Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

worldbeyondwar.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 577 posts

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#141

Post by obblekk »

ignoramous wrote: post #105

See also this discussion on " The [erstwhile] Indianisation of China " by Hu Shih, a Chinese academic: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0009445514534119 > [Hu Shih] was among the first contributors for radical ideological change and modernity in China. His article on the 'Indianization of China' presented a scathing criticism of Indian influence on China that inhibited the blooming of 'indigenous modernity',…

I think Persianisation of India occured mostly due to conquest by Muslim leaders from Persian roots (see: https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/invasions...).

This is different than Hu Shih's point about non-military cultural influence. Military led cultural influence happens by force. Non military cultural influence happens attraction to culture. Post-WW2 United States had both in combination.

Didn't know about Hu Shih otherwise, so thanks for sharing.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#142

Post by xcambar »

icare_1er wrote: post #117
xcambar wrote: post #77

In France, the french secret services (DGSE) worked hand-in-hand with the production of a TV show called The Bureau ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4063800 ). The services were supposedly lacking diverse resources for both operators, admins and field agents of diverse backgrounds. This series drew a very strong, credible and positive narrative that led to a massive number of people knocking at the doors of the DGSE to…

There is no evidence the show was designed as an advertisement for the DGSE. This is simply a happy side-effect of it being popular... I see a big difference with using movies as propaganda to influence the planet's opinions. At the same time, one has to be blind to not see that any cinema industry has a political agenda, I mean, just watch the average Netflix production and it is striking.

> There is no evidence the show was designed as an advertisement for the DGSE.

It is for me inconceivable that the DGSE did not think of the outcome before agreeing to be an active collaborator of the show, and act accordingly to it's own benefits.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#143

Post by camillomiller »

anovikov wrote: post #44
camillomiller wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try asking most people about the Vietnam War, then visit Vietnam, especially the war museum in Saigon. Then pay a visit to the Landmine museum outside of Siam Reap, in Cambodia, to learn about Nixon's secret war that carpeted the border between Cambodia and Vietnam with bombs and landmines without anyone knowing. That's a trip that would make you rethink America big time. It absolutely did for me. As an Italian, I wa…

What was bad about it? The idea was to make overland transport through Cambodian territory (which U.S. did not want to outright invade) to supply Vietcong as difficult as possible. Vietnam war may have been brutal, and eventually lost, but it disincentivised everyone else in the Southeast Asia from turning to Communism, so in the end it was a net benefit for the free world.

This answer here is exactly why you should visit the landmine museum near Seam Reap. Because if you don't grasp how carpet bombing civilians in a country you're not at war with doesn't strike you as bad, you just really NEED to stick your damn nose in it. You need to see what it means to carpet bomb a country. To plant landmines and forget them there. Vietnam's socialism has never been Russian or Chinese socialism, by the way. Ho Chi Minh was a peaceful intellectual, who studied in France under illuminist and progressive mentors. I disagree with the basics of communists society, but the neoliberal spirit that opposes that has been way more detrimental to the world than what they were trying to fight.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#144

Post by imwillofficial »

systemvoltage wrote: post #54
kzrdude wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an example of a well-cemented "good-vs-evil" dichotomy in the sense that the story of good vs evil in WWII has been told and retold so many times, that people can't imagine arguing with it. The concepts of "good" and "evil" are interesting, for example the discussion of the Banality of Evil (Arendt) etc.

Yes, many philosophers (e.g. Nietsche) wrote of it. It is a pretty well established moral line today, completely undisputed - the holocaust, terrorism, etc. It is beyond political ideology.

If you accept the facts as presented in history books without critical review, sure.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#145

Post by 1_player »

prmoustache wrote: post #20

I cringe every time I hear the US president being described as the leader of the free world, as if there were 2 specific sides and USA were leading it and as if USA was an advocate for freedom.

Or just the fact that whenever there is an alien invasion, worldwide apocalypse or destruction, the effort to rebuild always starts from the USA. Every time I watch any of those movies I think "I wonder how Europe is faring..."

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#146

Post by cycomanic »

I suspect something similar is going on with all the cop/crime shows that show the "hero" cops completely disregard the law and due process. This always happens in situations where all the viewers completely agree that it is justified, e.g. a clear bad/evil guy (we already know he did it) and a small child that has to be saved from a prison...

I think this is essentially suposed to make us conceive law enforcement as always right and doing everything to "keep us safe" even if they have to disregard the law. You can clearly see it's working in how many people unquestionably support the police.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#147

Post by mrVentures »

teawrecks wrote: post #129
goodpoint wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but in a comparison between the USA and the USSR That's a false dichotomy if I ever seen one.

It's literally a dichotomy by definition. If I say "in a comparison between chocolate and vanilla" I'm literally comparing those two specific flavors. To tell me it's a false dichotomy is silly.

I guess they are saying that there are other options. So for example if I asked you "what is your favorite ice cream flavor, vanilla or chocolate?" you might respond to me with "that's a false dichotomy, there are more than two ice cream flavors, my favorite is banana which you have not listed as an option". At least that is my understanding of the context.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#148

Post by alephr »

Is this some kind of marketing for the mentioned movie? The article mentions documents that are supposed to substantiate it's claims but then it just goes into speculation and only linking to other articles the author wrote. The mentioned movie doesn't even seem to be publicly available. Weird to see this here.

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#149

Post by sitkack »

ilaksh wrote: post #34
kklisura wrote: post #24

Tangentially: Isn't it interesting that no anti-war movies are being produced anymore? I'm guessing it might be because we're living in a bit more peaceful times than before and there is no need for such movies, but also access to military equipment for producing such movies would be very limited.

But there are many countries where it has not been peaceful. Ask the people of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, eastern Ukraine, Iran, etc. if they feel we are living in peaceful times.

And https://historyguild.org/africas-world-war-the-congo-war/

Re: Pentagon and CIA shaped thousands of Hollywood movies into effective propaganda

#150

Post by imwillofficial »

systemvoltage wrote: post #43
ilaksh wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, because there is this magical line in history where everything was different. It's just that the propaganda for that war was so incredibly effective for so long, it is nearly impossible to find people who see it in a realistic light. Normally the magic line goes the other way -- people think propaganda or such may have existed in the bad old days but in "modern times" of course everything is copacetic.

What people don't realize is that the following: > In 1939, estimates of the Army's strength range between 174,000 and 200,000 soldiers, smaller than that of Portugal's, which ranked it 17th or 19th in the world in size. [1] Despite of the abundant resources, it was largely a sleeping nation militarily prior to WWII. Air Force was essentially non-existent. Pearl Harbor was the critical moment that kicked the US Milit…

“for their own security” Heard that one before.

Last time I bought that line I gave 5 years of my life to Uncle Sam.

Post reply on HN