The men and women who are employed by the US military to fight its hegemonic wars often suffer from serious mental illness. Depression, PTSD/trauma, extreme anxiety and stress – these are commonplace among people both within the military and among veterans. In this episode I explore how the Pentagon's entertainment liaison offices have become less sympathetic to their own troops over time. This has resulted in a policy that effectively excludes realistic portraits of military mental illness from DOD-supported projects, censoring Hollywood for political ends. I analyse how this policy has developed over time, affecting films, documentaries and popular TV shows. I also provide a review and case study of the film A Few Good Men, a film the Pentagon tried but failed to censor.(Read more...)
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