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Who and what is being satirised in this video?

How is this achieved? Describe the techniques used.

Go to The Guardian and then The Chaser.
How is the purpose of these two websites different?
In what ways are the two websites similar?
Why do they have similarities?

Using these questions discuss:

• What do you think satire is?
• What is the purpose of satirical texts? (To entertain? To persuade?)

1.During the title sequence Conrad Brean (played be Robert De Niro) is taken downstairs into darkened basement with spot-type lighting. This is a parody of old WWII movies in which secret conferences were often held in underground bunkers.
a. How does this allusion make us feel about the President and his staff?

b. How do the cutaways to grainy blue-tinged high angle shots add to the mood?

c. Two elements of this scene seem out of place here:
i. Brean does not look like the uniformed military men of WWII movies. Describe his appearance and indicate why it is surprising.

ii. Those old war movies favour ominous, eerie orchestral music. Describe the opening soundtrack of this film and the atmosphere it creates.
d. What expectations did you have about the subject of the film, after viewing the opening sequence?

2. Look closely at the political adds that the President’s advertising staff has devised. How is the conversation between the jockeys meant to influence people?

3. When they decide that the President should stay in China, how do they explain his change of plans? How do the media react? Are they accepting of the explanation or sceptical?

4. When the President apparently objects to the decision to stay in China, Brean says: “Tell him how sick he is.” In what other ways do the scriptwriters make the President look powerless?

5. Brean says: “We’re not going to have a war – we’re going to have the appearance of a war.” Why does he choose Albania? How does he set about creating this massive illusion?

What effect has the internet had on traditional media outlets? Do you think the “commercialisation” of the internet could derail the “information revolution”? How has the internet changed the ways in which we communicate in the early 21st century?

Write a review of Wag the Dog? What did you think? Has it dated? Is it relevant today? What sort of issues immediately identify themselves in the film? What is the purpose of the film? What genre might it be categorised as? What similar texts have you experienced to this?

“To what degree does the media influence public opinion?”

Discuss the ways in which the media is used to inform, manipulate, distract or persuade viewers.