usual with this kind of 'subversive, controversial, potentially damaging' stuff, this film is not widely available. thanks to the wonderful invention called internet (possibly the only area where nobody has any real authority or monopoly on anything), i downloaded this from a site for free. three cheers for the last (relatively) untamed frontier.

Documentary made up of satellite feeds from political candidates during the 1992 Presidential Campaign. The cynical film doesn't take political sides, but reveals the raw manipulative power of television. Whisperings between candidates with Larry King during commercial breaks about drugs they take, about Ted Turner as "The Boss". The media deciding for the people who gets the nominations. Anyone with speculations about how the media and politics in this country work should really check this unique film out. Satellite feeds are no longer recordable to the public. This is a moment of truth in history. Every politically conscious American should see it. This is often hysterical.

Someone please tell me where I can find a copy of this for sale! This should be mandatory viewing for high school students and every American.

This pretty much killed Pat Robertson's hopes of becoming President. It is amazing to really see the discriminatory remarks come from his mouth and then to hear the television producers (or the spinners) laud his behavior.

I know people who protest at political rallies and upon seeing this film, I was able to inform them how the television directors will manipulate the camera set-ups and microphone set-ups to cut them out of the shot, making it impossible for the protesters to be seen or heard. The wide shots simply make it seem as if they are a part of the crowd supporting him.

An amazing piece of film. Also, see the film "Feed" (1992) which is even more great political footage recorded by the same director, Brian Springer.

I was given a poor-quality tape copy of this film and have no idea where to get the real deal. This chilling documentary is allegedly by the same director as "Feed", the hilarious film that covers the campaign for the 1992 Primaries. Both Feed and Spin draw most of their material from unexpurgated live satellite feeds, which reveal much of odd combo of calculation and cluelessness that go into the media farce of modern American elections. But with Spin, the tone is darker and scarier, as we see worthy contenders cut out of the political process by the de facto censorship of modern "sound byte" media, and witness mind-blowing off-air exchanges such as Larry King telling then-Governor Bill Clinton that Ted Turner would help him any way possible. King also appears suggesting a new source of tranquilizers for George Bush during a commercial break. Thank goodness for satellite feeds and those few who bother to find and monitor them! This documentary is uneven and sloppy at times but deserves a major release. Its triumph lies in its thought-provoking and unflinching assault on the status quo.