The Occupation of the American Mind

Synopsis

Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world -- except the United States. The Occupation of the American Mind takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S.

Narrated by Roger Waters and featuring leading observers of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. media culture, the film explores how the Israeli government, the U.S. government, and the pro-Israel lobby have joined forces, often with very different motives, to shape American media coverage of the conflict in Israel's favor. From the U.S.-based public relations campaigns that emerged in the 1980s to today, the film provides a sweeping analysis of Israel's decades-long battle for the hearts, minds, and tax dollars of the American people in the face of widening international condemnation of its increasingly right-wing policies.

Featuring Roger Waters, Amira Hass, M.J. Rosenberg, Stephen M. Walt, Noam Chomsky, Rula Jebreal, Henry Siegman, Rashid Khalidi, Rami Khouri, Yousef Munayyer, Norman Finkelstein, Max Blumenthal, Phyllis Bennis, Norman Solomon, Mark Crispin Miller, Peter Hart, and Sut Jhally.

Release Date:2016

Duration:84 min

ISBN:1-932869-92-1

Subtitles:English

Trailers

Watch the trailer

Filmmaker Credits

A Media Education Foundation Production

Executive Producer

Sut Jhally

Writer, Producer & Director

Loretta Alper

Writer, Producer & Director

Jeremy Earp

Editor

Jason Young

Editor

Jeremy Earp

Resources: Downloads and Related Links

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Praise

"This terrific and memorable film comes at just the right time, when the lockstep mentality that promotes Zionist sympathies in the U.S. is eroding fast. The Occupation of the American Mind lays bare the fictions that underpinned this mentality for so long, and shows us why these fabrications are now being challenged so confidently."

Andrew Ross
Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University

"This is a film that demands to be seen. It shows, with devastating precision, how effective propaganda can hide crimes that are epic in scale and have catastrophic consequences. Please see this film, hire it, screen it, talk about it."

Ken Loach
Television and Film Director

"One of the most compelling and important documentaries in recent years, because it helps us make sense of the lies, mayhem, and injustice in the heart of the Middle East: Palestine. Never has propaganda, or 'public relations', been such a lethal weapon as it is in the hands of Israel, its apologists, and manipulators. To reach behind the facade that is 'news', watch this film."

John Pilger
Journalist and filmmaker

"Every American needs to watch this film in order to understand how the culture industries and the political pundits have shaped a one-sided narrative of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and erased the basic human dignity of the Palestinians from the American media landscape. The Occupation of the American Mind seeks to restore that dignity for American viewers. It is an essential film."

Vijay Prashad
Editor of Letters to Palestine: Writers Respond to War and Occupation
Professor of International Studies, Trinity College

"This hard-hitting, fact-based documentary is a must-see for anyone who wants to understand the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its distorted coverage in the corporate media -- and how the American public has been systematically lied to again and again. An indispensable resource for both the novice and the expert."

Deepa Kumar
Associate Professor of Media Studies, Rutgers University

“A stunning exposé on how propaganda drives public opinion and, in turn, our understanding of reality. Here's the story of how American perceptions of the Middle East -- as well as resulting legislation and military strategy -- are engineered: from focus group to talking points to mortar fire.”

Douglas Rushkoff
Professor of Media Theory, CUNY
Media Commentator for CNN

"Amazing! Brilliantly exposes how American media is an active partner in the ugly and illegal occupation of Palestine. By promoting inaccurate narratives of self-defense and disguising the true stakes of the crisis, the State of Israel is able to garner sympathy and solidarity at a moment where it deserves outrage and critique. This is a must-watch documentary for anyone interested in understanding the truth of the Occupation and the failures of Western journalism."

Marc Lamont Hill
CNN political analyst and host of HuffPost Live

"A great piece of work. Not only lays out the case for mainstream media malfeasance but also provides a clear and concise explanation of the history and contemporary politics behind the Israeli occupation of Palestine."

Robert Jensen
School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin
Author of Arguing for Our Lives: A User's Guide to Constructive Dialog

“The Occupation of the American Mind is one of the most brilliant and important documentaries I have ever seen. If you’re a university librarian or faculty member who cares about open debate and free inquiry on American college campuses, you absolutely have to make sure this film is in your school's collection. It’s mandatory viewing for students who want to understand how powerful interests manipulate the news and politics in a 'free' society. It will change the way they understand the world."

Robert W. McChesney
Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Co-author, People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy

"Harrowing and incendiary! A vital and unmissable film."

Dave Zirin
The Nation magazine

"Compelling, revealing, and chilling. Not only demonstrates how hasbara -- Israeli propaganda -- became American common sense, but it offers one of the best accounts of Israel's violent dispossession and occupation of Palestinian lands. For over half a century, Americans drank the Kool-Aid concocted by the Israel lobby, the U.S. media, and virtually all elected officials because there were no alternatives. This film -- like the movements that inspired it -- is the antidote."

Robin D. G. Kelley
Author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
Professor of American History at UCLA

"A cutting, carefully argued expose of the decades-long campaign of Israel and its defenders to deceive the U.S. public about the historical roots and present realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... The film also offers a measured analysis of the role of the pro-Israel lobby in forming U.S. Middle East policy and the complicity of the United States in the perpetuation of the conflict. Let's hope the filmmakers are right that the tide of public opinion is turning in favor of equal rights for all and that U.S. policy will eventually be forced to follow suit."

Chris Toensing
Executive Director and Editor, Middle East Report

"As courageous as it is informative, brilliantly produced and faithful to its search for the truth, The Occupation of the American Mind makes clear how the current right-wing government in Israel has weaponized knowledge, eviscerated a range of critical interpretations, and obliterated the voices of reason in the interest of controlling the media and public relations apparatuses in the United States. Everyone should watch this film, debate its assumptions, and test its insights against the issue of what education and public relations should look like in a democracy."

Henry Giroux
Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University

"I wish every American would watch this powerful documentary. Not only every person of conscience, but every taxpayer, must see it -- and then ask themselves if the status quo is acceptable and can continue deep into the 21st century."

Gideon Levy
Columnist for Haaretz