Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land (2004)

64% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
89% of users liked it
(691 ratings)

American media coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine goes under the microscope in this activist documentary. In Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: American Media and the Subversion of Peace, filmmakers Bathsheba Ratzkoff and Sut Jhally use newsreel footage from a variety… More American media coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine goes under the microscope in this activist documentary. In Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: American Media and the Subversion of Peace, filmmakers Bathsheba Ratzkoff and Sut Jhally use newsreel footage from a variety of American broadcast sources to illustrate their contention that the corporations who control American media act in collusion with Israel to present an image that is biased against the Palestinian cause, through use of certain terminology (Palestinian violence is usually described as an "attack" against Israelis, while Israeli violence is categorized as "retaliation"), by giving a incomplete picture of events in the Middle East, and by ignoring well-documented incidents of Israeli aggression against Palestine. Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: American Media and the Subversion of Peace includes interviews with Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Seth Ackerman, and Hana Ashrawi. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 15 min.
Directed By: Sut Jhally, Bathsheba Ratzkoff
Genres: Documentary, Television, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jan 28, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Jan 1, 2004
Studio: Arab Film Distribution

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle
Deserves attention.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
Showing the movie would be a great way to open a debate. I would love to hear its charges answered as clearly as they're stated.
Russell Scott Smith, New York Post
Often, the movie feels like sitting through a college lecture class.
Ned Martel, New York Times
Presents a condensed argument in favor of prosecuting Israeli leaders in the court of American public opinion.
John Anderson, Newsday
While their methods are a bit pedantic -- the narration is monotone, the structure of the film resembles a lesson plan -- they provide a wealth of evidence that the media game is rigged against Arabs.
Joshua Land, Village Voice
The result may be better suited for classroom viewing than for theatrical exhibition, but that's a tribute to the movie's instructive value.
Eric Monder, Film Journal International
The film is meant for those curious about untold stories and the stories behind the stories, and it is hard to dismiss out of hand.
Phil Hall, Film Threat
Disturbing and depressing, although a complete historic perspective is missing.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Incisive documentary.
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com
By employing the very practice it seeks to condemn, the film will ultimately leave viewers just as angry and frustrated about the conflict at the end as they were at the start

Read all 10 critic reviews

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