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Pentagon File on Under Siege (1992) Reveals How to Punk the Entertainment Liaison Offices

Pentagon File on Under Siege (1992) Reveals How to Punk the Entertainment Liaison Offices

Pentagon File on Under Siege (1992) Reveals How to Punk the Entertainment Liaison Offices

‘Navy nurses were proper ladies and proper ladies did not get “horny” in 1941’ – DOD File on Pearl Harbor

‘Navy nurses were proper ladies and proper ladies did not get “horny” in 1941’ – DOD File on Pearl Harbor

‘Navy nurses were proper ladies and proper ladies did not get “horny” in 1941’ – DOD File on Pearl Harbor

NPR Censors Their Podcast To Cover Up for US Govt Censorship

Yesterday, NPR’s podcast Marketplace released a new episode titled How Chinese censorship changed “Top Gun” (and the rest of Hollywood)....

NPR Censors Their Podcast To Cover Up for US Govt Censorship

Yesterday, NPR’s podcast Marketplace released a new episode titled How Chinese censorship changed “Top Gun” (and the rest of Hollywood)....

NPR Censors Their Podcast To Cover Up for US Govt Censorship

Yesterday, NPR’s podcast Marketplace released a new episode titled How Chinese censorship changed “Top Gun” (and the rest of Hollywood)....

[Video] Jack Ryan, the CIA and Venezuela

A video essay presenting my breakdown of Amazon's Jack Ryan, including how the CIA, DOD and other US government agencies were involved in producing it.  I outline some of the history between the government and Tom Clancy productions before breaking down how seasons 1 and 2 are propaganda for US foreign policy.

Jack Ryan, the CIA and Venezuela

Jack Ryan, the CIA and Venezuela

Jack Ryan, Midway, and For All Mankind

It has been another curious week of half-truths, spin and outright falsehood as culture commentators get to grips with recent releases Jack Ryan (on Amazon), For all Mankind (on Apple TV) and Midway (in theaters now). We will start with Jack Ryan, because I’ve spent the last several weeks putting together a detail video essay about the show.

Swearing, Drugs and Ethnic Stereotypes: Why the US Military Rejected Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam is perhaps the most popular Vietnam war film ever made. Loosely based on the real life experiences of Army Forces Radio Service DJ Adrian Cronauer it takes a sideways look at the war that is often sardonic and satirical.

Swearing, Drugs and Ethnic Stereotypes: Why the US Military Rejected Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam is perhaps the most popular Vietnam war film ever made.  Loosely based on the real life experiences...

Swearing, Drugs and Ethnic Stereotypes: Why the US Military Rejected Good Morning, Vietnam

Good Morning, Vietnam is perhaps the most popular Vietnam war film ever made.  Loosely based on the real life experiences...

‘While the Script is Somewhat Clichéd, We Are Not Movie Critics’ – DOD Memo on The Heroes of Desert Storm

There aren't very many films about the first Gulf War, which is ironic because if ever there was a war for PR purposes, that was it.  While Jarhead and Three Kings were rejected by the Pentagon's Hollywood office, one film that did benefit from military support was The Heroes of Desert Storm.  As one Pentagon memo notes, the script is as hackneyed

‘While the Script is Somewhat Clichéd, We Are Not Movie Critics’ – DOD Memo on The Heroes of Desert Storm

‘While the Script is Somewhat Clichéd, We Are Not Movie Critics’ – DOD Memo on The Heroes of Desert Storm

Did the Pentagon Support Venezuela Coup Porn Jack Ryan Season 2?

As prep for my forthcoming video on Amazon's Jack Ryan as next-gen propaganda I've been keeping an eye on promotions and events around the launch of season two in November.  The first episode was shown at New York Comic-Con a few days ago, and at a panel discussion the new series regular Michael Kelly revealed that he shot a scene in a Blackhawk helicopter.  This appears to confirm that the Pe

Whistleblowers, Media & Leaks: Information Age or Censorship Era?

A few macro points on government whistleblowers, leaks and the media. If the media, journalists, did what they are supposed to be doing, would there be any need for channels such as Wikileaks? But the media, and almost all coopted alternative media with a large reach, have been doing the exact opposite- Here’s how. The […]

Napalm, Ambushes and Russian Roulette: Why the Pentagon Rejected The Deer Hunter

The epic war drama The Deer Hunter won five Oscars, despite the central conceit and metaphor of the film being inaccurate.  This conceit - that the Viet Cong forced American prisoners of war to play Russian Roulette - is the main reason the film was rejected for DOD support, along with scenes that made the US Army look incompetent or needlessly cruel. 

Napalm, Ambushes and Russian Roulette: Why the Pentagon Rejected The Deer Hunter

Napalm, Ambushes and Russian Roulette: Why the Pentagon Rejected The Deer Hunter

Snowden PR Stunt 2.0- Real vs. Fake vs. “Expired” Whistleblowers

In this video I briefly discuss Edward Snowden’s new book, the facts governing publishing books when it comes to government intel whistleblowers, government intelligence agencies’ Prepublication Review and Authorization process, and provide you with a broad overview of three types of Government Whistleblowers. The Lone Gladio Paperback The Lone Gladio e-Book Classified Woman Paperback Classified […]

Mecha-Marines: US Marine Corps Developing Aliens-style Exoskeleton

The US military’s attempts to duplicate action movie technology took another leap recently as the Guardian XO robotic exoskeleton was demonstrated at the recent Modern Day Marine expo.  The suit is an obvious knockoff of the power loader exosuit featured in Aliens over 30 years ago, and reports suggest that marines will begin testing the […]

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ROI: Does the Pentagon Fund Movies?

One of the most common conspiracy theories you hear in this line of research is that the Pentagon and CIA fund Hollywood movies.  This isn't entirely untrue - the CIA covertly funded productions of Animal Farm and 1984 in the early Cold War period - but on the whole, it is untrue.  In all the many thousands of documents I have about the government involvement in the entertainment industry, there are very few indications

Revolving Doors: Technical Advisors and The Entertainment-Propaganda Complex

The role of the technical advisor is crucial to understanding the military-Hollywood relationship, but very few people know who these people are or what they do.  Even less well known is that a significant number of private industry technical advisors used to work for the Pentagon's entertainment liaison offices, and are effectively continuing that work even after leaving th

Revolving Doors: Technical Advisors and The Entertainment-Propaganda Complex

The role of the technical advisor is crucial to understanding the military-Hollywood relationship, but very few people know who these...

Revolving Doors: Technical Advisors and The Entertainment-Propaganda Complex

The role of the technical advisor is crucial to understanding the military-Hollywood relationship, but very few people know who these...

ClandesTime 192 – The Cinema of the Navy SEALs

The US Navy SEALs are known as the ‘quiet professionals’, but in recent times they have become the highest-profile of all US special forces. In this episode I examine several films depicting the SEALs, how the Pentagon has shaped their public image through Hollywood, and why they have become so well known that now there is even a TV show named after them.

The US Navy Supported Captain Phillips – One of the Most Inaccurate Movies I’ve Ever Seen

Captain Phillips tells the story of the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama - a US container ship - off the coast of Somalia, and the subsequent US Navy intervention that killed three of the pirates and arrested the fourth.  It is also one of the least historically accurate films ever made, begging the question of why the real-life Navy supported it.  Thei

The US Navy Supported Captain Phillips – One of the Most Inaccurate Movies In Cinematic History

The US Navy Supported Captain Phillips – One of the Most Inaccurate Movies In Cinematic History

Disney’s Star Wars, the Military and the Worst Hats I’ve Ever Seen

Walt Disney World Resort’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens this week - 14 acres of Star Wars experience for those who want to waste their money on plastic replicas of pod racers, Jar Jar Binks masks and hair dye so they can look like Vice Admiral Gender Studies from The Last Jedi.  To promote this corporate abomination, Disney invited five military members and their families

The DOD and Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor is a piece of absolute militaristic schlock, starring the whiny-voiced Marky Mark Wahlberg as Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell - the only survivor of Operation Red Wings, a 2005 special forces joint operation in the summer of 2005.  Over 100 pages of Navy documents show their heavy involvement in the film and how they covered up for Luttrell's grossly inconsistent and contradictory accounts of what happened.

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How the Pentagon Rewrote GI Jane

GI Jane is a crude, clumsy attempt to show a 'woman's perspective' on being in the military, that ruined Demi Moore's career as a leading lady.  Little known until now is how the Pentagon negotiated with Ridley Scott to rewrite the script, and even though the film didn't qualify for military support some of the script changes made their way into the finished movie.

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Clint Eastwood and the Geneva Conventions

One issue that comes up repeatedly in the script changes enforced by the Pentagon is war crimes, and other violations of the Geneva Conventions.  As is so often the case I'm left thinking 'if only the DOD applied the same rules to real life wars as they do to the depiction of wars in Hollywood movies'. 

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Born on the 4th of July – Tom on Fortress on a Hill

In the second part of our discussion (following Combat Obscura), Henri, Keagan and I talked about the 1989 Oliver Stone classic Born on the 4th of July.  Based on the real life experiences of Ron Kovic, we charted the film's development in the late 70s and into the 80s, the Pentagon's response when they were approached about supporting the movie, and how the film captures the anti-Vietnam war m

ClandesTime 191 – The ‘Disguised’ Political Film in Hollywood

Why isn’t the ‘political film’ a genre of cinema? Hollywood puts out a consistent stream of politically-themed films, but rarely if ever promotes them as such.

Schlock ex Machina – Is Godzilla: King of the Monsters the Dumbest Movie Ever?

I was looking forward to Godzilla: King of the Monsters, having been a fan of giant creature features since I was a young boy.  The blend of massive-scale action and affirming our need to respect nature is a winning combination for me.  Then I watched it, and it was one of the dumbest films I have ever seen. 

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From Premises to Character Arcs – How Deeply the Military Rewrites Film & TV

Sometimes the US military's rewriting of scripts is very specific - take out this joke about the US losing in Vietnam, swap this bottle of beer for an energy drink, remove this scene where soldiers set fire to a village and rape all the women. At other times their requested changes are very broad in scope, affecting the overalls arcs and even the premises of films and TV shows.

From Premises to Character Arcs – How Deeply the Military Rewrites Film & TV

Why Amazon’s The Boys is the Most Subversive TV Show of the Year

Amazon Prime's The Boys is not only the most enjoyable TV show I've seen all year, it's also the most subversive.  While it will appeal to audiences suffering from superhero fatigue after more than a decade of relentless Marvel and DC products, it is so much more than that.  It subverts both superhero pop culture and the role that culture plays in promoting the military-industrial complex.&

Why Amazon’s The Boys is the Most Subversive TV Show of the Year

‘You Need to Keep an Eye on the Director’ – US Army emails

The US Army's emails on The Long Road Home show that not everything ran smoothly while filming progressed as Fort Hood.  While all of the information on script input is redacted, one email contains production notes from the Army's project officer Lt Col.

The New Jack Ryan Will Promote a Coup in Venezuela, but Why did the DOD Reject the Series?

The teaser trailer for season 2 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan depict John Krasinski as the eponymous hero in a Latin American country where there is an uprising against the government (cough, thinly-disguised Venezuela, cough).  Like season 1, I expect the show will by fully supported by the CIA but the DOD rejected the producers' requests for support, tu

The New Jack Ryan Will Promote a Coup in Venezuela, but Why did the DOD Reject the Series?

ClandesTime 187 – When Entertainment Liaison Offices Go Bad

The relationship between government liaison offices and the entertainment industry usually works well, resulting in added production value for the industry’s products and the furtherance of the government’s agendas. But sometimes things go wrong.

ClandesTime 187 – When Entertainment Liaison Offices Go Bad

The relationship between government liaison offices and the entertainment industry usually works well, resulting in added production value for the...

Western Media Coverage of Top Gun: Maverick Jacket Highlights Hypocrisy Over Military Censorship of Movies

A story doing the rounds in the last few days claims that the producers of Top Gun: Maverick changed the decals on the back of his leather jacket in order to 'appease Communist China'.  While the story may be true, not a single report has highlighted the much more egregious censorship of the original movie by the Pentagon. 

Western Media Coverage of Top Gun: Maverick Jacket Highlights Hypocrisy Over Military Censorship of Movies

The Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing and Heartbreak Ridge

The US military's negotiations on the 1980s Clint Eastwood vehicle Heartbreak Ridge were protracted and complex, resulting in numerous changes before the movie could be approved for Pentagon support.  This included changing Clint Eastwood's character from a soldier to a marine after the US Army rejected the script, but then having to rewrite his backstory to accomodate for historical accura

Spy Culture in the Washington Business Journal

News about this site appears to be spreading - after the flurry of articles citing Spy Culture around the release of Captain Marvel earlier this year, the Washington Business Journal put out a piece on the Top Gun: Maverick trailer using the production assistance agreement I obtained under FOIA.  In all honesty I'd never read the Washington Business Journal before this morning but I am glad that mo

“Shame on them, they know better” – When the Pentagon Fell Out with NCIS

For over a decade the CBS action drama NCIS has enjoyed a very close working relationship with the US military, which allows the entertainment liaison offices to review every script, even for episodes where they provide no support.  This unusual situation nearly fell apart in early 2014 when the producers refused to rewrite an episode the DOD didn't like, and then produced a pilot

“Shame on them, they know better” – When the Pentagon Fell Out with NCIS

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