US Army

The CIA and Hollywood 11 – The Men Who Stare at Goats - Spy Culture

Jay Dyer joins us for this episode where we analyse the 2009 comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats, loosely based on Jon Ronson's book of the same name. It tells the story of a journalist who is inducted into the world of psychic soldiers during the Iraq war. The movie goes on to explain some of the history behind the First Earth Battalion, an experimental Pentagon unit devoted to developing a new generation of super soldier informed by the hippy and New Age movements.

Pentagon Production Assistance Agreement for Man of Steel - Spy Culture

Sometimes the support of the DOD can improve a film. When the Pentagon provided Michael Bay with script notes and suggestions on Transformers III he 'was very receptive to our notes and expressed his desire for us to “help (him) make it better.”' However, Man of Steel was not so lucky. Whether in spite of or because of the Pentagon's support it was hands down the worst Superman film of all time.