The greatest documentary about the power of television news I have ever seen. I quote my friend Garrett when he says that every cable package that includes Fox News ought to include Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera is partisan — but in the story of the Iraq war their side was (and is) right. They then take the ball and roll with is. What’s so fascinating, and I don’t think the subjects of Control Room would disagree, is that the mucky-mucks at Al Jazeera are very pro-democracy. They are big fans of the American Constitution. If they (and we) could only find a country that adheres to that old documents we’d have something. It is just amazing how I — someone who has a lot of free time and watches a lot of news — never realized that the missile attack of the Al Jazeera outpost in Baghdad happened just 1 day before the famous statue of Saddam fell. My consent was almost manufactured.
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Welcome
Jordan Hoffman is a New York-based writer and film critic working for The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Thrillist, Times of Israel, NY Daily News and elsewhere.
He is the host of ENGAGE: The Official Star Trek Podcast, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and challenges you to a game of backgammon.