Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

For my 1300th review (yes, one thousand three hundred), I’m going to tackle this documentary called Control Room. It’s about the Al Jazeera network. You know, the middle eastern version of CNN that gets all the exclusive terrorist hostage videos and the like. I think this movie is worth seeing to anyone who wonders how things work in the Arab media. If you think things here in the U.S. have a slant to them…

This documentary was nominated for many awards and even won a few, but it was overlooked by the Oscars. This film was shot and directed by Jehane Noujaim, who previously made the Internet business documentary Startup.Com. It offers an inside view of the Al Jazeera network and interviews its reporters and producers, plus shows how other media people respond to the network.

What makes this movie so interesting is that it gives an inside look into how other Muslims view the situation in Iraq. In fact, their reaction is quite scary. For example, during the footage of American tanks charging into the town square in Iraq, the Al Jazeera makes some accusatory observations. First, they say that the supposed Iraqis with the Americans were not really Iraqis, but they only back this up by saying they know how to recognize people from that area. They also point out how nobody else is in the square, but the cameras were only focusing on the center where the Saddam Hussein statue was. Besides, do you think people would be standing around if they saw a motorcade of tanks headed their way?

The most terrifying part of that town square scene was how the reporters were asking where the Republican guard were. They wanted to see the Iraqi soldiers come out and openly said so. What they really wanted to see were the American solders being shot at and attacked. They might as well have asked, “Why isn’t somebody shooting at them?” It made my skin crawl.

In another great scene toward the end of the film, an interview is done with one of the show’s producers. She talks about how other Muslims look at the invasion of Iraq, and her revelations are scary. In a nutshell, she says that Muslims don’t like to see anybody invading other Muslim countries. Period. No matter what kind of atrocities their leaders have done. No matter what kind of injustices and crimes the leaders put on their people. They do not want to see a Muslim city being overrun. If that really is the case, and that is the general opinion of all Muslims in the area, then at what point are they going to finally band together and step in? We keep being told that this is not a religious war, but I have trouble believing that.

One thing Control Room points out is that while many Americans thinks Al Jazeera caters to the terrorists, there are many Arabs who think the network caters to Americans. In fact, it says some people think the station is actually run by CIA or British Intelligence. For the record, an Al Jazeera reporter was killed during one of the many bombing runs over Iraq, and the American military said it was an accident, though the network people thought they were being sent a message.

I think Control Room must be seen just for the objective look that it gives of the network. Jehane Noujaim did a great job of presenting the material without taking sides, and the results are incredible. He doesn’t try to make the network look good or bad, and he gives its representative plenty of time to express their biased opinions. The best part of the documentary is something one of the lead producers of Al Jazeera says of the war. He said that after a while, people don’t care about justification for fighting - they just want to see a victor. He means that they just want it to be over and for there to be clear winners and losers. If that is so, then how much do you have to lose before you get to win?


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups