Government subsidized propaganda from Hollywood

[rambone]

Here’s an interesting article from the Washington Post about the heavy influence of the Pentagon on the funding and production of Hollywood movies, making them a little more than propaganda disguised as entertainment.

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25 years later, how 'Top Gun' made America love war

Robert Anderson, the Navy’s Hollywood point person, put it even more clearly to PBS in 2006: “If you want full cooperation from the Navy, we have a considerable amount of power, because it’s our ships, it’s our cooperation, and until the script is in a form that we can approve, then the production doesn’t go forward.”

The result is an entertainment culture rigged to produce relatively few antiwar movies and dozens of blockbusters that glorify the military. For every “Hurt Locker” — a successful and critical war film made without Pentagon assistance — American moviegoers get a flood of pro-war agitprop, from “Armageddon,” to “Pearl Harbor,” to “Battle Los Angeles” to “X-Men.” And save for filmmakers’ obligatory thank you to the Pentagon in the credits, audiences are rarely aware that they may be watching government-subsidized propaganda.

 

[NYFelon]

Pearl Harbor sure, But Armageddon, Battle L.A. and X-Men? That's quite a stretch if you ask me.

 

[eldirector]

I thought Hollywwod was anti-war?

Now it comes out they are pro-war? Or maybe just pro-money.

I've got no problem with the Navy approving the script for Top Gun. I'd hope the producers paid the expenses for all ships, jets, and crew as well. Nothing is free, and it all has strings attached.

 

[Birds Away]

Question: Say someone decided it would be a great idea to make a movie about you. Say they decided that in order for it to be believable they needed to use your house, your car, all of your other stuff. Would you give them permission to use all of this stuff and then spend the entire movie trashing you and everything you stand for?

 

[rambone]

Question: Say someone decided it would be a great idea to make a movie about you. Say they decided that in order for it to be believable they needed to use your house, your car, all of your other stuff. Would you give them permission to use all of this stuff and then spend the entire movie trashing you and everything you stand for?

Does everything I own come from confiscating money from others? Am I the government?

 

[badwolf.usmc]

Hurt locker was POS film. If you a good film about the current wars watch Restrepo or Armadillo.

 

[Expat]

Pearl Harbor sure, But Armageddon, Battle L.A. and X-Men? That's quite a stretch if you ask me.

And Pearl Harbor came out quite awhile ago IIRC. Okay, I looked it up. It was released May 2001, so pre war on terror. Hollywood released a bunch of movies trashing the military after that. No one went to see them though. I have been a bit surprised they haven't responded with a few pro-military movies because they love money more than their principles usually.

 

[gunowner930]

Nah, I don't think Top Gun made Americans love war, it just made a bunch of poor bastards join the Navy because they thought they were going to be flying F-14s. Then they ended up wearing a janitor uniform with a baseball cap, and did nothing more than swab decks. Movies like that make great recruitment tools.

 

[mike8170]

Some of it I can see. Heartbreak Ridge was scripted to be about the Rangers on Grenada, but the Army did not want the image that Clint Eastwood portrayed (drunk, broken marriage, training that was not to standard, etc.). That is why in the bar scene when he was bailed out the SGM was saying that he and Highway were Rangers in Korea. They had to do that to tie it in to Heartbreak Ridge. I think the branches should have a say. Of course, I can see why the Jarheads think this movie would be a great recruiting tool!

 

[Cwood]

You act as this is new and secret information. The US has been using Hollywood since WWII for movies.

 

[ghunter]

Rambone, you can be my wing man any time!

 

[ATOMonkey]

Mother Goose you *****!!!

 

[ATOMonkey]

Hurt locker was POS film. If you a good film about the current wars watch Restrepo or Armadillo.

+1 to Restrepo.

 

[9lock]

I would say the cop/detective/crime scene/law tv shows are more prevalent.

 

[UncleMike]

You act as this is new and secret information. The US has been using Hollywood since WWII for movies.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In fact, the Howard Hughes film, Hells Angels, was considered pro War propaganda by some people when it was finally released in 1930.

 

[steveh_131]

I would say the cop/detective/crime scene/law tv shows are more prevalent.

Agreed. Seems like most primetime shows are about law enforcement. And they always idolize the cop who bends the law.

Stabler on SVU, anyone?

 

[rambone]

I would say the cop/detective/crime scene/law tv shows are more prevalent.

AGREED. TV is a nonstop stream of propaganda.

You act as this is new and secret information. The US has been using Hollywood since WWII for movies.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In fact, the Howard Hughes film, Hells Angels, was considered pro War propaganda by some people when it was finally released in 1930.

Just as long as we can all freely call it the propaganda that it is.