The Language of Empire: Abu Ghraib and the American Media
- ISBN-10
- 158367120X
- ISBN-13
- 9781583671207
- Category
- Social Science / Media Studies
- Pages
- 224
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2005-11
- Publisher
- Monthly Review Press
- Author
- Lila Rajiva
Description
Under the rule of Saddam Hussein, the prison of Abu Ghraib (the Father of the Raven) was a place of ill omen, notorious for horrific suffering and torture and mass executions. After the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. military made Abu Ghraib one of the major detention centers for Iraqis suspected of sympathizing with the resistance. The revelations since April 2004 of systematic torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib have not easily been assimilated into the mythology of the U.S. “war on terror.”
The Language of Empire focuses on the response to these revelations in the U.S. media, in congress, and in the larger context of U.S. global politics and ideology. Its focus on the media is a prelude to showing how the language of multiculturalism, humanitarianism, and even feminism have been hijacked in the cause of an illegal and brutal imperialist war.
The media have colluded with the Bush administration in manipulating images of the U.S. occupation of Iraq in such a way as to present it as a clash between civilization and barbarism, and in selectively using legal and procedural issues to distract from the basic criminality of the invasion itself. The circuitous logic through which U.S. imperialism presents itself as a defender of legality and democracy is exposed for all to see in this important and timely work.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2017-03-01
- 250 pages
- Ebook
- Manchester University Press
-
- 2008-12-18
- 233 pages
- Paperback
- Cambridge University Press
Similar books
-
Women, Politics, Media: Uneasy Relations in Comparative Perspective
By Karen Ross... American studies report that salient differences in approach and priorities do exist which fracture along gendered lines . ( See , for example , Thomas , 1991 ; Boles , 1991 ; Blankenship & Robson , 1995 ; Schumaker & Burns , 1998. ) ...
-
10/40/70: Constraint as Liberation in the Era of Digital Film Theory
By Nicholas RombesExtras: This film sparks another film, unnamed, that unspools like this: Theytell methat the big metal box in the other room is the Recording Machine. It sits empty, with nooneto enter itand run it. Its smooth metal casing isblood ...
-
關鍵轉折
By 麥可・夏皮羅, 安娜・希亞特, 麥克・霍伊特... 祖爾曼說沒人需要做發行報紙以外的事令這種覺得錢會自動進口袋的觀點進格堅持把它擺在編輯室的核心搬到了聖荷西市中心的新 ... 拉攏整個編輯室投入電子實驗都有困難的男人如今成了奈特瑞德集團在數位世界的開路先鋒撇開信使中心的員工 羅維爾童其中一 ...
-
The Mass Media Election: How Americans Choose Their President
By Thomas E. PattersonA detailed study of presidential election news coverage and its effect on voters focuses on the news audience and the images of candidates.
-
Women and the Press: The Struggle for Equality
By Patricia BradleyHelen Campbell In an age of muckraking and of women's involvement in re- form, Helen Campbell's 1886–87 series on poverty for the New York Tribune may not be surprising. But Campbell was writing slightly before the muckraking era was in ...
-
Prime-time Television: A Concise History
By Barbara Moore, Marvin R. Bensman, Jim Van DykeHoffman is captured after a brief shootout and a tear - gassing that forces him into the handcuffs of Friday . His trial is set for May 14th , but a week before his court date Hoffman escapes by climbing down seven stories inside a ...
-
Mass Communication Research: Major Issues and Future Directions
By Walter Phillips DavisonBrooks , J. G. 1969. American syndicalism : the IWW . New York , AMS Press . Brooks , J. M. 1970. A sociological study of commercial broadcast organizations . Ph.D. dissertation , Ohio State University . Brown , D. E. 1970.
-
Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict
By Paul Lewis“Perceived Personality Associations”; on the importance of shared humor in first encounters, see Barbara Fraley and Arthur Aron, “The Effect of a Shared Humorous Experience on Closeness in Initial Encounters,” Personal Relationships 11, ...
-
冷思考：社群時代狂潮下，我們如何在衝突中活出自己，與他者共存: How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds
By 亞倫．傑考布斯＃這世界太莫名我用思考求生 ＃思考不是一個人的事 ˙《巴黎評論》（Paris Review）編輯選書 ...
-
Bush's War: Media Bias and Justifications for War in a Terrorist Age
By Jim A. KuypersAnd how did the public hear what he said, especially as it was filtered through the news media? The eloquent and thoughtful Bush's War shows how public perception of what the president says is shaped by media bias.