The Brainwashing of My Dad

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.

I rated this movie 9 rather than 10 because it's got a few imperfections but non of those blemishes effect the core story in the least. Jen interviews some amazing philosophers and some of the people who actually manipulated our culture to show us why we are where we are right now.

Jen shares with us a story involving her own family; her mother and siblings observed changes in her fathers behavior and she explores the causes of those changes. This isn't a minor thing, this gets to the heart of some very important social issues we're seeing around us right now; xenophobia, fear, patriotism and personal conflict. She gives us insight into some of the drivers behind these emotions and why they might be pushing our culture in a specific direction (that some of do not like at all).

The best part? She leaves us with hope and that's worth quite a lot.

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!

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.

A fantastic and accurate representation of how it feels to be a family member of someone who has become brainwashed and a worse human-being due to right-wing propaganda. The personal story hit home for me, while the facts presented are undeniable. The other people in the comments that voted it 1/10 are clearly still brainwashed, despite this fantastic documentary showing very clearly what is actually happening to them - which poses the question of: did they even watch it? I doubt it.