Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes (2018)

Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Roger Ailes is the grandfather of outrage culture. Sure, it has always existed to a certain degree. But with Roger’s development of Fox News, that culture turned into both a commodity and a form of propaganda. For those already aware of the game that Roger is playing, this isn’t really news but it still helps to have a film such as this that places everything into perspective.

Fort starters, we get to know a little bit about Roger’s early days. He grew up as a cynic, recognizing the world as a hideous place where the only way you’ll get to make a mark is if you’re cruel enough. His methods were to drum up the most provocative of imagery to rile up the masses while presenting the most manipulative of media. His early days of propaganda in the 1980s found him using his mastery of media to get conservatives into office. In particular, he revived the image of Mitch McConnell by shooting a commercial with his fishing. However, someone who worked with Roger reveals that Mitch knew nothing about fishing. Staging the shoot proved to be difficult since Mitch wouldn’t lift a finger without Roger’s approval.

Further developments in television led to him assembling his crew. Some of them were merely there to gross out the audience by talking about masturbation while the other host was meant to appeal to the conservative base who were easy enough to dupe. Bill O’Reilly became one of the early big names for his development of Fox News and it was easy enough to see why. His team would scour the news for items that would “rile up the crazies.” Is there a gay sex book that’s on the shelf in a public school? You better believe that’s going on The O’Reilly Factor.

When witnessing all this provocation for the most attention and the most ratings, the inevitable birth of Trumpism does not come as a shock. It’s perhaps surprising that it did not happen sooner. Trump was provocative and would quickly become a darling of the network. Even when Trump insulted a handful of reporters, he was kept front and center on the network. After all, he was good for ratings.

There’s a lot of interviews about Roger and his operations, along with his scummy nature of recommending his women give blowjobs for cred or show off more of their legs for the camera. It was surprising to see Glenn Beck actually come forward to reveal how Roger Ailes would try to psyche Beck out, hoping he’d crack and fishing for controversy. Others speak with chaotic encounters that led to Roger becoming paranoid and vicious with anybody who said anything even the least bit dissenting. It’s never fully confirmed in the documentary if Roger had the Fox News offices bugged but, considering his crackpot nature that led to extra security doors, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes is a creepy documentary that arrived about a year before the docudrama Bombshell. It’s a film that very much compliments Bombshell by showing just a bit more of the history behind the controversial figure who was riddled with sexual harassment, provocation, and immoral intent.