Manufacturing Consent directed by Mark Achbar

Just over a year ago, I had the opportunity to interview Mark Achbar about his documentary The Corporation, a film that rightfully earned its reputation as a cultural and intellectual lightning rod. Since that conversation, I had been eager to finally sit down with another of his original works, Manufacturing Consent, and this week I was able to do just that. After watching the film three times over the course of six days, I’ve fallen completely in love with it, and these are a few thoughts that continue to linger.

Manufacturing Consent is, in many ways, a blast from the past assuming you consider its 1992 release date to be “the past.” Yet despite its age, the decades since its release have not dulled its relevance or impact. In fact, time has only sharpened it. Watching the film today feels much like rereading George Orwell’s 1984 in the present era. What once felt speculative now feels disturbingly familiar.

Centering on Noam Chomsky, the nearly three hour documentary is structured in a linear, categorical fashion that lays out his biography and body of work without the use of traditional narration or authored text. Instead, the film relies almost entirely on archival footage and sound bites from Chomsky’s public lectures and interviews. It is a rare editorial choice and one I both admire and fear.

From beginning to end, the film is packed with compelling clips drawn from Chomsky’s speaking history. I found myself captivated not only by his perspectives on society and media which are globally original and intellectually sharp but even more so by his method of exposing the premeditated and manufactured influence of American media since its earliest foundations. He carefully outlines how those in power use media to steer public opinion toward their own interests. It is a viewpoint rarely articulated with such precision, and I found myself continually drawn in by his ability to present complex ideas in a way that is both enlightening and deeply challenging.

Despite being a respected scholar and a devoted family man, Chomsky has remained steadfast in beliefs that have marginalized him within mainstream culture and, at times, threatened his professional standing. He openly speaks about freedom of speech, selective media coverage, military power, and political manipulation topics most public intellectuals avoid. As a result, he exists largely outside pop culture visibility and political favor, despite the immense value of his work. Ironically, this exclusion only reinforces the film’s central argument: that limiting exposure to dissenting perspectives helps streamline public thought and effectively “manufacture consent.”

What I respect most about Noam Chomsky is his ability to see outside the box in a way most people simply cannot. It is the kind of perspective that might make others want to scream, “You’re all going the wrong way.” Yet Chomsky, rather than shouting, calmly invites you to look again and decide for yourself.

That said, both the film and its subject are not without their weaknesses. The documentary is edited almost entirely through tightly matched sound and image bites, stitched together to form its narrative. While this approach is artistically compelling, it also restricts the range of information presented and subtly guides the viewer toward a specific conclusion based on what is included versus what is omitted. Some might argue that this is simply the nature of documentary filmmaking, but in doing so, the film arguably employs the same selective techniques it critiques within mainstream media.

In reality, limited information shapes perception in all forms of programming. As the film itself points out, when news entered television, it left the realm of journalism and entered show business. This truth applies universally. And while I am a strong supporter of Chomsky’s work and a genuine admirer of Manufacturing Consent, it is a film best watched with awareness and a critical eye.

Perhaps the most valuable takeaway is not agreement or disagreement with its thesis, but a heightened awareness of the information we consume, the motives behind those delivering it, and the stories that never make it into the mainstream at all.

For viewers with access to Hulu, Manufacturing Consent is available to stream there. A full length version can also be found on YouTube.

Thanks for reading.

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For viewers who can access Hulu you can watch this doc online here at Hulu.

Also Youtube has a full length version available here on Youtube.