The focus of this dissertation falls on the transformation of the fifth news filter of the propaganda model identified by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky in their Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. This transformation entails a shift from an anti-communist orientation, to an anti-Islamic orientation, and while this shift has been alluded to by several theorists, in what follows it will be dealt with more systematically. In this regard, it will be traced from its roots, in the tension between modernisation theory – as espoused by figures such as Daniel Lerner – and the anti-modernisation theory of Iranian scholars such as Ahmad Fardid, Jalal al-e Ahmad and Ali Shari’ati. Following this, the development of the anti-Islamic orientation of the fifth news filter, in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and the ensuing Iranian hostage crisis, will be explored. This will be done as a precursor to examining the continued reflection of the related tropes and stereotypes in US mainstream film, with particular focus falling on Ben Affleck’s Argo (2012). Finally, this dissertation will conclude with a consideration of the possible effects of such representations on the tensions between the US and Iran over the latter’s nuclear ambitions.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 13, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-147)