Leandra Jacobson 4/14

I enjoyed the rip on communication and media in the film, The Watchmen. In the end of the film, one of the characters asks something along the line of, “What is that, another detonator for a world ending device?” The man responds something like, “sort of,” and turns on a wall of televisions showing the same presidential broadcast. As a communications major I have studied in every class the power of media manipulation. This media broadcast, blaming John for the catastrophic explosion in the city, reached every person of the public who has access to the television. The medium of television is by far the most powerful, quick, and influential one present in America currently. Politicians can manipulate it to affect them positively or negatively as seen with Nixon in the film.
In reality, this was seen recently with President Obama’s infomercial the evening before the election. This 30 minute show was on every major network and completely unprecedented, an extremely effective campaign tactic. The support from the media shown in this act could be a reinforcement of how the support from the media can influence the outcome of the election. The public is easily manipulated by the media in that they assume it is a credible resource, which is not a safe assumption to operate voting standards from under. It unfortunately is the main medium of communication so citizens must be active political participants, in contradiction to the trend of passive involvement. This was a greatly significant societal message made in just a few lines in the film.