Or the interactive model which takes into consideration the listener and communicators shared fields of experience (Fiske, 2011) are rewarding in understanding the films message. On the other hand, since the message of a faux war is constructed to direct public and mass media attention from a presidential sex scandal, the strongest and most apt communication model for explaining the always problematic message in Wag the Dog is the constructivist model of communication initially brought forward by Delia and her associates in 1982.
In reference to Wag the Dog the central problem of the film is The White House’s manipulation of media by creating a fake war to disclose the fact that the President of the United States had recently been involved in a sex scandal. The reason this is characterised as an issue derives from the assumption that the media are designed to serve for the public interest (McQuail, 1987). However, as seen in the subject of the movie, the media doesn’t serve for the public instead it serves the interest of the President by constructing false conflict and manipulating attention. This action is known as Message Production which is a key factor in the constructivist model of communication. …show more content…
A prevalent thought linked with social perception is that, a body elected into power should strive to stay true and loyal and take the responsibility of the public. In spite of this understanding, the President in Wag the Dog derails from his elected obligation and involves himself in a scandal. As an approach of not altering the way in which he is perceived by the public, the fabricated war that is referred to above is created. Social Perception, is a complicated theory attributed to the constructivist model as it usually involves the two parties surrounding the message. The first party in the film, is the idea of the public and media. The perception of this party, is that the President is to be a strong figure with a high caliber of power over their country and should have his full focus on running the United States and if he isn’t loyal to his wife and family then why should they perceive him as loyal to his job? Understanding this perception, the President and his associates whom are the second party in the films problematic message, alter fact to create a fictional scenario to destitute the medias attention of the scandal. Within the study of communication, there is constantly at least two bodies involved in a message (Barnlund, 2008). Those who deliver the desired message and those