A Century of Media, A Century of War

Media critic Robin Andersen's timely work, A Century of Media, A Century of War, is a must read for those seeking to understand how we were drawn into the war in Iraq. Just how did the Bush Administration and its corporate media allies sell us on successive lies to get us into this war? Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Program at Fordham University, Professor Andersen investigates the collaborative relationship of the media with the current and past administrations to promote the wars of the last 100 years. The chapter, "The Military Entertainment Complex: Permanent War and the Digital Spectacular," is the most cogent look yet at the nexus of the media industry and the Pentagon as Andersen examines the Department of Defense's (DOD) funding of corporate research and development of "militainment" for the recruitment, training and selling of current and future wars. In her conclusion, "War, Humanism and Democracy," Andersen clearly elucidates the threat the media/DOD collusion is to democracy, writing, "Militainment does not fulfill the media's democratic mandate, any more than does the simple dissemination of government proclamations." This seminal work provides the reader with a better understanding of how we are being manipulated and gives us the tools to cut through the media fog surrounding wars and maybe, just maybe, help prevent future armed conflicts that are not in the nation's interest.