Watch DeflatingThe Elephant

DEFLATING THE ELEPHANT: THE FRAMED MESSAGES BEHIND CONSERVATIVE DIALOGUE teaches us how language affects our lives...specifically through framed messages and metaphors as it relates to how progressives and conservatives communicate. Language always comes with what is called "framing," meaning every word is connected to a concept. How those concepts are used and repeated have proven to shape ideology, behavior and thought-process.

Featuring George Lakoff, author of Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know and Liberals Don't and Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, a professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, who dissects the conservative dialogue and provides explanations and examples of how they have spent the last 35 years perfecting their ideas and their language. When we hear certain phrases like "tax relief," "war on terror," or "gay marriage," they automatically illicit opinions that support conservative thinking.

Narrated by Award Award Winner, Sean Penn, this is an invaluable learning tool for anyone who wants to learn how to "read-between-the-lines" and recognize the real meaning behind framed messaging.