Wednesday, July 26, 2006

an hour well wasted

if you are interested in the israel/palestine conflict and the influence of the media on how we perceive it and have an hour to spare watch this documentary. it is about the american, israeli, and british media and the representation of events in israel and the occupied territories and helps explain why the conflict continues as it does. i do recommend it.

it made me think about the canadian media and i believe that they are frighteningly similar to american media in that we hear only about what is going on in israel and palestine through a filter. israeli action is usually depicted as a defense of their land and people and palestinians are most often shown throwing rocks, attacking peaceful soldiers, or suicide bombing. it makes me wonder whether the broadcasters are even cognisant of what they are reporting to their audiences.

i have noticed that in the uk people are more willing to say that they support a palestinian state and that they disagree with the occupation. and i bet i have never heard that from any mainstream media source in canada. you don't necessarily have to agree with that side of the debate, but it is most certainly missing from our national dialogue, and i think we deserve to see both sides of the situation before we deicide for ourselves.

it would give me so much more hope that the violence and rhetoric won't go on throughout my lifetime to hear more about the stories of israelis and palestinians working together towards peace, as is mentioned in the documentary. especially considering all that is happening in lebanon.

anyways, it is a good piece if you have the time to watch it.

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