Hollywood-Style History
Hollywood reinvents history as pro-Western propaganda.
by Stephen Lendman
Hollywood's complicity with Washington is longstanding. Movie moguls are duplicitous. The only thing they like like better than good films are good deals.
Washington's requests are prioritized. Scripts feature pro-Western propaganda. "Operation Hollywood" explains.
Daily Variety/Hollywood Reporter David Robb's book discussed Hollywood's longstanding relationship with the Pentagon.
It began post-WW 1. The 1927 silent film "Wings" starred Clara Bow. It launched Gary Cooper's career. It was about two WW I fighter pilot friends. It won Hollywood's first best picture award.
" Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies " tells more. Clayton Koppes and Gregory Black explained. It discusses Franklin Roosevelt's Office of War Information. It had enormous influence on Hollywood.
It impacted wartime filmmaking. Anyone growing up at the time remembers. WW II films proliferated. They're still shown on late night TV. Cable channels feature them. Government censors had final say. They controlled everything from casting to production.
Studio bosses were well compensated to collude. Long before Pearl Harbor, film content promoted war. In 1939, Warner Bros. premiered "Confessions of a Nazi Spy." It claimed Germany sought world conquest. It was before anyone knew Hitler's full intentions.
In 1940, Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" burlesqued Hitler, Mussolini, and Nazism. Other films featured war propaganda. Once America was attacked, they proliferated.
No plot too far-fetched was omitted. Even Tarzan was exploited. He waged war on Nazism in "Tarzan Triumphs."
Hitler was no match for the king of the jungle. He defeated German invaders singlehanded. An elephant blitzkrieg helped.
Movie moguls supported the war effort. Most of all they prioritized profits. They claim they give people what they want. They reinvent history doing so.
Pentagon generals supported and approved "Top Gun." A special Film Liason Office overseas propaganda filmmaking. It focuses on ones related to war. It chooses ones it wants.
It has final say on content and characters. It makes no secret of its purpose. It wants pro-Western propaganda featured. Few war films go other ways.
