Through the representation of people and politics, individuals deliberate on how people, ideas,

events or situations are represented in their society as well as shared or competing political
perspectives and how these political actions impact on their lives and society.

Through the representation of the tension between people and the political sphere,
Through the act of representation, composers are successfully able to challenge fundamental
ideas of people and politics through the representation of political figures and how their political
motivations impact individuals and society. The representation of people and politics inBarry Commented [B1]: Whilst this is good, I suggest you
Levinson’s film, “Wag the Dog” directed by Barry Levison and and David Marr’s feature article analyse audience reception here instead. Because it is
“Burnt Hands, children overboard, it all seems the same to Peter Reith” written David Marr, module C, it is pertinent that you analyse audience reception
due to the fact that composers make these representations
successfully conveys the each composers perspectives about the integrity of politics and the solely to influence us.t
media. When both texts are studied in conjunction, these texts elicit a greater understanding of the
way in which how an individual can use their power for their ambitions and control the values and
Commented [B2]: You should add another sentence here
perceptions of others. about the ideas you’re going to be discussing in your essay.
Eg, media manipulation, relentless pursuit of power etc –
In "Wag the dog", Levison critiques how political figures manipulates the values and perception of also, you need to incorporate some brief context. What is the
the public, controlling how the truth is presented to the public thus critiquing the way in which the composer’s representation influenced by?
media has a monopoly on the representation of truth. In the opening scene, Levinson subverts the Commented [B3]: You need to evaluate audience
preconceived notion of the public supposedly holding power over their political system through the reception in the introduction.
title of the film “wag the dog”. The metaphor of the “dog”, being representative of the public, while Commented [B4]: This sentence is too long – split into
the ‘tail’ is representative of politics, provokes audiences to reflect upon the extent in which the two.
power of the government has overruled the public.
Levison introduces his message to the viewers, metaphorically/rhetorically asking “why does dog
wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail” in which the ‘dog’ is the representation of the
public, while the ‘tail’ is the representation of politics indicating that the public supposedly has
power over their political system. Levison provokes the audience to reflect upon the nature of ‘truth
and re-evaluate the influence of media and governmental interests on public perception,
metaphorically represented as the ‘tail’ which “wags the ‘dog” of public opinion. Levinson
represents the media as a medium for those in politics to manipulate the perceptions portrayed Commented [B5]: Whos perceptions? And perceptions of
through the filming of the false war scene. Through the mid shot of the computer screen editing the what?
war scene, setting a war torn village as the background, dramatising the scene creating a horrifying
depiction of war, highlights the media the ability to manipulate emotions from the public, evoking
sympathy. Brean’s promotion of the fabricated ‘war hero’ Schumann enabled,through public media, Commented [B6]: Check expression – its very unclear.
is depicted through the misees-en-scene of shoes hanging on electrical wires, merchandise Rephrase this
supporting Schumann, coupled with the folk song ‘Good Old Shoe’ is captured through the non- Commented [B7]: Expression unclear
diegetic background audio. This highlights the pivotal influence that the media has on the public as
it manipulates a false sense of patriotism and ignorance the public has towards the truth. Thus,
through his portrayal of the media being used as a tool to manipulate the public’s perception of
truth, Levison depicts a didactic critique regarding the media and the power of the government as
fabricators of truth. Commented [B8]: Needs more audience reception
throughout this paragraph.
Parallel to “Wag the Dog”, Marr’s representation of the media also demonstrates the misconstrued
perception of events reflected through the media, and ultimately constructs false narratives for
individuals and society. He represents this by making a critical approach towards the Liberal
government’s demonisation of asylum seekers. Marr alludes to “the great controversy of the
Howard years”, when the Liberal government fabricated the story that the refugees were throwing
their children overboard in order invoke public hysteria and attain political advantage, similar in
“Wag The Dog”. This reveals how those in government were successful in manipulating the truth in
order to align the public with their political interests. Eventually the attempt to cover up the truth
metaphorically “ blew up in the government’s face” demonstrating the way in which the public can
be disillusioned by governmental narratives, through the power of individual dissent. Marr Commented [B9]: Good.
represents the power of the media by personifying “the press” as a single entity who undermine
stories, as they “ returned to the story with vengeance” when the truth of the story came out. Marr
integrates the intertextuality of Peter Reith’s interview with ABC’s Virginia Trioli, describing Reith’s
“exchange with Trioli would come to haunt” him. The negative connotations of “haunt” emphasises Commented [B10]: Maybe evaluate audience reception
the formidable power of the media as it had impacted Reith's political career,his reputation going somewhere here. You haven’t evaluated it yet.
“down the toilet”. Thus, Marr reveals the secrecy surrounding the public and how the influence of
the media can manipulate the public beliefs and views, impacting on how they perceive the world
and affairs.

3) Levison criticises the integrity of political figures through his representation of Brean and Motts
and how they abuse their power for their own egocentric motivations. In order to succeed, Brean
deliberately fabricates the truth, creating the “appearance of a war” to divert attention away from
the president’s scandal which accentuates his unethical nature. This is evident in Brean’s
juxtaposition if the “security of your job” to be the same with “the security of the country”, criticising
the self-interested nature of politicians. Brean’s metaphor “war is show business” highlights his
disrespect towards the notion of such tragic events and deliberate intent to manipulate with the
public’s emotions, which further accentuates the unethical nature of the media and politicians.
Levison’s representation of power and integrity portrays the extent that authority figures will go
through to achieve their motivations. The mise-en scene of the dark lighting of the studio where
Brean and his associates filmed false war scene, emphasises their dark intentions to deceive and
manipulate the public opinion and perception on the truth, critiquing the honesty and justice of
political figures. Similarly, Motts’ intention was to gain acknowledgement and fame through the
fabrication of the war, which he reinforced by repeating “I want the credit”, highlighting that his
actions was for his own self interest and is willing to use any mean to achieve his goal. Thus,
Levison successfully expose the true nature of power political figures,driven by their motivation to
succeed, critiquing their unethical ways that were carried out for their own motivations.

4) Similarly, Marr criticises the integrity of political figures through his representation of Reith and
his attempts to manipulate the truth for his own self interest in maintaining political power. To justify
himself, Reith kept insisting that the “blurred,uncaptioned photograph was proof that ruthless
asylum seekers had thrown their children into the sea”.“Blurred,uncaptioned” juxtaposes that the
photograph is “proof”, highlighting the irony as this type of evidence cannot be a certainty. Marr
further point out Reith’s dishonesty which is evident in Reith’s repetition of “kept” which
emphasises his attempt to stick to his story, despite the inaccuracies. Reith adopts an incredibly
superior attitude, metaphorically “mounting on his high horse” and using the navy, a symbol of a
reliable group portrayed to tell the truth, as a backup to his claims, demonstrating his attempts to
make his version of the “truth” seem more likely. Ironically, despite his own unethical actions, all
Reith took away from this situation was “how awful ABC was” towards him implying his failure to
see his own misconceptions, highlighting his selfish nature. Marr's criticism of Reith effectively
allows the audience to be aware of what the government portrays as the truth and be wary of the
unethical nature of politicians.

The composers were successful in sending their message across to their audiences through their
representation of the people and politics, warning them on the how the motivations of people with
power impact on their honesty and integrity and the way the media can be used as a tool to
manipulated the publics values and perception about the truth.