The Brainwashing of My Dad

This film should be required viewing for all U.S. voters for they will understand just how insidious, wide ranging and effective the right wing media machine (e.g., Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk radio etc.)has been on the cultural landscape for the past 20 years.

Beyond the expected debunking of what we know is a sham -- Fox New's "Fair and Balanced" misreporting and Limbaugh's outlandish comments -- Ms. Senko's film takes us beyond the dictated talking points of Fox President's Roger Ailes to something much deeper and chilling.

The skill of these propagandists and their toxic effect on ordinary citizens (as seen through the lens of her own father) is an eye opener. The ending was especially moving. See it for yourself.

I rated this movie 9 rather than 10 because it's got a few imperfections but non of those blemishes effect the core story in the least. Jen interviews some amazing philosophers and some of the people who actually manipulated our culture to show us why we are where we are right now.

Jen shares with us a story involving her own family; her mother and siblings observed changes in her fathers behavior and she explores the causes of those changes. This isn't a minor thing, this gets to the heart of some very important social issues we're seeing around us right now; xenophobia, fear, patriotism and personal conflict. She gives us insight into some of the drivers behind these emotions and why they might be pushing our culture in a specific direction (that some of do not like at all).

The best part? She leaves us with hope and that's worth quite a lot.

As she did in THE VANISHING CITY, Jen has delivered another great feature documentary film that is timely, smart, cogent, and incredibly thoughtful. THE BRAINWASHING OF MY DAD is an important film that all Americans should see so they can understand the intentional manipulation of their minds by the free market ideologues who bought media outlets right and left to masquerade their so-called cause as patriotic, intentionally playing on the patriotism of well intentioned folks like Jen's father. FOX NEWS was never conceived as a real news organization dedicated to informing the public. Instead FOX NEWS was born out of an abundance of cynicism, and as nothing more than a shill machine for those bent on seeking monolithic political power and the insane profits, their real aim, that result. All of this at the expense of the rest of us.

A fantastic and accurate representation of how it feels to be a family member of someone who has become brainwashed and a worse human-being due to right-wing propaganda. The personal story hit home for me, while the facts presented are undeniable. The other people in the comments that voted it 1/10 are clearly still brainwashed, despite this fantastic documentary showing very clearly what is actually happening to them - which poses the question of: did they even watch it? I doubt it.

This documentary explores the impact that the right-wing media has had upon American politics and culture with one particular family being showcased in detail. In essence, due to certain restraints being removed from radio and television broadcasting, a newly energized brand of conservative populism was unleashed-first on talk radio, and then on television with Fox News. To that effect, the more heated dialogue resulted in more anger among the viewers which in turn caused even more heated dialogue and thereby even more anger. This divisiveness was then used by the Republican Party to secure gains in the elections at both the local, state and national level which has resulted in policy initiatives intended to benefit that particular party to the exclusion of everybody else. Now rather than revealing any more I will just say that the main points brought out in this documentary are factually correct--as is the damage brought upon this nation because of the resulting bitterness, anger and hatred. Unfortunately, although this film reveals several problems the right-wing media has created, what it fails to do is to provide an answer to any of them. Along with that, there were times when the overall theme seemed to lose focus as it drifted from one family dynamic to another. Likewise, I also thought that the childish tone on the part of the narrator was completely unnecessary as well. In any case, while certainly not a top-level documentary, this film does a good job of bringing to light a definite problem here in America and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.