War as entertainment?

War as entertainment?

From Republika

The program aired by Lativi on March 26, 2003 was interesting to see. They raised a current and wicked issue to discuss: American invasion against Iraq. Adolf Posmah, as the host, presented British Ambassador to Indonesia, military analyst, Hasnan Habib and Nangogoy as resource persons.

Through this letter I would like to call into question the careless "conclusion" made by the host at the end of the program. He said that the American invasion against Iraq on TV had turned into a sort of entertainment eagerly awaited each day by Indonesian viewers. Although he used "quote-unquote" for the word entertainment twice, the guests quickly corrected his remarks, affirming that war was not a type of entertainment.

Looking awkward, the host finally admitted that it was not his intention to refer to the war being waged in Iraq as entertainment but as perhaps, "infotainment", a term which is also considered improper.

In my opinion, any TV coverage related with the American invasion should not be categorized into entertainment or comparable with "infotainment" by celebrities. War has widespread affects which are not at all entertaining.

THAMRIN SONATA

Pemalang, Central Java