Frontline

It was nice to see more documentaries from PBS on Netflix. I chose to watch Frontline: To Catch A Trader and was immediately intrigued by the program. So, I decided to watch "Battle Zones: Ukraine & Syria," another Frontline documentary. After viewing that I went on to "Losing Iraq." It was then I found out that some episodes are heavily more bias than others, and "Losing Iraq" was one of those episodes. The documentary was filled with ex-Bush Administration and affiliates who lacked objectivity. Not only that but many facts or controversies were left out such as issues involving Dick Cheney and Halliburton or the legality of the invasion of Iraq. This episode of Frontline felt like pure propaganda.

PBS's Frontline has been a source of both information and enlightenment. It's one of the shows that is sorely not advertised enough because it's on public television. They show an unbiased, objective point of view regarding any issue, situation, or circumstances. One of the episodes is about climbing Mount Everest in May 1996 where several experienced climbers died after reaching the summit, a rare accomplishment for anybody. In fact, watching the documentary makes me want to climb it even though I would never get past first camp where you have to spend 3 weeks to get accumulated to the thin air. Everybody in the documentary regarding the climb on Mount Everest comes across as real and authentic. For those of us who would never make it to Everest, this documentary allows us to experience through the people's voices and memories that come alive in their re-telling almost better than any film version.

This show came from a time when people mostly got their information from TV, there were few alternatives other than print media after all, and so on subjects the viewer wasn't familiar with, they were easily persuaded by its authoritative tone. Almost no one before the age of google had the ability to easily fact check this show, and so it carries a legacy it doesn't deserve. Now since the 2016 election its become ever more clear what it is, and I question what else I grew up watching on this show wasn't actually as portrayed.

The show is a demonstration of the techniques of effective propaganda. Voice of god narration by an actor who sounds like some kind of government authority backed by ominous music to set the tone, and then you are fed narratives by chosen talking heads who launder lies, these are after all not the words of the producers, just third parties, its how its done on all such media. On the "Policing the police" episode a talking head states that she knows the police are biased just against black people because of all the white arrests she sees on cops, when the reality is the producer of Cops admitted on tape that their show was deliberately skewing things to show disproportionately more white arrests to be politically correct. This is easily fact checked, but its the kind of thing that never is as it fits their chosen narrative. So as politics becomes ever more radicalized, manipulative shows like this have proven they can no longer be trusted, and frankly they never should have been.

I've watched Frontline nearly since its debut in 1983. Specifically I remember watching a program on a clash in Greensboro, North Carolina, between communist labor organizers and white supremacists. That program focused on a white-supremacist informant, and how the police treated and used his information. It was a documentary that, for myself, for the first time didn't take sides. It presented testimony by the participants, and made no attempt to guide the thoughts and feelings of the viewers. It was the first time I'd ever seen a prgram that let me think and feel the way I wanted to about a subject. That was twenty years ago, and Frontline has continued to produce fantastic in-depth documanteries to this day.

Frontline's programs have ranged from geo-politics to so-called "adult films," to equal rights, to the battle in Mogadishu, to whatever intriguing subject one can think of. And it's all done with the aim of informing and educating the viewer on how said subject is treated and perceived by those involved.

Unlike other documentaries Frontline merely reports the facts without pushing an agenda (unlike so many other one shot documentaries). Frontline lets you make up your own mind by presenting testimony of the people involved. It's a program whose narration isn't filled with conclusions worded to sound like fact (again, unlike many other documentaries). Instead it relies heavily on an interview format, where the answer to questions by the people involved are presented without being edited or otherwise spun.

If you're looking for a program that will inform you on complicated topics by presenting testimony, and not processed narration, then Frontline is the program to watch. Not all of its documentary reports will appeal to everyone, but rest assured each one is as thurough as possible at the time it airs.

Frontline is a great supplement to any news program for those who want more information.

It seems anytime a program bears witness to the unvarnished facts someone will spring up to claim it's a left leaning piece of biased commentary. What a shame. Frontline has always been a terrific place for clear, concise, information. All sides of an issue are raised and yet most often the subject (usually the antagonist) refuses to appear... only to cry "FOUL" immediately following the episodes air date. Getting into a snit afterwards does nothing to enlighten their point of view to the public and is a lame retort..

For over 30 years the series has tackled a broad range of topics with brave, thorough journalistic excellence and will be an informative legacy providing well researched facts about the issues of our century and will be a reliable reference for those living in the centuries to follow. I've especially enjoyed listening to that deep dispassionate, (yet somewhat sexy), voice of the narrator (Will Lyman) whose words convey a resonate gravitas. My favourite episode was the investigation into NFL head injury claims. It unfolded with all the suspense of a great film noir.... even though I knew nothing about the sport whatsoever!

FRONTLINE is always compelling television.