American Exception
patreon
Episode 15: Hollywood, the Pentagon, and the CIA
🕑 Added 2022-01-20 05:12:40 +0000 UTCAaron speaks with Dr. Matthew Alford, one of the co-producers of the soon to be released documentary film, Theaters of War. They discuss the film and it main subject--the covert and propagandistic role of the Pentagon and CIA in the entertainment world.
Alford is the co-author with Tom Secker of National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood. Along with TJ Coles, he is also co-author Union Jackboot: What Your Media and Professors Don't Tell You About British Foreign Policy, as well as author of The Writer with No Hands—a book, I hope to discuss on a future episode.
Here's a trailer for Theaters of War featuring Matthew Alford.
Also check out Tom Secker's site, Spy Culture.
Special thanks to Casey Moore for the episode art and Dana Chavarria for the sound engineering!
Music: "World of Machines" by Mock Orange
Comments
Aaron Good
Yes, the film's great. I think there may eventually be some other option for purchase, but I don't know.
Cory
Just watched it on vimeo. It's good. I read national security cinema when it came out but this was still engaging and had new material. Wish there was some middle ground option between renting for 48 hours and buying a $500 exhibition copy. I like to download shit lol. But really anyone who's on the fence should watch it. It gets into its stride at about 30 minutes.
Aaron Good
Yes, it's actually Herman and Chomsky... Herman is also much cooler than Chomsky. I think I say Herman at some point, but maybe that wasn't in this episode...
Joe
If I'm not mistaken, Chomsky gives Herman credit for the propaganda model. It's great that the show is branching out. I'd love an episode on the NRO. I only just learned of Hubble's design being based on spy satellites.
dogsbeout
Awesome. Looking forward to watching it
Aaron Good
Great film. Amazing it got made. I think like They Live the corporate execs decided not promote it much because of its radical message
dogsbeout
Any thoughts about the Webb biopic Kill the Messenger? I haven’t seen it yet but I was expecting it to be trash until I read how much trouble it had with distribution, etc.
Aaron Good
It's a labor of love...and I do really feel for this generation. Maybe one bright side is that the big mythical lies are not going to resonate as much with them because they came of age when the Establishment had pretty much discredited itself...
Jon Croteau
Thank you for your work. It is our job to slay this dragon to clear a path for the zoomers.
Aaron Good
I like it, by and large. Morris is ultimately a liberal guy who seems to stake out the left-most point of the mainstream when it comes to war and covert operations. That is maybe damning him by faint praise, but whatever. His mini-documentary on the JFK assassination "Umbrella Man" for the NY Times was really weak. Wormwood at least has some really interesting stuff and I even draw from it a little in American Exception, specifically Hersh's statements about an assassination unit in the CIA for security risks like Olsen...
Matt Pierce
Great episode. I wonder what you make of the Errol Morris documentary that came out Netflix about the Olson assassination, Wormwood? Have you seen it?
NYCM&AHole
This is why I stay up late jk it’s because I work until 2am or later every night
