Australian International Academy

Kellyville Campus

Assessment Task Cover Sheet

Unit Name: Is History a Play?

Title: Assessment task 2 – Is history a Play?

Name: Anousha Ibrar

Year Level: 8A Subject: English

Date: 5/6/2020 Word Count: 702

 Troy 24 makes a statement about war being a form of entertainment for society
Troy 24 is a play adaptation that focuses on the historic battle of the trojan war whilst including a
modern aspect of having a news media broadcast company cover the war in a modern take. Troy 24
incorporates a news media team that is constantly broadcasting, interviewing, and presenting the Trojan
war. It makes a statement about war being a form of entertainment for society which is completely
incorrect.
Troy 24’s main priority and theme is manipulation. We can see this in the following quotes from pg. 19;
a conversation Phoebe and Perses are having with the audience. Phoebe: But whatever the outcome,
we will certainly be seeing some more in the way of action.
Perses: And you can be sure that Troy 24 will be on hand to bring you live coverage of that action.
In these quotes from the book, their main priority is not to deliver the actual story of what happened,
quote from phoebe, “we’ll certainly be seeing more of that action” they just care about the action of the
war so that they get the views they want. Phoebe also says “whatever the outcome” which gives us (the
reader) that she doesn’t care about who wins or who loses, she just cares about the action being
displayed on the screen, basically, they are manipulating the viewers into thinking that this is all fun and
games and the war is just a form of entertainment. They do this so that their ratings go up and they
receive more money.
In the article ‘What is Media manipulation’, the author writes, quote, “My job was to use the media to
make people do or think things they otherwise would not.” This is literally proving the point that many
news broadcasting companies ‘use’ their viewers and manipulate them into thinking they are presenting
something exclusive on screen that no one has ever done before in order for them to receive money.
On pg. 66, Phoebe says, quote, “Don’t know. Don’t care. As long as there is something on the screen.
Nobody ever listens to what he says anyway”. This quote is telling us, the way she acts on screen is not
even half of the brat she is off screen. She only cares about the fact if there is something on the screen
or not.

The article ‘What is media manipulation’ quotes, “Manipulators can deceive journalists because
journalists are not held responsible for deceiving readers.” If Professor Omeros was considered a
journalist, he would have been considered as ‘deceived by Phoebe’ to present something on the screen
as a distraction to the viewers while they try to connect with the cameramen on the battlegrounds.

Another example of media manipulation in this play would be on pg. 80, quote, Perses “The boss. He
fixed the whole thing. Hector’s death, the whole war. It’s what he was saying: it’s not enough to report
the news, you have to make it”. This quote is showing that they do not care who they lose, who dies,
they simply care about their viewers. They do not show the fact that people have died, rather they use it
for the action and entertainment.

This is confirmed in the article ‘What is media manipulation’. The author states, quote “So it goes:
manipulators on both sides of the equation—the writers and the marketers and press agents—all
influencing the news to their own benefit. In this quote, it tells us that the ‘news’ reporters also get
influenced by different people. In this case, on Pg. 80 in the studio, Perse’s was influenced and believed
that the boss had changed everything, and that news should not be reported rather it should be made
up.
In conclusion, Troy 24 makes a false statement about war being a form of entertainment for society. This
statement is false because the studio’s whole priority and theme is to manipulate their viewers & the
character of the news presenters is very bossy and demanding. This statement is also false because war
is a matter of life and death, it cannot be taken lightly as it is in this ‘news’ studio.