THE GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB

Only one person in class thought this documentary did NOT qualify as alternative media. His reasons? HBO is a subscription ENTERTAINMENT channel aimed at a targeted audience, not a broad one; and the structure of the movie is very traditional. It breaks no new ground.

One person expressed a bit of doubt, but everyone else was pretty certain. Your reasons? In order of how often they were mentioned:

1. Treats viewers as citizens, not primarily consumers
2. Not made primarily for profit
3. Challenges the status quo, specifically the policy of the US Government and/or our attitudes toward the US military and war
4. Goes beyond or in a different direction than conventional media coverage
5. Interested not just in facts, but in finding out the truth even though it might be unpopular
6. Exposes truths we don't necessarily want to know -- "harsh" things
7. Unbiased
8. Biased
9. Uses ordinary people on both sides of the war as sources
10. Tries to educate

Interesting comments:

"I had no idea this place existed."

“If Rumsfeld watched this, he’d turn Miller loose on those who participated in its production.”