All the waves made by Don’t Look Up have missed one key landmark – the Pentagon supported the movie. Unlike...
The post How the US Military Rewrote Don’t Look Up first appeared on Spy Culture.(Read more...)
My new book Superheroes, Movies and the State: How the US Government Shapes Cinematic Universes is now available. Co-authored with...
The post Superheroes, Movies and the State Now Available first appeared on Spy Culture.(Read more...)
The relationship between government liaison offices and the entertainment industry usually works well, resulting in added production value for the...
The relationship between government liaison offices and the entertainment industry usually works well, resulting in added production value for the...
Pearse invited me back onto Porkins Policy Radio to chat about my research into the little-known Science and Entertainment Exchange. We discussed how SEEX got started, their stated mission and aims and how they contrast sharply with what SEEX actually does, their ability to influence scripts and how the Pentagon are using SEEX due to […](Read more...)
Good friend Tom Secker joins me today in the first hour for an in-depth discussion of the Science and Entertainment Exchange (SEEX). Tom explains what this little know pseudo-govenment NGO is, and how they have been quietly assisting over 1,300 Hollywood films. We talk about their connection to the National Academy of Sciences and their connection to the state. Tom then discusses their stated aim: to assist Hollywood in depicting accurate science, and the promotion of science and scientists. Tom and I then explore how this is not quite an accurate assessment of their work.
Officially, the Science and Entertainment Exchange (or SEEX) is the outreach program of the National Academy of Sciences – a non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit honorific body who give awards and the like. In reality it is a government-funded entertainment liaison office who work closely with the military to help them accomplish their aims. A full account […](Read more...)
Newly released reports from the US Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office confirm their continuing influence over the political content of the productions they support and refer to a mysterious event called the 'Alaska CLT'. The role of the Science and Entertainment Exchange - technically a non-governmental body - was to assist with bringing entertainment industry bigwigs to this event on behalf of the Pentagon.
The first two Iron Man movies are far more important to cinematic history than their daft scripts, super-arrogant star performer and cartoonish presentation might suggest. Between them they made over $1.2 billion worldwide and established the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has since become the biggest film franchise of all time.
