WEBVTT - "CLASSIC: What is the Military-entertainment Complex? " 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.880 Fellow conspiracy realist. We are returning to you with a 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:09.280 classic today. This is something that we had a lot 0:00:09.360 --> 0:00:13.440 of fun with. We've all heard of the military industrial complex, 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.520 but what about the military entertainment complex. 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:22.800 That was the sound of a Navy jet flying by 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:25.479 and it was on your TV screen. 0:00:26.800 --> 0:00:31.760 Yeah, tanks rolling in the distance. The American Army is 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:35.120 coming in Acts three to rescue our heroes. 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.680 What is that an official M sixteen rifle? It looks 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:40.360 like it came right off of the line. 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:43.920 Hey, you know what's amazing about this video game? I 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:46.800 love it. Turns out that Uncle Sam actually paid for 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:47.400 a lot of it. 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:50.240 I think that's a real XM foreign call of duty. 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:58.080 We are talking about the US military entertainment complex. This 0:00:58.400 --> 0:01:03.080 is related kind to Eisenhower's old warning from his nineteen 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:07.679 sixty one farewell address there is a conspiracy afoot. There 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:12.240 are very close links between Hollywood and the Pentagon and Matt, 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.040 I think we had a ton of fun with this one. 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:18.720 I recall that it was fun. I also recall how 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:24.600 disturbing it was just realizing that we are being conditioned 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.280 in this very specific way that Ben I know personally, 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.880 I have had exposure to a lot in my lifetime. 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:36.480 Hmm, same same, Who doesn't love Gi Joe? 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:38.360 Oh? 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:45.200 Let's roll the day from UFOs to psychic powers and 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:50.040 government conspiracies. History is riddled with unexplained events. You can 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.400 turn back now or learn this stuff they don't want 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.640 you to know. A production of iHeartRadio. 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:09.560 Hello, welcome back to the show. My name is Matt, 0:02:09.760 --> 0:02:10.760 my name is Noah. 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.200 They call me Ben. We're joined as always with our 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:17.680 superproducer Alexis code name Doc Holliday Jackson. Most importantly, you 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.239 are you are here, and that makes this stuff they 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:27.120 don't want you to know. Let's start in January of 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:31.080 nineteen sixty one, although this isn't really where our story begins. 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:35.360 On January seventeenth, nineteen sixty one, an outgoing US president 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:38.760 named Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke to the American nation in 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:43.840 his farewell address. Now, as history buffs know, Eisenhower was 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.480 a military guy. He wasn't a diplomat. He wasn't kind of, 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.600 you know, like a a lawyer or something. He wasn't 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:53.840 given to prevarication. He didn't guild the lily very well. 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:58.880 He was pretty blunt in his speech that day, and 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:01.480 he issued the following warning. 0:03:01.280 --> 0:03:05.400 And the councils of government, we must guard against the 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:10.160 acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.200 military industrial complex. 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.920 So we've heard that phrase. That phrase has come up 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.720 in our show pretty often before, right, guys, the military 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:20.239 industrial complex. 0:03:20.560 --> 0:03:22.760 Oh yeah, it's a bit of a buzzphrase at this 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:23.400 point in history. 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.200 I would say, yeah, and it means a great number 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:31.320 of things. And to have Dwight D. Eisenhower, a man 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:33.600 who knew his stuff, speaking about it in that way 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:35.680 was certainly a warning. 0:03:36.080 --> 0:03:40.760 Yeah, a warning that would go on to become infamous 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:45.320 and tremendously impactful, especially as more and more of the 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.720 public became aware of the truth behind the thirty fourth 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:52.560 president's words. Because for a long time, you know, the 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:56.640 heads of business and the heads of politics, and the 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.760 heads of the military knew about this agglomeration of influence, 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.680 but you know, like the average person in Nebraska maybe 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.720 wasn't so aware of what went on in the halls 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:10.400 of Washington. Especially fun fact that speech is edited, and 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:13.600 I don't know if everybody knows that Eisenhower had kind 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:17.160 of a shaky relationship with Congress and his original speech 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:23.479 had the phrase as military industrial congressional complex doesn't have 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:24.320 the same ring to it. 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.240 We can just add a tiny bit to that, right, 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:30.400 just to discuss how the constituents of a senator or 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:35.000 a congressman may have an interest in that whole military 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:37.279 industrial complex side. 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:41.960 Oh sure, yeah, yeah, because you're supposed to serve your constituents. 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:46.240 The problem is defining constituent gets kind of sticky, right. 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:48.200 Do you think it was removed as to not throw 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.400 Congress under the bus, because I mean, is it said 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:53.800 as a negative? It's a negative, right. 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.760 Yeah, yeah, it's a negative. Well, it has the potential 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:01.919 to be a huge negative, and it's it's removed for 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:06.880 any number of speculated reasons. It could have been removed 0:05:07.400 --> 0:05:11.120 to be an olive branch to Congress or to avoid 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:19.599 poking their particular legislative beehive. But either way, we're not 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.760 here to talk about the military industrial complex today. We 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:25.440 have plenty of episodes that mention aspects of it, Please 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:30.080 check them out. Instead, we're talking about another similar phenomenon 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.560 that you have definitely seen. Even if you don't live 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:35.720 in the US, you have definitely been witnessed to this 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.840 and you may not have known exactly what was going on, 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.159 because it's the stuff they don't want you to know. 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:48.320 Today's episode, Folks, is about something called the Military Entertainment Complex. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.760 Here are the facts. To answer that question, we first 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.840 have to say, well, what the hell is this like? 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.960 A Is it like a high rise entertainment center where 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:00.640 you can go and get a day path and get 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.400 an Abrams tank? There there is a place where you 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:05.680 can ride a tank for fun here in Georgia. 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.440 Maybe just an elaborate paintball course. 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.680 See to me, it sounds like an arcade, like a 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:12.920 dope arcade. 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:16.719 Yeah, Like you get all the you can also get 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:21.760 some simulators, right, Like you can get a virtual Apache 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:26.240 flying machine, you can do all the space camp stuff. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.560 I'm still mad that I couldn't get the budget from 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.559 from our bosses to ride in the tank. I should 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.560 have done a better job picture there. I was just like, 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:36.680 let's get in a tank. 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.159 And all the arcade machines are manufactured by Lockheed. 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:43.560 Martin or Pratt Whitney. The ones that blow up are 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:44.520 made by Pratt Whitney. 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:49.200 Yeah, but that's Joe King aside. That is not what 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:53.400 we're talking about here. Yes, we're we're talking about the relationship. 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.880 Just just as with the military industrial complex. It is 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.880 the military, as you know, one large thing, and all 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:04.880 the branches of that military working together with the industries 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:08.719 that create the things that are necessary for that military 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:12.040 to function. Right exactly, This is the military again as 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.320 a thing with the branches, but working with the entertainment 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:16.280 industry in some. 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:20.840 Way, yes, in multiple ways. We're talking feature films, we're 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:24.760 talking VR and AR, virtual NOUGMA and reality. We're talking 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:30.720 multimedia video games, music videos, we're talking television. Here in 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.480 the US, for a long time, it's been common for 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:38.160 the armed forces to work directly with production companies in 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:44.160 all areas of the media to supply things like troops, gear, equipment, logistics, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:49.200 even some modeling, for instance, in the case of video games. 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:53.480 This is this is a symbiosis of a sort which 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.920 would be common to everybody from your high school biology. 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.080 There are five types of semiotic relationships, right we all 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:07.480 remember commensalism, predation, parasitism, and competition. This would be when 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:13.440 it works for everyone involved. This is mutualism. The production 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.920 company saves a lot on budget and the military gets 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:21.200 a lot of good will, so of course it makes 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:23.240 sense and This is not a huge secret. A lot 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:25.080 of people don't know about it, but it's not a 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:27.480 huge secret. What do I mean when I say that 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.160 the Department of Defense has a statement about it on 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:33.360 its website. They're excited. They think this is a great idea. 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.360 Yeah, that's right. Their official position on this is that 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.679 they've been working for nearly a century to quote accurately 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:44.240 depict military stories and make sure sensitive information isn't disclosed. 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:46.679 So it's kind of a quid pro quo situation. Like, 0:08:46.720 --> 0:08:50.320 you know, let's say a big production needs, you know, 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:55.640 some kind of military you know, set piece that's very 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:59.360 expensive and also would probably require some sign off from 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:01.480 the military in general. So this is sort of like 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.800 a we'll help you out, you help us out. We 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:07.000 kind of help guide the way you depict our brand, 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.440 because let's be honest, the military is a brand, especially 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.040 in this context. And you get free tanks or whatever 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:15.920 for your tenpole movie. 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:21.000 Yeah. So there. Let's take an example from LA So 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:24.560 this happens a lot in Hollywood. There's an Army lieutenant 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.880 colonel who is the director of the LA Office of 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:30.840 the Chief of Public Affairs. His name is Tim Hyde, 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:34.760 and heide says, we take both of these roles very seriously, 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:39.800 meaning accurate depictions and keeping the secret stuff secret. His 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:44.600 office isn't in charge of the entire armed forces in Hollywood. 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.520 His office just focuses on the stuff for the army, 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:52.400 and every other branch of the armed services, including the Coastguard, 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:57.280 has its own office in Hollywood just for this stuff. 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.959 I mean, we can talk. I think we all were. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.280 We're kind of thinking about this as we're gearing up 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.400 for this episode, but we can talk pretty easily about 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:09.720 feature films and fiction that we've seen here, because I 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:14.240 think feature films are probably probably the stuff that people 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.480 most easily recognize this complex from. 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:19.360 Well, one of the first things I think about is 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:23.360 just how cool big action movies are when some tanks 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:25.720 show up, like some actual tanks, and you're looking at 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:28.200 the screen, you could tell it's an actual tank, especially 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:32.439 movies from my childhood where computer graphics weren't as sophisticated, 0:10:32.679 --> 0:10:36.640 where you know, oh, that's an actual Huey helicopter. Oh 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.800 that's an actual you know, if you're thinking about top gun, 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:41.800 that's an actual I think it was an F eighteen. 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:45.680 Maybe it was a Tomcat. I don't know, but of 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.120 the actor that was then top Gun. But yeah, but 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:50.240 you when you know that it's a real thing, it 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:53.480 just makes it that much cooler. And what I end 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.040 up remembering are the times when the military in some 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:01.120 form or fashion comes in and saves the day, such 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:04.640 as in Jurassic Park three. Do you guys remember that 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:05.400 movie at all? 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:06.040 Nope? 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.080 Is that the one with the pterodactyls. Yes, all the 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:15.079 pterodactyls in the and and they like walk like weirdly, 0:11:15.160 --> 0:11:17.200 like they're on crutches or something. I remember that part 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:18.240 and it looked really awkward. 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.520 Yes, But but I have a very vivid memory of 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:25.280 the end of that movie when they're on I want 0:11:25.280 --> 0:11:28.960 to say, they like come back to the beach area 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:31.280 where they're just trying to get the heck off the island. 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:34.400 They're hoping they're going to be saved, and then there's 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:37.080 just some dude standing there on the island in a suit. 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.079 I think, maybe I'm wrong. I think that's what happens, 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:43.000 and then all of a sudden the military shows up. 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:47.280 I'm assuming the Navy in these uh these these they 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:50.360 look like a PC's but they can they're they function 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.400 in water as well. And they just roll up with 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.679 a bunch of military personnel and save the day and 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:56.960 get everybody off the island. 0:11:57.720 --> 0:11:59.880 That's a that's a common trope, you know. I remember 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:04.880 I remember watching Independence Day, the original Independence Day, saw 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.560 it in the theaters, thought it was kick ass, And 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.000 you know, it's one of those things where we don't 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.520 worry too much about the plot holes, like how did 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:17.400 that guy from Jurassic Park also end up in Independence Day? 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:21.360 You know what I mean? Why is everybody in those 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:24.760 films acting except for Jeff Goldbloom And what an interesting 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:29.200 life he leads aliens and dinosaurs. But the military plays 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:33.080 a huge role in Independence Stay. And just like your point, Matt, 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:37.880 there are at length depictions of actual military craft. You know, 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:41.080 we see the jets, just like in Top Gun. We 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:47.480 see uniformed individuals carrying out their duties and operations. And 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:49.200 you can still see, of course, you can see this 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:54.200 in blockbuster action films. It's amazing, and it's it's so expensive, 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:56.960 Like if you look at Okay, you can think of 0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:59.400 those obvious examples. Top Gun is probably one of the 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:01.319 most famous examples, but there are a ton of the 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.240 movies in the eighties, nineties, and the modern day that 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:08.560 do this Apollo thirteen, Red Dawn, Blackhawk down, of course. 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:10.800 But then there's other stuff you might not have thought of, 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.000 like the Transformers franchise. All of the films in the 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:18.720 Transformers franchise benefited from the military entertainment complex. Yeah. 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:20.720 A great place to see it is the types of 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.559 disaster movies like Towering Inferno or whatever. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.599 That andres or something like that, something like that. It 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:28.560 was about the fault. It's about the fault. 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:30.520 I don't remember. There's so many and it's such a 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.160 well worn trope. It's been around forever. But there's always 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.559 an opportunity for folks to get rescued from a burning 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.040 building by military personnel, and you're right, they always look 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.720 like the heroes. I got to ask you before we 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.800 get into it. Do you think movies like Apocalypse Now 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:48.160 had military co sign where it kind of makes the 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.720 military look bad and sort of shows the flaws that 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:54.199 can arise from leadership and people that go power, Matt, 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:55.520 I would think, maybe. 0:13:55.240 --> 0:14:00.840 Not excellent questions. So there are, of course, you know, 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:03.120 we have to ask about the opposite of this practice. 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.680 So there are, of course many films many also in 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:10.480 the United states that put the military in less than 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.360 a positive light to apocalypse. Now, I was thinking of 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:16.200 that one because I'm such a huge fan of that 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.760 that story, but I was also thinking of Full Metal Jacket, 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:25.400 which itself is a somewhat damning condemnation of the effects 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:29.800 that war can have on people. Those films were still 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:34.280 were still made, obviously to great acclaim, But did they 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:38.520 have that same level of help as we're going to see. 0:14:38.960 --> 0:14:44.720 Not exactly. Not exactly, because this practice is cyclical. Funding 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:50.600 for US productions of this sort actually went down in 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:55.320 the seventies because US audiences were so very fatigued about 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.720 the ongoing conflicts in Vietnam, and of course the fact 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.960 that the war in Vietnam was one of the first 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:06.760 times the American public saw uncensored footage of what happens 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:12.600 on the ground during a hot conflict. So, yes, there 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.960 are caveats, and they're really what today's episode hinges on 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:19.880 the implications of those caveats and the employment of those 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.760 Some version of this practice, it's so old. Some version 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.000 of it dates all the way back to nineteen twenty 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.320 seven a little Bit of War for the movie Buffs 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.400 in the Crowd. The first year of the Academy Awards 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.240 nineteen twenty seven, the Army helped with the production of 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:37.480 a silent film you may have never heard of. It 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:40.240 was called Wings. It has nothing to do with the sitcom. 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.480 It was about World War One fighter pilots. This film 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:49.240 went on to win the very first Oscar for Best Picture. 0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:54.200 So this is like a known thing, and there's a 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:58.080 guy named Tom Secker from outfit called Spy Culture which 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:02.400 does great work. He was able to compile a list. 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:04.720 He set out to say, like to say, let me 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:09.600 make the most comprehensive possible list of just feature films 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:13.520 that have employed that have benefited from this relationship. As 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:17.240 of his list, which was current as of twenty sixteen, 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:22.360 contains more than four hundred different films that were made 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:27.240 with some form of cooperation or collusion with the Department 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:27.800 of Defense. 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:32.480 Wow, four hundred films. Now I want to add in 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.440 one extra little piece here, just that I've found Ben 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:38.040 and I just want to talk with you guys about it. 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:43.520 To my understanding, there was very much a position of 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.240 the various militaries, especially the Army, where they didn't want 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:51.440 to fund or work with films where the bad guy 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:57.360 wasn't extraterrestrial or a monster or some big bad thing. 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:00.840 For quite a long time, it was they were generally 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.400 looking at pieces that would highlight the actual military operations 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:11.679 or you know, possible military operations. And then when the 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.520 Marvel Cinematic Universe, and then a little bit before that 0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:18.040 became so popular, they were just noticing that, well, it 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:22.560 doesn't matter what the opposing force is, as long as 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:26.400 the military itself and the operations look legitimate and correct, 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.480 and the military is placed in a good light. 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.040 Yeah, are the protagonists are aiding the protagonists in some way, 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:33.800 shape or form. 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.720 Right, they're the cavalry coming, you know what I mean? 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:41.280 And those I mean, those are militaristic tones or intentions 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.320 that we see in things that might not ostensibly be 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.240 war stories even or military stories, just stories that evolve 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:50.840 a conflict where you need the best of the best 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:54.680 to intervene. And who is that in the third act? Well, 0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.120 if you play your cards right, it's the US military. 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.399 And it saves you a ton of money on production. 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:04.680 But as it saves you money as someone making the film, 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:06.840 if you live in the US, it very much does 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.080 not save you money. Spoiler alert. But this happens in 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:12.560 other things that I think a lot of people don't, 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.879 We don't think about. So it happens in television, It 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.680 happens in talk and even game shows. Like there are 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.520 so many unscripted documentaries, right because those are very inexpensive 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.960 to make. You'll see them on History Channel, Discovery Channel, 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.080 or you know when History is going through its annual 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:33.439 Hitler phase. There's so many documentaries about this. Of course, 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:36.560 the DoD keeps an eye on some of those documentaries, 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.959 especially if they're about something more recent like desert storm, 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.280 and they have to because they have to make sure 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.240 that nothing is being divulged. And I would say, I 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:48.560 would argue that is completely above board, and that needs 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:50.879 to happen because a lot of the people speaking in 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:56.160 those things have signed legal agreements that constrain what they 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:58.920 can say, so of course they should have final writer 0:18:59.000 --> 0:18:59.760 or refusal there. 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:01.880 Well, let's not forget too. I mean, we've all been 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:05.360 involved in podcast projects where we had to license audio, 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:09.520 you know of like archival footage, and oftentimes various networks 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:15.160 have very specific criteria for how and when they will 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.399 allow their footage to be used. I can't imagine the 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.800 military is any different, and they obviously have a lot 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:23.920 of archival stuff as well. So I wonder if possibly, 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:27.520 you know, if you know your documentary is portraying the 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.760 military in the right light, you could save a whole 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.399 lot of money on licensing costs by getting that stuff 0:19:32.440 --> 0:19:34.160 gratis from the US military. 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.080 Yeah, quite possibly. 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:38.720 Or just go to fedflicks on archive dot org and 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:41.640 use the public domain stuff that was created with our 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:44.720 tax dollars, actually as our parents and grandparents' tax dollars. 0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:48.480 Well, they still have server costs, so we're we've got 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.680 what corporate America calls buy in. Another thing that happens 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:56.720 would be stutent listeners. You just sort of say game shows. Yeah, 0:19:56.760 --> 0:19:59.560 it's true. I'm sorry if you are. If you are 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:02.960 very anti military for some reason and you very much 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:06.600 love Jeopardy, well Jeopardy is also in this big, big 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:10.000 bed with Uncle Sam Price, is right? Is there talk 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:13.359 shows like Ellen? If anybody still likes or listens to 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:17.320 Ellen or Steve Harvey? Those also all of those have 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:22.720 military themed episodes. Surprisingly, one thing here that could be 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.720 an episode all its own. It's spent a whole hour 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:32.720 on this military financed and produced music videos. Music videos 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:36.919 they come out like. There's a bevy of them that 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:40.439 comes out every day, especially on YouTube. And there's a 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:43.840 great piece by Vice journalist named Matthew Galt who says 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:46.320 the following, from China to Russia to a rock to 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.240 the good old US of A militaries love spending money 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:52.679 to produce lavishly surreal music videos. I'm going to tell 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.920 you something. There are some hard working folks on production 0:20:57.080 --> 0:21:00.840 and on camera on Mike in these videovideos on the 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:04.000 US side. But for my money, if you want to 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:08.679 watch the really really elaborate, weird ones, check out the 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:13.280 ones from other countries Azerbaijan for some reason, China, Russia, 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:15.760 they all got really into hip hop too. I'm not 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:17.880 going to say it's all good. Maybe some is lost 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:20.959 in translation, but they're not pinching pennies on it. 0:21:21.040 --> 0:21:23.639 These are certainly certainly a good way to reach a 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:28.160 different audience, you know, that might have a tempered view 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:31.560 of the military. And it's essentially I mean, I wouldn't 0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:33.840 go so far as maybe to call it propaganda, but 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.480 it's approaching that, or it can approach that. 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:40.400 Right for sure. I mean, Katie Perry joins the Marines 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:43.760 in one particular music video The Air Force, and I 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.080 did not know this has a punk cover of its 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.960 official theme song. The Air Force also has an official band. 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:54.280 I think their name is like Maximum Impact or something 0:21:54.320 --> 0:21:54.480 like that. 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:55.680 That's metal. 0:21:56.040 --> 0:21:58.960 Yeah, right, And of course this is something I imagine 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.200 the four of us are going to be returning back 0:22:02.200 --> 0:22:04.840 to later in the show. But of course video games 0:22:04.960 --> 0:22:07.199 that should be a less surprising outlet. I mean, it 0:22:07.359 --> 0:22:11.760 is very difficult to look at some of the some 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:15.200 of the world's most famous video games and not imagine 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.640 the military taking interest here. Although I will say one 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:23.880 note this was this was an aspect of media where 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:25.800 the military really struggled at first. 0:22:26.080 --> 0:22:31.240 Yeah, but the military has been interested in simulating anything 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:34.560 that they could consider like a war game or you know, 0:22:34.680 --> 0:22:39.560 training or you know, for pilots to fly in aircraft, 0:22:39.600 --> 0:22:43.200 to tank operators, to all this stuff. They've been interested 0:22:43.240 --> 0:22:46.719 in making a simulation version for a long time of 0:22:46.760 --> 0:22:51.120 their operations. And you know, it should be no surprise 0:22:51.960 --> 0:22:54.720 that they wanted to get in the game as soon 0:22:54.760 --> 0:22:58.280 as they possibly could. And just made a quick note here. 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:00.800 You may have heard of it but before we've mentioned 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:03.080 it before on this show. But a little video game 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:07.520 called America's Army that made its first version debut I 0:23:07.560 --> 0:23:10.640 think in two thousand and two, and then there are 0:23:10.680 --> 0:23:13.960 several versions. The latest one I'm aware of is called 0:23:13.960 --> 0:23:17.720 America's Army Proving Ground and it went into beta in 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:21.760 twenty thirteen, came out and officially released in twenty fifteen. 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:27.280 But it's an actual game, created, developed and published by 0:23:27.440 --> 0:23:28.639 the US Army. 0:23:28.640 --> 0:23:33.240 And this is completely legal, This is above board. There's 0:23:33.359 --> 0:23:35.640 nothing wrong with this, and this is just one example 0:23:35.920 --> 0:23:38.400 of other things. But what I like about this example, Matt, 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:42.600 is it's more overt and it's more apparent, because we 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:46.359 get into the sticky stuff when we leave the realm 0:23:46.440 --> 0:23:49.720 of transparency, and that's where we get to what I 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:53.720 in my mind is the bloody multi billion dollar question here. 0:23:54.240 --> 0:23:58.960 What exactly is Uncle Sam and other global versions of 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:02.160 Uncle Sam getting in return for this? Are they investing? 0:24:02.880 --> 0:24:06.120 Are they really investing billions and billions of dollars worth 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:11.240 of labor and manpower and equipment just to make sure 0:24:11.520 --> 0:24:14.240 stories are accurate and to keep an eye out for 0:24:14.320 --> 0:24:18.600 leaked information. The answer is absolutely not. They get much much, 0:24:18.680 --> 0:24:21.040 much more than that, and we'll tell you exactly what 0:24:21.080 --> 0:24:24.240 they're getting or hope to get after word from our sponsor. 0:24:30.960 --> 0:24:35.320 Here's where it gets crazy. It is so much, so 0:24:35.520 --> 0:24:39.879 much more, so much more dangerous than just like accurate depictions. Like, 0:24:40.160 --> 0:24:43.240 it's not someone going on set just to say okay, 0:24:43.320 --> 0:24:45.879 that means we need to make sure that's an Abrams tank. 0:24:46.440 --> 0:24:49.680 It's not just someone going onto the set of a 0:24:50.600 --> 0:24:56.880 you know, a History Channel documentary about the Iranian Revolution 0:24:57.040 --> 0:24:59.399 and saying, okay, well i'll see I said, as we 0:24:59.560 --> 0:25:03.160 can't technically say this guy's name, so let's call them 0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:07.880 Marty Finkelbean's or something like that. Those are but that's 0:25:07.920 --> 0:25:11.000 not that's not near what it is. It's it is 0:25:11.480 --> 0:25:13.560 we dropped the P word just a little bit earlier. 0:25:13.880 --> 0:25:17.159 It is a direct avenue to the heart's minds and 0:25:17.200 --> 0:25:19.280 future decisions of millions of people. 0:25:19.480 --> 0:25:22.560 Well, after all, if they just wanted an authenticity consultant, 0:25:22.640 --> 0:25:25.840 they could get a retired military person that could just 0:25:25.920 --> 0:25:27.520 you know, keep an eye on it and make sure 0:25:27.560 --> 0:25:30.560 they got all the beats right or like everything looked accurate. 0:25:30.760 --> 0:25:33.080 So this is something more than that, isn't it? Very much? 0:25:33.080 --> 0:25:36.639 So I think, yeah, yeah, that's a good point, because 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:39.960 I think it would be easy and in the long term, 0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:44.520 a little less expensive to just have a retired military 0:25:44.560 --> 0:25:48.800 member or an historian on on on the on the 0:25:48.920 --> 0:25:51.320 set or in the writer's room of a World War 0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:53.720 two film, to be able to raise their hand and say, 0:25:54.800 --> 0:25:56.840 I hate to be that I hate to be that guy. 0:25:56.840 --> 0:25:59.639 But Hitler was the bad one. And then so what 0:26:00.080 --> 0:26:05.359 the producers is like? Great point, great point, herman, All right, 0:26:05.440 --> 0:26:07.520 we'll do we'll do some rewrites. We'll do some rewrits. 0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:10.320 But this is coming out in March. Still, okay, so 0:26:10.520 --> 0:26:14.600 everybody hustle. You're right, Uh, the military helps out with 0:26:14.640 --> 0:26:19.040 these productions. With that one be with one or two 0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:22.320 big caveats, and those are where the problems are found. 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:26.159 First caveat is the military helps out with these productions 0:26:26.240 --> 0:26:30.040 so long as and only so long as the end 0:26:30.080 --> 0:26:35.240 result makes the military look great, a powerful cavalry, world's savers, 0:26:35.680 --> 0:26:40.480 America's police in a way. And this, you know, you 0:26:40.560 --> 0:26:43.040 can have problems with this, and you can you can 0:26:43.080 --> 0:26:46.160 point out rightly that the US military has not always 0:26:46.680 --> 0:26:50.760 been the good guy or has not always been saving 0:26:50.800 --> 0:26:55.199 the world, you know, depending on who you ask. But 0:26:55.800 --> 0:26:58.560 it does make sense, doesn't it. Why would you why 0:26:58.560 --> 0:27:01.720 would you give all these people all this stuff. If 0:27:01.720 --> 0:27:05.680 they were gonna take all of your individuals, all your 0:27:05.760 --> 0:27:08.920 gadgets and your equipment and they were, and all your expertise, 0:27:08.960 --> 0:27:10.760 of course, and then they were just gonna make it 0:27:10.760 --> 0:27:13.760 look terrible. Right, how are you gonna go to your superiors? 0:27:13.800 --> 0:27:16.760 How are you gonna end up being called into the 0:27:16.840 --> 0:27:20.080 joint chiefs or something, and then you're the person who 0:27:20.160 --> 0:27:24.920 greenlit the coastguard sucks or whatever, and you gave them 0:27:24.960 --> 0:27:27.960 billions of dollars worth of equipment, Like, of course you're 0:27:27.960 --> 0:27:29.560 not gonna do that. That makes sense to me. 0:27:30.000 --> 0:27:33.520 Yeah, And it's like, you know, we've worked in spaces 0:27:33.600 --> 0:27:36.840 called like branded content for example, where say you're working 0:27:36.920 --> 0:27:39.800 very closely with a brand to make a show or 0:27:39.840 --> 0:27:42.160 a movie or something, and it's sort of an advertisement 0:27:42.240 --> 0:27:45.720 disguised as pop culture or as cinema or as a 0:27:45.720 --> 0:27:48.879 podcast or whatever. When you work directly with those folks, 0:27:49.000 --> 0:27:52.600 they are very protective of how that brand is portrayed. 0:27:53.359 --> 0:27:54.920 And this is no different. 0:27:55.359 --> 0:27:58.760 There's another thing here. It's not like the military is 0:27:58.800 --> 0:28:04.760 getting a profit as in points on the how well 0:28:04.800 --> 0:28:07.760 the film does right, Yeah, like points on whatever the 0:28:08.560 --> 0:28:11.639 film takes in right. It's not like the military is 0:28:11.640 --> 0:28:13.600 getting that kind of deal, at least I'm unaware of it. 0:28:13.640 --> 0:28:15.560 If they are getting some kind of thing like that, 0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:17.600 and I don't know how you'd handle that when it 0:28:17.760 --> 0:28:21.240 comes to what it would be a donation to a 0:28:21.280 --> 0:28:24.040 branch of the military or something. I don't know. But 0:28:24.240 --> 0:28:28.439 what they are getting many times is something called like 0:28:28.520 --> 0:28:32.000 a final look or they get you know, they get 0:28:32.080 --> 0:28:35.600 say on the final cut essentially, where like that's what 0:28:35.640 --> 0:28:37.879 we're talking about. They'll be in the room with the 0:28:37.960 --> 0:28:41.040 editors and the director and they'll be able to say, well, 0:28:41.080 --> 0:28:44.440 you know, you cannot you cannot do that. You cannot 0:28:44.520 --> 0:28:48.000 make that choice and show that because it would make 0:28:48.080 --> 0:28:48.720 us look bad. 0:28:48.880 --> 0:28:51.800 It sounds like a devil's bargain. Though from a creative standpoint, 0:28:51.800 --> 0:28:53.520 doesn't it like it would be a nightmare to be 0:28:53.560 --> 0:28:57.920 that editor with that military lays on over your shoulder, say, 0:28:58.800 --> 0:29:00.920 I guess it's worth its way in tanks though, huh. 0:29:01.000 --> 0:29:03.720 I mean, yes, there is definitely a trade off here, 0:29:04.920 --> 0:29:09.520 as there are in all sorts of mutual symbiotic relationships, 0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:12.680 which again is what this is. But I think it 0:29:12.720 --> 0:29:17.720 occurs in phases. So you've got the script writing idea, right, 0:29:17.840 --> 0:29:20.840 You want military approval. How do you get military approval? Well, 0:29:20.840 --> 0:29:22.520 first they want to know what the story is, So 0:29:23.000 --> 0:29:25.720 is that a synopsis with someone they've worked with before. 0:29:25.960 --> 0:29:30.560 Like I think a first time film in a franchise 0:29:30.960 --> 0:29:34.200 or a first time director probably has more scrutiny on 0:29:34.240 --> 0:29:37.080 them than say like Michael Bay coming in and saying 0:29:37.120 --> 0:29:40.760 I want to make Transformers six. They love Michael Bay. Yeah, 0:29:40.800 --> 0:29:43.080 then they'll be like, oh, it's Mike. This is yeah, 0:29:43.120 --> 0:29:45.400 we know this guy. We know we pretty much and 0:29:45.440 --> 0:29:47.920 this is not a ding on Transformers films, but we 0:29:48.000 --> 0:29:50.320 pretty much know how the plot's going to go, right, 0:29:50.480 --> 0:29:52.600 so we don't have to get a lot of scrutiny. 0:29:52.760 --> 0:29:55.800 We also know he's going to play ball. You know, 0:29:56.120 --> 0:29:58.080 he's not going to like die on the hill of No. 0:29:58.640 --> 0:30:02.280 We must show this unflawed uttering moment with the commanding officer. 0:30:03.040 --> 0:30:06.040 It's not really on the table with the Michael Bay picture. 0:30:05.960 --> 0:30:08.400 Right, He's not gonna shamel on them or anything. But 0:30:08.440 --> 0:30:12.000 this all there's another thing that happens here, and I 0:30:12.040 --> 0:30:15.400 think it's it's something that it was something other critics 0:30:15.440 --> 0:30:19.760 have brought up, and it's something that we have to 0:30:19.800 --> 0:30:25.920 take some time to unpack. This provides a potential workaround 0:30:26.560 --> 0:30:34.040 to other types of recruitment that might be legally, or 0:30:34.080 --> 0:30:39.560 ethically or morally sticky when it comes to children. Right, 0:30:39.640 --> 0:30:43.960 So the military in this country is with you in 0:30:44.000 --> 0:30:46.640 some aspect for a lot of your life, especially if 0:30:46.640 --> 0:30:53.040 you are a young man. Right this this think of 0:30:53.120 --> 0:30:55.720 g I Joe's right. I mean the days of led 0:30:55.800 --> 0:30:59.640 soldiers were famous. Like this happens in other militaries across 0:30:59.680 --> 0:31:02.600 the world too. It's weird for it not to happen. 0:31:02.720 --> 0:31:06.160 It's probably the best way to put it. And the films, 0:31:06.680 --> 0:31:09.720 especially as we're such a media driven culture, the films 0:31:09.760 --> 0:31:14.840 can function as recruitment adds. You know, anyone of anyone 0:31:14.880 --> 0:31:18.440 who is like thirteen or older can watch a PG 0:31:18.520 --> 0:31:23.720 thirteen movie. Right. You can't go into the recruitment office 0:31:24.120 --> 0:31:29.440 legally and sign up for the military, but they can 0:31:29.760 --> 0:31:33.719 be sending messaging to you, perhaps even the kinds of 0:31:34.160 --> 0:31:38.200 implications where they'll come up later about the benefits of 0:31:38.280 --> 0:31:43.320 joining up, the responsibility and the nobility of it, just 0:31:43.480 --> 0:31:46.560 by you know, in a way that you don't consciously understand. 0:31:46.840 --> 0:31:50.200 And that's where it gets dangerous. And also, of course 0:31:51.120 --> 0:31:55.480 we need to say this. The Armed services are tremendously important. 0:31:56.120 --> 0:31:59.880 They do a lot of good work, and this should 0:32:00.200 --> 0:32:03.600 be taken as a ding on the people or the 0:32:03.600 --> 0:32:06.800 groups involved here, maybe as maybe as a little bit 0:32:06.840 --> 0:32:09.240 of ding on a Hollywood They get their own problems. 0:32:09.680 --> 0:32:13.920 This is this is functionally like like, it's easy if 0:32:13.960 --> 0:32:16.560 you're a kid in the US. It's easy for you 0:32:16.680 --> 0:32:19.920 to be nine years old, especially now when so many 0:32:20.000 --> 0:32:22.880 children are growing up native to the Internet and already 0:32:22.880 --> 0:32:25.440 inundated with information. It's easy to be like nine years 0:32:25.440 --> 0:32:29.160 old see a straight up propaganda film from World War 0:32:29.200 --> 0:32:32.560 Two and think, geez, that's weird and in no small 0:32:32.560 --> 0:32:36.520 way is it kind of uncomfortably racist. I'm not on 0:32:36.600 --> 0:32:38.920 board with this. But then that same nine year old 0:32:40.120 --> 0:32:43.680 might see, might see a film that does some of 0:32:43.680 --> 0:32:48.120 the stuff we're describing, and to them that's just super cool. 0:32:48.200 --> 0:32:52.160 Right, Oh yeah, exactly, And like we mentioned at the 0:32:52.160 --> 0:32:55.640 top of the show, it does start to enter into 0:32:55.720 --> 0:32:59.400 the realm of light propaganda, which we know is a 0:32:59.440 --> 0:33:04.280 powerful thing. Griffiths, Stephanie Stockwell, and Adam Muir had this 0:33:04.360 --> 0:33:07.400 to say about it, quote, the military have always found 0:33:07.440 --> 0:33:10.920 a use for entertainment, recruiting songs and marching songs, prepared 0:33:10.960 --> 0:33:14.800 the soldier's mind to override the self preservation mechanism in 0:33:14.840 --> 0:33:18.280 the heat of battle. Propaganda has always been best served 0:33:18.560 --> 0:33:23.000 as entertainment, you know, right, even things like marching songs, 0:33:23.000 --> 0:33:24.800 which which in the early days of the military were 0:33:24.840 --> 0:33:28.120 a very functional thing that allowed the military to communicate 0:33:28.160 --> 0:33:32.560 with different battalions and different groups. But it also they 0:33:32.600 --> 0:33:35.360 were very patriotic, and they instilled people on the battlefield 0:33:35.400 --> 0:33:38.360 with this like something greater than myself kind of vibe, 0:33:38.520 --> 0:33:40.760 and when they were really bought into it, it made 0:33:40.760 --> 0:33:44.800 them better soldiers and made them you know, borderline unstoppable. Well, 0:33:44.840 --> 0:33:47.280 I mean stoppable by like bullets and stuff, but in 0:33:47.320 --> 0:33:49.840 their minds they were willing to go over. 0:33:49.680 --> 0:33:52.960 The top, right, because you're part of something bigger than yourself. 0:33:53.040 --> 0:33:58.040 I mean, I don't know if this happens to everybody, 0:33:58.080 --> 0:34:02.280 but in my past it was. It was normal for 0:34:02.400 --> 0:34:06.160 people to have instead of lullabies that were sung to them, 0:34:06.200 --> 0:34:11.479 you were hearing marching songs, you know, one, two, three, 0:34:11.600 --> 0:34:13.279 four and so on, which. 0:34:13.120 --> 0:34:17.719 Now that I think there's a lot of people, but the. 0:34:18.040 --> 0:34:20.120 Lyrics also have an age very well. So we're not 0:34:20.200 --> 0:34:23.680 gonna we're not gonna put those out in the ether today. 0:34:24.000 --> 0:34:27.759 But but you're right. So the question then, is is 0:34:27.800 --> 0:34:32.080 this a viable and effective recruitment tool. The answer to 0:34:32.160 --> 0:34:34.960 that is yes, probably, even if it's Even if it's 0:34:34.960 --> 0:34:37.200 a little difficult to measure the performance, we know it 0:34:37.239 --> 0:34:43.799 works because it continues to be employed. However, the next 0:34:43.920 --> 0:34:48.000 question is is it ethical? Is it propaganda? Is propaganda 0:34:48.040 --> 0:34:53.320 always bad? The the thing is the from Griffith University, Stockwell, 0:34:53.320 --> 0:34:56.280 and you're the most important thing they say in that quote. 0:34:56.400 --> 0:34:59.160 In my mind, is that prop is what you just said. No, 0:34:59.239 --> 0:35:03.440 propaganda has always been best served as entertainment. People don't 0:35:03.480 --> 0:35:07.760 like to be lectured, right. People often hate learning stuff. 0:35:08.040 --> 0:35:12.400 People want to be entertained. So a preachy, stuffy lecture 0:35:12.600 --> 0:35:16.080 about the importance of military activity, even if it's Dwighteye 0:35:16.080 --> 0:35:17.839 as an hour coming back and doing a whole one 0:35:17.800 --> 0:35:20.640 to eighty and saying we need this stuff around, it 0:35:20.680 --> 0:35:23.600 can come off as like this boring political screed. But 0:35:23.719 --> 0:35:28.600 a movie with kick ass explosions and fight scenes, and 0:35:28.760 --> 0:35:33.120 like a model level attractive people, or a gut busting 0:35:33.239 --> 0:35:36.400 comedy or an odd couple will they won't they? Romance 0:35:36.480 --> 0:35:39.239 with a human interest story that's just like pull in 0:35:39.320 --> 0:35:42.600 at your heartstrings left and right. That impacts your mind 0:35:42.840 --> 0:35:46.560 in deep abiding ways that you are one hundred percent 0:35:46.760 --> 0:35:53.000 not fully conscious of. The association game is so so strong. Well, 0:35:53.080 --> 0:35:53.600 and look what. 0:35:53.640 --> 0:35:58.640 The military models there, actual proper ad campaigns after things 0:35:58.680 --> 0:36:01.759 like Army of One, you know very much, look like 0:36:01.800 --> 0:36:04.040 a video game, look like you're playing a video game. 0:36:04.040 --> 0:36:06.839 They're like checking these boxes of these pop culture depictions 0:36:07.040 --> 0:36:10.680 of the military in cinema and television and video games 0:36:10.760 --> 0:36:12.799 and selling it to you that way, selling you that 0:36:12.920 --> 0:36:14.280 image of military service. 0:36:14.520 --> 0:36:18.480 Well, and then just put into it the psychology that 0:36:18.880 --> 0:36:20.840 takes us to the theater in the first place, or 0:36:20.840 --> 0:36:23.800 gets us to turn on Netflix or Prime or whatever 0:36:24.080 --> 0:36:28.160 our desire to identify with some character. Right, and if 0:36:28.160 --> 0:36:32.360 that character, the protagonist whoever we're identifying with, is you know, 0:36:32.400 --> 0:36:37.160 a military personnel or thinking about joining the military, or 0:36:38.000 --> 0:36:41.200 a veteran of some kind like, and we place ourselves 0:36:41.239 --> 0:36:44.680 as the viewers the listeners, whoever, whatever medium it is, 0:36:45.120 --> 0:36:48.720 and we can see ourselves in that role that can 0:36:48.800 --> 0:36:51.279 also provide something for the military. 0:36:51.560 --> 0:36:55.239 Oh sure, it's in everyman argument, right, that thing I 0:36:55.280 --> 0:36:59.319 see on the screen I identify with, that's me, aren't I? 0:36:59.440 --> 0:37:03.520 Heroic says the uh, says the audience member. And there's 0:37:03.680 --> 0:37:07.560 then then there's a cathartic aspect to watching that victory, right, 0:37:07.880 --> 0:37:11.600 and it's something that you will recall later, uh, when 0:37:11.719 --> 0:37:17.239 you are in the situation yourself. And then we see 0:37:17.280 --> 0:37:21.239 this other pattern. So I mentioned this earlier, but I 0:37:21.280 --> 0:37:23.600 didn't mention it as a question. I should phrase it 0:37:23.600 --> 0:37:27.000 as a question, why does Hollywood seem to go through 0:37:27.080 --> 0:37:32.200 phases of depicting certain enemies? And Hollywood even isn't that accurate? 0:37:32.200 --> 0:37:35.080 We should say why does the zeitgeist go through these phases? 0:37:35.080 --> 0:37:37.799 Because it happens in video games too, like ta like 0:37:37.920 --> 0:37:41.480 the perennial bad guy in a Western war film is 0:37:41.560 --> 0:37:45.120 going to be the Nazis. Also Indiana Jones in the 0:37:45.160 --> 0:37:51.240 Last Crusade, another DoD production. This this question is easily 0:37:51.320 --> 0:37:55.600 answered with Nazis. First, they're easy to use because everybody 0:37:55.600 --> 0:37:58.800 can agree they were monstrous and they did monstrous things. 0:37:59.000 --> 0:38:03.600 But also second, they are extinct as a state level organization. 0:38:04.120 --> 0:38:07.600 There is no way for them to like object to 0:38:08.320 --> 0:38:13.080 their characterization, even if that characterization is like inaccurate. And 0:38:13.120 --> 0:38:15.920 when I say inaccurate, I'm not being a Nazi apologist. 0:38:15.920 --> 0:38:19.839 I'm talking about like the schlocky horror films where they say, 0:38:19.880 --> 0:38:23.360 you know, secretly, the Nazis were really using this ancient 0:38:23.440 --> 0:38:26.880 evil from this well in Bavaria and turning people into 0:38:27.040 --> 0:38:30.200 zombie beetles or whatever the plot of those things might be. 0:38:31.360 --> 0:38:33.080 That's actually the plot of several I think that I 0:38:33.200 --> 0:38:34.320 just sort of smooshed together. 0:38:35.880 --> 0:38:38.080 But you know how one of the characters becomes a 0:38:38.120 --> 0:38:39.080 walrus for some. 0:38:39.000 --> 0:38:42.120 Reason, right right, right, Well, that was an integral moment 0:38:42.160 --> 0:38:45.760 in the plot. It's ss Walrus. 0:38:45.800 --> 0:38:47.800 It's also like one of the only ones that still 0:38:47.840 --> 0:38:49.960 works and isn't like a bad look. I mean, look 0:38:50.000 --> 0:38:53.680 at Disney military propaganda cartoons that had like, you know, 0:38:53.800 --> 0:38:58.239 Asians depicted in really really offensive, terrible ways. Those do 0:38:58.320 --> 0:39:01.440 not age well and are disavowed by you know, the 0:39:01.480 --> 0:39:04.440 Disney Company, unless you go to the Disney Family Museum, 0:39:04.520 --> 0:39:07.840 which is run by the trust of the Walt Disney family. 0:39:08.200 --> 0:39:10.120 But Nazis are still kind of fair game. 0:39:10.680 --> 0:39:13.759 Yeah, you know. The thing that's important to notice here 0:39:13.920 --> 0:39:16.759 is that we're saying Western war films, like if you 0:39:16.800 --> 0:39:20.280 look at North Korean propaganda, can you take a wild 0:39:20.360 --> 0:39:24.160 guest and who plays the role of the Nazis there. Yeah, 0:39:24.239 --> 0:39:27.920 it's it's Uncle Sam. It's it's very very weird. And 0:39:27.960 --> 0:39:31.560 the story of the guys who acted as the troops 0:39:31.680 --> 0:39:35.439 in those films is also very weird. Please do check 0:39:35.480 --> 0:39:40.480 it out if you have an interest. We saw the 0:39:40.600 --> 0:39:44.760 Soviet Army start playing this role in times of growing 0:39:44.800 --> 0:39:50.280 international tension during the Cold War. Right now, now, Nazis 0:39:50.280 --> 0:39:54.520 are old beings, but the real antagonists are the Soviets. 0:39:54.760 --> 0:39:56.360 And do you know who's gonna save us in the 0:39:56.400 --> 0:39:59.360 third act? That's right, the US military. 0:40:00.040 --> 0:40:03.120 So it's kind of or just capitalism in general. 0:40:02.960 --> 0:40:05.880 Or just capitalism general, or just the monopoly man comes 0:40:05.920 --> 0:40:09.359 through and this time he's packing. Right. But but this 0:40:10.760 --> 0:40:14.279 what's interesting about this is, you know, Joseph Campbell would 0:40:14.400 --> 0:40:19.680 argue that most stories are the same story, you know 0:40:19.719 --> 0:40:22.799 what I mean, Like the concept of story is kind 0:40:22.840 --> 0:40:26.400 of like the concept of ordering pizza. You get different 0:40:26.440 --> 0:40:30.319 toppings on it, but you're still eating pizza. I don't know, 0:40:30.480 --> 0:40:32.759 Joseph Campbell, I don't know a stance on pizza. 0:40:32.800 --> 0:40:36.479 But make soup like a different ingredients in a soup. 0:40:37.840 --> 0:40:41.880 No, no, yes, soup makes more sense on so many levels. 0:40:42.280 --> 0:40:45.480 On like the timeline. It makes sense, the nominative determinism. 0:40:45.640 --> 0:40:49.280 Yeah you nailed it, Okay, strike that pizza thing. Soup, 0:40:49.640 --> 0:40:52.920 we're working live. It's still soup, is the point. So 0:40:53.520 --> 0:40:55.040 what you see when you see a lot of these 0:40:55.080 --> 0:40:59.040 war films, and anybody who's familiar with story structure, like 0:40:59.080 --> 0:41:01.800 a reader of Save Cad or Hero a Thousand Faces, 0:41:01.840 --> 0:41:04.560 you know this. In film as well as in many 0:41:04.600 --> 0:41:09.320 world traditions, the story has a lot of the same beats. 0:41:09.600 --> 0:41:14.480 You just have different people or entities slotted in. So 0:41:14.600 --> 0:41:18.120 it's not hard. It's not difficult to slot in, especially 0:41:18.160 --> 0:41:20.399 in work of fiction, to slot in a different thing. 0:41:20.640 --> 0:41:22.560 That's why you'll see in the days of the War 0:41:22.680 --> 0:41:27.680 on Terror, various terrorist organizations filled this role. People are 0:41:27.719 --> 0:41:31.799 no longer fighting Nazis in the Middle East. Now they 0:41:31.840 --> 0:41:36.680 are fighting. Now they're fighting things like isis right and 0:41:36.719 --> 0:41:40.560 again in these works of fiction. The argument here this 0:41:40.600 --> 0:41:44.080 applies to real life video games, music, other media. But 0:41:44.120 --> 0:41:53.040 the argument here is are these productions following real world events? 0:41:53.239 --> 0:41:57.080 Are they mirroring and responding to real world events, or 0:41:57.160 --> 0:41:59.920 are they in some way priming the pump? Are they 0:42:00.160 --> 0:42:05.480 pushing these events? It's a questionable tackle. After a word 0:42:05.480 --> 0:42:06.320 from our sponsor. 0:42:12.680 --> 0:42:16.400 We've returned before you jump in. I just the last 0:42:16.400 --> 0:42:19.040 thing you said before we went to a break, applying 0:42:19.080 --> 0:42:21.360 it to video games and all this other media, talking 0:42:21.360 --> 0:42:24.319 about the various enemies. I was thinking about the Call 0:42:24.400 --> 0:42:28.839 of Duty franchise and how it began with World War 0:42:28.880 --> 0:42:33.120 Two with the Nazis. Then you can watch it jump 0:42:33.160 --> 0:42:36.040 forward to the Cold War. You can watch it jump 0:42:36.080 --> 0:42:39.040 to terrorists. You could watch it. It's so interesting the way 0:42:39.080 --> 0:42:43.880 it kind of goes. It jumps around to like three enemies. Basically, 0:42:44.760 --> 0:42:49.200 it's either Russians of some sort, Soviets of some sort, Nazis, 0:42:49.480 --> 0:42:54.240 and terrorists of some sort of a Middle Eastern country somewhere. 0:42:54.600 --> 0:42:57.600 That's just how it always functions. Those are the three. 0:42:58.160 --> 0:43:00.800 Those are the three. It's the Holy t huh. 0:43:01.000 --> 0:43:02.960 And zombies. I forget about zombies. 0:43:02.600 --> 0:43:06.880 And zombie well, zombies like toward the end right usually. 0:43:07.239 --> 0:43:09.240 Well, yeah, and some of them I think are Nazis. 0:43:09.280 --> 0:43:11.000 Correct me if I'm wrong on that, but I think 0:43:11.040 --> 0:43:11.319 they are. 0:43:12.000 --> 0:43:14.640 Well, this is this is U. This leads us to 0:43:15.960 --> 0:43:19.480 the next question, which is maybe a sensitive topic for 0:43:19.520 --> 0:43:22.160 some of us in the audience. Today, we talked about 0:43:22.200 --> 0:43:25.600 the power of propaganda, right, a clear motivator for this practice. 0:43:25.920 --> 0:43:29.120 But what about the problem of recruitment, because in a way, 0:43:29.480 --> 0:43:33.160 the military entertainment complex is meant to solve this problem. 0:43:33.560 --> 0:43:36.560 Any experienced commander is going to tell you that a 0:43:36.640 --> 0:43:41.200 military force can only be as good as the individuals 0:43:41.200 --> 0:43:44.440 in it, only as good as its soldiers. And every 0:43:44.520 --> 0:43:47.240 military in the world that does not have an active 0:43:47.360 --> 0:43:51.240 conscription kind of policy or law spends a huge amount 0:43:51.239 --> 0:43:54.320 of time and money figuring out how to recruit people, 0:43:54.640 --> 0:43:58.440 overwhelmingly historically young men into their ranks, Like how do 0:43:58.600 --> 0:44:03.319 we how do we convince you that it is your 0:44:03.480 --> 0:44:08.719 duty and indeed your honor and your opportunity to possibly 0:44:08.880 --> 0:44:15.239 die for people who in future generations may not appreciate 0:44:15.320 --> 0:44:18.400 your sacrifice, Like this is this is a this is 0:44:18.440 --> 0:44:20.880 a rest of your life kind of situation. This is 0:44:20.920 --> 0:44:23.800 a career, this is a calling, This is a duty. 0:44:24.640 --> 0:44:27.200 I accidentally reinvented the name call of duty. I am 0:44:27.239 --> 0:44:31.799 so sorry, but I didn't mean to. But but you know, 0:44:31.880 --> 0:44:33.680 it's a question you have to have because you have 0:44:33.760 --> 0:44:37.000 to you have to be recruiting people. People are aging 0:44:37.040 --> 0:44:43.560 out of militaries right, People are maybe experiencing injuries that 0:44:43.719 --> 0:44:46.200 make it such that they can no longer serve even 0:44:46.200 --> 0:44:48.960 if they wish to. So you have to find new people. 0:44:49.040 --> 0:44:51.839 And it turns out that a blockbuster film can be 0:44:51.880 --> 0:44:56.560 a tremendously successful recruitment tool. Like imagine, Okay, this is 0:44:56.600 --> 0:44:59.400 an example we'll just make up. So you're a kid, 0:45:00.160 --> 0:45:03.360 You're watching one of those World War two era films. 0:45:03.600 --> 0:45:06.080 What are good World War two era films? There's a 0:45:06.120 --> 0:45:11.279 thin red line, right, band of brothers? What's that other one? 0:45:11.320 --> 0:45:12.080 There's another one there? 0:45:12.520 --> 0:45:15.360 Band of brothers is like a special right band of 0:45:15.400 --> 0:45:20.360 brothers has It's an HBO bunch of different movies, is 0:45:20.400 --> 0:45:24.600 it not? That's the one? 0:45:25.719 --> 0:45:31.040 Uh? So you see any of these? And uh another 0:45:31.200 --> 0:45:33.400 example of a war film would be Dunkirk, right. 0:45:33.920 --> 0:45:34.160 Uh. 0:45:34.480 --> 0:45:37.839 These these are very high production, high value films, you know, 0:45:38.080 --> 0:45:41.799 and in many ways they they they are accurate and 0:45:41.880 --> 0:45:45.560 don't shy away from the violence that people encountered. But 0:45:45.640 --> 0:45:48.319 let's say you're a kid watching this, maybe you're even 0:45:48.360 --> 0:45:51.400 a little young for it. So this is serious shocking 0:45:51.400 --> 0:45:54.480 stuff you're seeing, and while you're watching it, you're imagining 0:45:54.560 --> 0:45:58.240 one of your older relatives who had told you about 0:45:58.280 --> 0:46:02.640 his time fighting with the Alley World War two again. 0:46:02.760 --> 0:46:06.080 People tend to want to be part of something larger 0:46:06.120 --> 0:46:09.759 than themselves. So this movie may have been more than 0:46:09.800 --> 0:46:11.880 a diverting hour and a half to two and a 0:46:11.920 --> 0:46:14.600 half hours. This this film may have just made that 0:46:14.719 --> 0:46:18.960 kid feel like he is pursuing his destiny, that it 0:46:19.080 --> 0:46:23.240 is his fate to become the next in a long 0:46:23.360 --> 0:46:26.000 line of people fighting to make the world a better place. 0:46:26.480 --> 0:46:28.880 And I'm not saying any of that is untrue. That 0:46:29.080 --> 0:46:32.640 very well may be true. But the kid learned about 0:46:32.680 --> 0:46:34.560 it through a blockbuster film. 0:46:34.640 --> 0:46:37.800 Yeah, I'm remembering that movie Pearl Harbor. 0:46:38.120 --> 0:46:41.759 Now, yeah Bay, wasn't that Michael Bay. 0:46:42.800 --> 0:46:46.239 I don't remember who directed it. I just remember that 0:46:46.480 --> 0:46:50.239 iconic scene and you know when it's well, I don't 0:46:50.480 --> 0:46:53.120 I honestly don't remember much about the movie. Besides, there 0:46:53.200 --> 0:46:57.000 were nurses involved. Ben Affleck was there, and they spent 0:46:57.080 --> 0:47:00.719 a lot of money on you know, the depicting the 0:47:00.760 --> 0:47:02.960 attack on Pearl Harbor. Yeah, but it's a. 0:47:02.880 --> 0:47:06.600 Big flag waving tent pole movie. You know, that got 0:47:06.800 --> 0:47:09.800 slammed critically because of that very fact. It was almost 0:47:09.840 --> 0:47:14.200 like cloyingly that thing. And that's I think why Michael 0:47:14.239 --> 0:47:16.440 Bay is such a popular choice for some of these 0:47:16.440 --> 0:47:19.480 situations because he you know, we know where we the 0:47:19.520 --> 0:47:21.479 military know where we stand with Michael Bay. 0:47:21.760 --> 0:47:26.160 And without diving into the ideation and the genesis of 0:47:26.200 --> 0:47:29.200 that film, there's a fair question to ask, you know, 0:47:29.480 --> 0:47:33.440 was it Michael Bay's original idea or was he asked 0:47:33.440 --> 0:47:37.319 to join the team? Which is again again not insidious. 0:47:37.360 --> 0:47:40.200 That happens all the time with directors a studio as 0:47:40.239 --> 0:47:42.200 a script they really like and they have a director, 0:47:42.239 --> 0:47:45.359 they have a dream director they really want to work with, 0:47:45.440 --> 0:47:46.799 and they want to see if they can get that 0:47:46.880 --> 0:47:48.160 person on board. 0:47:48.360 --> 0:47:50.600 And they've got one more picture to make with Affleck 0:47:50.640 --> 0:47:51.560 according to his deal. 0:47:51.640 --> 0:47:55.160 So I mean, yeah, right right, the Affleck deals, they 0:47:55.400 --> 0:48:01.359 just retavoc throughout the industry. So studies show that there 0:48:01.440 --> 0:48:07.759 are numerous factors leading to an increased likelihood of military recruitment. 0:48:07.920 --> 0:48:10.919 What we mean by that is that if you look 0:48:11.000 --> 0:48:13.480 at like if you look at a map of the 0:48:13.600 --> 0:48:18.520 US and its various territories, you will see there are 0:48:18.640 --> 0:48:24.000 a couple of things that correlate with someone's likelihood to 0:48:24.320 --> 0:48:31.520 join the military. Some of these things include stuff like 0:48:33.080 --> 0:48:38.080 painful socioeconomic background right leading to a lack of a 0:48:38.239 --> 0:48:43.120 viable long term economic future. The most apparent example to 0:48:43.320 --> 0:48:47.359 a lot of people nowadays would be something like, how 0:48:47.400 --> 0:48:49.680 can I afford to go to college? You know what 0:48:49.680 --> 0:48:53.920 I mean? How on earth am I supposed to compete 0:48:53.920 --> 0:48:57.960 with those families who have intergenerational wealth and started a 0:48:58.000 --> 0:49:00.239 college fund for their kid when the kid was like 0:49:00.400 --> 0:49:03.799 negative two years old? And now you know, now I 0:49:03.880 --> 0:49:06.840 have to try to make my own way working three jobs, 0:49:07.400 --> 0:49:11.640 right how And unfortunately that is very common. And again, 0:49:11.680 --> 0:49:14.279 not everybody has to go to college. I think that's 0:49:14.320 --> 0:49:17.239 a myth that's been sold to the American public in particular. 0:49:17.760 --> 0:49:20.719 But there are other like there are other factors like 0:49:20.719 --> 0:49:23.960 to have you come from a military family, things of 0:49:23.960 --> 0:49:29.360 that nature. All of those things, however, they exist with 0:49:29.719 --> 0:49:33.799 a number of their own caveats, right, like not that. 0:49:34.120 --> 0:49:38.200 What this means is that every recruitment act you make 0:49:38.440 --> 0:49:42.000 or endeavor you set upon is going to have to 0:49:42.120 --> 0:49:46.280 target people in some way that may exclude other people 0:49:46.320 --> 0:49:49.760 you wanted to target. Right, So if you have, for instance, 0:49:49.800 --> 0:49:53.759 if you have solely English language ads, you're going to 0:49:53.840 --> 0:49:57.200 be missing part of the demographic, right. And that's what 0:49:57.280 --> 0:50:00.680 makes the media so powerful, Because the military is very 0:50:00.719 --> 0:50:04.959 much aware of the fact that everybody watches something. Right, 0:50:05.640 --> 0:50:09.120 you can't yet say everybody plays something, although I think 0:50:09.160 --> 0:50:11.080 you can in the future, but right now you can 0:50:11.120 --> 0:50:15.880 say everybody watches something, and that means that investing in 0:50:16.040 --> 0:50:21.279 media in this way cuts across all those social, demographic, 0:50:21.360 --> 0:50:25.760 financial boundaries. You were speaking to everyone at this point. 0:50:26.560 --> 0:50:30.800 That is something that is tremendously powerful. But it's also 0:50:31.040 --> 0:50:35.840 been used in sneaky, sneaky ways. And there's an example, 0:50:35.920 --> 0:50:39.560 Matt that you found, and we talked a little bit 0:50:39.640 --> 0:50:43.359 off air about that I recall, but I really think 0:50:43.400 --> 0:50:45.040 we should explore this. I think we owe it to 0:50:45.080 --> 0:50:46.839 everyone to talk about this one. Yeah. 0:50:47.120 --> 0:50:50.279 I think this is the best example at least that 0:50:50.320 --> 0:50:53.640 I was able to find when it comes to sponsoring, 0:50:53.719 --> 0:50:58.480 at least or partnering maybe with an ip an intellectual 0:50:58.520 --> 0:51:03.440 property and a big budget film franchise for recruitment purposes. 0:51:03.760 --> 0:51:07.919 Maybe not specifically for that, but dang, finding a way 0:51:08.000 --> 0:51:12.920 to really utilize recruitment in the promotion of a film. 0:51:12.960 --> 0:51:15.719 So we have to jump to twenty sixteen and look 0:51:15.800 --> 0:51:20.560 at the Yes, it is the sequel to Independence Day, 0:51:20.840 --> 0:51:23.560 that nineteen ninety six movie that lives in all of 0:51:23.560 --> 0:51:27.400 our hearts as children of at least for me of 0:51:27.440 --> 0:51:31.560 the eighties, Welcome to Earth, as I would say to 0:51:31.640 --> 0:51:34.840 all of my friends for a long long time, except 0:51:34.840 --> 0:51:38.360 I would do it as Will Smith. The first movie 0:51:38.520 --> 0:51:41.040 was just very, very popular, right, I mean, you guys 0:51:41.080 --> 0:51:42.080 loved Independence Day? 0:51:42.239 --> 0:51:44.880 Yeah? Yeah, I did, oh on record in this episode earlier. 0:51:45.280 --> 0:51:47.320 Okay, I just want to make sure we're all there. 0:51:47.600 --> 0:51:49.680 Don't you drop a swear after saying welcome to Earth 0:51:49.719 --> 0:51:50.960 and then punches the thing in the face. 0:51:51.040 --> 0:51:56.160 Yeah, yeah, dude. It's perfect badass. So when they made 0:51:56.160 --> 0:51:59.880 a sequel for this film, part of the marketing and 0:52:00.360 --> 0:52:03.680 the trailers they would put out the teasers it one 0:52:03.719 --> 0:52:05.959 of There are several of these, like one of them 0:52:06.160 --> 0:52:09.920 is a look back, essentially a tribute to the quote 0:52:09.960 --> 0:52:12.920 War of nineteen ninety six that happened in the first movie, right, 0:52:13.640 --> 0:52:16.960 And they do just such a good job world building. 0:52:18.040 --> 0:52:21.400 They've got all the characters looking back, reflecting, talking about 0:52:21.440 --> 0:52:25.160 what happened, how they got so far. And one of 0:52:25.200 --> 0:52:29.000 the main pieces of them reflecting back is this thing 0:52:29.080 --> 0:52:34.080 called the Earth Space Defense Group. And in this trailer 0:52:34.280 --> 0:52:38.160 they create essentially a recruitment video for the Earth Space 0:52:38.239 --> 0:52:43.319 Defense and they implore you, essentially as the viewer, as 0:52:43.440 --> 0:52:47.800 this person who's watching their message in this this fake reality, 0:52:47.800 --> 0:52:50.239 in this world of the movie, to join this thing. 0:52:51.360 --> 0:52:53.080 And if it tells you go to a website, and 0:52:53.120 --> 0:52:58.000 you go to this website and it's like joinesd dot com. 0:52:58.040 --> 0:53:00.960 That's what it was. If you went there, you could 0:53:01.000 --> 0:53:04.920 actually play a couple really interesting video games, some simulations 0:53:04.960 --> 0:53:08.200 based on the movie's world. It's pretty cool. They're like 0:53:08.239 --> 0:53:10.600 testing you out. But in order to get access to it, 0:53:10.640 --> 0:53:13.640 you have to give the website access to your Facebook account. 0:53:14.640 --> 0:53:18.880 Now this is twenty sixteen, okay. Also keep in mind 0:53:19.280 --> 0:53:24.200 you're not signed into the movie franchise's website where you 0:53:24.440 --> 0:53:27.480 actually are online. When you go to that link is 0:53:27.600 --> 0:53:31.360 you've been redirected to go army dot com, which is 0:53:31.480 --> 0:53:36.359 the US Army's recruitment site official. It's the official one. 0:53:37.840 --> 0:53:41.399 So if you watch these trailers and they got they 0:53:41.400 --> 0:53:43.200 got a ton of clicks, a ton of views for 0:53:43.280 --> 0:53:47.200 all this content they were creating for join ESD, it 0:53:47.280 --> 0:53:53.560 was actually the military capturing intel on viewers. It doesn't 0:53:53.600 --> 0:53:55.200 matter how old you are. If you are old enough 0:53:55.239 --> 0:53:57.919 to have a Facebook account, they could capture data there 0:53:58.400 --> 0:54:02.000 and you'd go through these simulations video game style, and 0:54:02.040 --> 0:54:05.279 they were lightly pushing you to join the actual army 0:54:05.719 --> 0:54:08.759 using these skills because they're testing your skills with these 0:54:08.880 --> 0:54:14.000 various simulations. Right, it's brilliant, and really it feels messed up. 0:54:14.120 --> 0:54:15.240 It feels very messed. 0:54:15.080 --> 0:54:19.280 Up, and it's legal. Yeah, yeah, that's the problem because 0:54:19.520 --> 0:54:23.160 the way Facebook partnerships of that kind of of that 0:54:23.360 --> 0:54:26.880 ILK work. You know, if you've ever been to a 0:54:26.880 --> 0:54:29.719 website and it gives you a couple of options, it's 0:54:29.760 --> 0:54:32.719 really giving you the option of where you want where 0:54:32.760 --> 0:54:35.600 you want your data sold. Right, So sign them with Google, 0:54:36.200 --> 0:54:39.799 sign them with Facebook, or sign them with email. Takes 0:54:39.800 --> 0:54:42.960 a second, but there's some great throwaway email services you 0:54:42.960 --> 0:54:48.359 can use for that too if you prioritize this. So 0:54:48.520 --> 0:54:51.640 this happens and it's not illegal, but it is sneaky 0:54:51.680 --> 0:54:53.799 and it's not a super great look. I think we 0:54:53.880 --> 0:54:58.640 can all agree on that, especially consider like if you're 0:54:58.680 --> 0:55:02.680 a parent and your kid is on that website and 0:55:02.719 --> 0:55:07.480 then later you start getting these mailers about the army 0:55:08.280 --> 0:55:10.759 addressed not to the household but to like you're a 0:55:10.800 --> 0:55:13.480 fourteen year old, then you're a little freaked out that 0:55:13.600 --> 0:55:16.399 if that happens. We're saying that definitely did well. 0:55:16.440 --> 0:55:18.919 But but think about really, really think about it, guys. 0:55:19.000 --> 0:55:24.440 It's if they came right out and the director said, 0:55:24.680 --> 0:55:28.040 or there was a big title screen like this trailer 0:55:28.120 --> 0:55:31.839 is presented to you by the United States Army. This 0:55:32.040 --> 0:55:37.120 is recruitment material. Like parents probably wouldn't ever allow their 0:55:37.160 --> 0:55:39.279 kids to watch it real they would I don't know. 0:55:39.600 --> 0:55:41.960 Well, then it seems less like entertainment, right, it's more 0:55:42.000 --> 0:55:45.120 overt paganda. And one thing you can one thing you 0:55:45.160 --> 0:55:48.360 can see in these films is that, especially in feature films, 0:55:48.800 --> 0:55:51.319 in the credits at the end of the film, you 0:55:51.400 --> 0:55:54.400 will see acknowledgment. You're never not going to see that 0:55:54.880 --> 0:55:58.120 if the army's involved, or if the military services are evolved. 0:55:58.480 --> 0:56:00.600 But here we go. So we've described things that are 0:56:00.640 --> 0:56:05.760 perfectly legal have some troubling potential. There have been times, 0:56:05.960 --> 0:56:08.799 just like with the Independence Day sequel trailer, where these 0:56:08.840 --> 0:56:14.480 things went a little wrong. But the thing, the thing 0:56:14.600 --> 0:56:19.480 here that should bother you is that it's not it's 0:56:19.560 --> 0:56:24.319 not necessarily the process or the existence of this phenomenon, 0:56:24.920 --> 0:56:28.839 as Dennis Reynolds would say, because of the implication we 0:56:28.880 --> 0:56:31.840 did it. We finally thanks to code named Doc Holliday, 0:56:31.840 --> 0:56:35.680 we finally squeezed an actual always suddeny Philadelphia a quote. 0:56:35.920 --> 0:56:39.600 Don't sue us, guys, they're wealthy now, they don't need 0:56:39.640 --> 0:56:40.120 our money. 0:56:40.320 --> 0:56:43.240 We gave you our money already. Okay, jeez, we we did. 0:56:44.600 --> 0:56:47.239 But yeah, the implication, what do you mean by that? Well, 0:56:47.239 --> 0:56:49.880 if all this is true, and it very much is, 0:56:49.880 --> 0:56:52.040 is it really that much of a problem. I mean, 0:56:52.120 --> 0:56:55.000 Hollywood has never been a perfect place. Think of all 0:56:55.000 --> 0:56:58.919 the other things. Hollywood has done things that are terrible, right, 0:56:59.120 --> 0:57:05.400 like eighty sexual assault and sexual abuse for multiple generations 0:57:06.239 --> 0:57:09.240 and just covering it up forever and ever and ever 0:57:09.320 --> 0:57:14.080 and ever. I mean, in comparison, you could say this 0:57:14.520 --> 0:57:17.880 seems somewhat tamed, but there are serious, lasting issues with 0:57:17.960 --> 0:57:21.880 this arrangement. Like, here's the question. We've used the phrase 0:57:21.880 --> 0:57:24.480 slippery slope before. I know, some people hate it. I 0:57:24.520 --> 0:57:27.200 know sometimes it feels cliche, but you have to remember 0:57:27.560 --> 0:57:31.360 things are often only called cliche because they are freaking true. 0:57:31.760 --> 0:57:35.200 So think about this, there's a slippery slope. At what 0:57:35.280 --> 0:57:39.360 point does consulting on or influencing the plot of a 0:57:39.400 --> 0:57:43.560 movie script, you know, from checking for accuracy to co 0:57:43.640 --> 0:57:48.040 writing at what point does that slide into an attack 0:57:48.080 --> 0:57:52.760 on freedom of speech? Like, at what point is you know, 0:57:52.960 --> 0:57:57.360 someone's creative voice, whether director's script writer, et cetera. At 0:57:57.360 --> 0:58:00.720 what point is that silenced? Does this counter the same thing? 0:58:00.840 --> 0:58:03.920 I would say technically no, but troublingly close. What do 0:58:03.920 --> 0:58:04.479 you guys think? 0:58:04.640 --> 0:58:07.040 This makes me worry about the bubble that we're in 0:58:07.400 --> 0:58:12.320 as you know, United States citizens, as Westerners, Like what 0:58:13.600 --> 0:58:17.400 we've We've seen things that are critical of our country 0:58:17.440 --> 0:58:21.920 and our militaries. Right Uh there, there's there's a whole 0:58:22.480 --> 0:58:25.480 host of content that is critical in some way of 0:58:25.520 --> 0:58:29.840 those institutions and those powers. But I wonder if there 0:58:29.880 --> 0:58:33.760 are still holes in our knowledge just due to where 0:58:33.800 --> 0:58:36.440 we live and what information we have access to, or 0:58:36.480 --> 0:58:40.920 what is being prevented what what what is being shielded 0:58:40.960 --> 0:58:46.680 from us just by Maybe I don't think the government 0:58:46.720 --> 0:58:50.000 would do that, but maybe they do. Maybe that's that's 0:58:50.000 --> 0:58:52.360 something that occurs in the same way that other countries 0:58:52.400 --> 0:58:54.080 shield content from their citizens. 0:58:54.400 --> 0:58:59.520 Oh yeah, that's an excellent and very disturbing point, Matt. 0:59:00.040 --> 0:59:02.080 I mean, you're not going to see the controversy about 0:59:02.120 --> 0:59:07.480 depleted uranium rounds popping up in the next Transformers film, right, 0:59:07.720 --> 0:59:12.480 most likely? Yeah, because then we're in a situation of 0:59:12.520 --> 0:59:16.760 the famous unknown unknown. We don't know what we don't know? Uh, 0:59:16.800 --> 0:59:20.440 And this can be this can be dangerous because a 0:59:20.560 --> 0:59:24.240 less informed public is a less powerful public. And of course, 0:59:24.400 --> 0:59:27.760 of course there are things that have to remain classified 0:59:27.760 --> 0:59:30.840 because people's literal lives are on the line. But again, 0:59:30.960 --> 0:59:34.240 how do we how do we navigate that? How do 0:59:34.280 --> 0:59:39.480 we figure out I don't know, like, has there ever 0:59:39.560 --> 0:59:42.160 been I don't know if there's ever been in the 0:59:42.320 --> 0:59:47.120 history of public declassification in this country. I don't think 0:59:47.160 --> 0:59:49.520 there's ever been something released that made the entirety of 0:59:49.560 --> 0:59:53.200 the US public go wow. I wish I never knew that. 0:59:53.360 --> 0:59:56.680 Let's pretend it never happened. People want to know things, 0:59:56.760 --> 0:59:59.479 even if they are ugly and disturbing. Right. I tried. 0:59:59.560 --> 1:00:02.480 I tried over the weekend to think about this. I 1:00:02.560 --> 1:00:05.920 got bup. Gus, can you think? Can you guys think 1:00:05.920 --> 1:00:06.200 of one? 1:00:07.480 --> 1:00:09.880 I was just one of there's a human testing thing. 1:00:11.200 --> 1:00:13.120 But I think we all I think you know, when 1:00:13.160 --> 1:00:17.480 Tuskegee experiments came out, when the knowledge of that came out, 1:00:17.560 --> 1:00:20.000 I think that was exactly what you're saying, Like, thank god, 1:00:20.040 --> 1:00:23.800 we know about it, but geez, I think that's usually 1:00:23.840 --> 1:00:25.520 their action, just as you're saying. 1:00:25.520 --> 1:00:29.960 Yeah, yeah, the ugly truth, right, will prepare us for 1:00:30.080 --> 1:00:33.960 the future. But second one, and if we said this 1:00:34.040 --> 1:00:38.040 at the very beginning, another implication problem here. If you 1:00:38.160 --> 1:00:42.160 haven't wondered about this yet over the course of this episode, 1:00:42.200 --> 1:00:45.840 fellow conspiracy realist, who is paying for all this stuff? 1:00:46.120 --> 1:00:51.040 If you live in the United States, congratulations, it is you. 1:00:51.040 --> 1:00:54.320 You are, through your tax dollars, in a way, a 1:00:54.440 --> 1:00:57.959 contributing producer to every single media product of this type. 1:00:58.000 --> 1:01:00.760 It doesn't matter if you don't like Katie Perry, it 1:01:00.800 --> 1:01:03.880 does not matter what you think of Michael Bay. And 1:01:03.920 --> 1:01:07.600 if you, for some ludicrous reason, do not understand the 1:01:07.640 --> 1:01:11.600 beauty of the original Independence Day, well, no refunds. You 1:01:11.680 --> 1:01:13.720 already paid for it for sure. 1:01:13.920 --> 1:01:14.040 You know. 1:01:14.320 --> 1:01:17.520 I have to say, I don't even remember the existence 1:01:17.520 --> 1:01:21.040 of Independence Day too. It's like a Mendela effect situation 1:01:21.120 --> 1:01:24.120 for me. When was this like far removed from Independence 1:01:24.200 --> 1:01:26.680 Day one? Or was it like how close on the 1:01:26.720 --> 1:01:27.480 heels of that day? 1:01:27.640 --> 1:01:29.920 There was some other stuff going on in the news. 1:01:30.000 --> 1:01:34.920 It was in twenty sixteen. The election like took over everything. 1:01:34.960 --> 1:01:38.440 I don't know if you guys remember it took over everything. 1:01:39.160 --> 1:01:41.600 I don't remember anything else that happened in twenty sixteen. 1:01:41.840 --> 1:01:44.000 Oh, it's got Brent Spiner in it. I remember that part. 1:01:44.080 --> 1:01:49.680 Yeah, okay, he's back at Pullman, hanging out. Uh huh, 1:01:50.000 --> 1:01:52.600 getting like choke possessed by aliens. 1:01:54.680 --> 1:01:57.400 Yeah, that's right. You're right. So many things have happened 1:01:57.440 --> 1:02:00.000 since twenty sixteen. You know, I was just thinking earlier 1:02:00.120 --> 1:02:03.680 this morning, we're recording this on March first. Just hit me, 1:02:03.720 --> 1:02:05.560 it's March again. So weird. 1:02:06.040 --> 1:02:09.880 Anyway, I need to pay for my vehicles tags. Oh no, man, 1:02:09.920 --> 1:02:11.800 I need to get on that. 1:02:11.480 --> 1:02:13.800 Right, right, And I think we need to. I think 1:02:13.840 --> 1:02:19.600 we might be closely wrapping today. But let's give us 1:02:19.640 --> 1:02:23.200 some words from back to you mentioned earlier, Noel Stockwell, 1:02:23.240 --> 1:02:26.520 and you're at Griffith University. They say the following. The 1:02:26.520 --> 1:02:29.120 real danger for the entertainment business, which has for so 1:02:29.280 --> 1:02:32.000 long enjoyed the benefits of free speech, is that it 1:02:32.120 --> 1:02:34.840 is now in danger of becoming an agent for the 1:02:34.920 --> 1:02:38.520 closure of debate. We depend on the media to use 1:02:38.560 --> 1:02:41.480 their freedom of speech to allow a variety of opinions 1:02:41.520 --> 1:02:45.440 to circulate, and of course that that can be dangerous 1:02:45.520 --> 1:02:50.640 when those opinions are things like hate speech or someone saying, 1:02:50.840 --> 1:02:54.040 you know, we're we're going to blow up the Smithsonian 1:02:54.880 --> 1:02:59.560 as to rally the cause for the Flat Earth Society 1:03:00.080 --> 1:03:06.000 of Northeastern District of Columbia or whatever. That's true. Again, 1:03:06.040 --> 1:03:08.320 there's a slippery slope here, but we have to ask 1:03:08.360 --> 1:03:12.920 ourselves what the responsibility of these folks entertaining us is. 1:03:13.480 --> 1:03:17.240 But either way, make no mistake, this is a clear 1:03:17.360 --> 1:03:21.640 successor to the complex that Eisenhower warned us about all 1:03:21.720 --> 1:03:24.760 those years ago, and it is not going away. It 1:03:24.840 --> 1:03:28.640 is going to continue evolving because it is successful. In fact, 1:03:28.720 --> 1:03:32.680 you know, I was thinking about I can't remember which 1:03:32.720 --> 1:03:35.040 show this was, you guys, but I remember when we 1:03:35.080 --> 1:03:39.520 talked about the growth of AR advertising. I feel like 1:03:39.720 --> 1:03:44.560 the US military and Uncle Sam is already much further 1:03:44.680 --> 1:03:47.600 along this path that a lot of corporations are gonna 1:03:47.680 --> 1:03:51.560 end up taking. I'm sure you know what I mean 1:03:51.560 --> 1:03:53.640 by that is, I think people might see a lot 1:03:53.680 --> 1:03:57.760 of films, which again might objectively be good, good films, 1:03:57.800 --> 1:04:02.280 and then they might not realize that they are in 1:04:02.320 --> 1:04:06.360 some way being served in ad Does that make sense? Oh? Yeah, 1:04:06.680 --> 1:04:08.240 that's where we go, we're going to I think we're 1:04:08.280 --> 1:04:11.680 going to see more and more tacitly sponsored video game products, 1:04:12.240 --> 1:04:14.520 and then again we'll see more war films that claim 1:04:14.560 --> 1:04:16.760 to follow the pulse of the zeitgeist. But what story 1:04:16.760 --> 1:04:18.640 are they telling you? Is the one the director wants 1:04:18.680 --> 1:04:20.480 you to know? Or is it one the military wants 1:04:20.520 --> 1:04:22.360 you to hear? I don't know, what do you I mean? 1:04:22.400 --> 1:04:25.000 What do you think? How involved should the DoD or 1:04:25.040 --> 1:04:28.880 any government agency of any country be in the creation 1:04:29.000 --> 1:04:31.200 of mass media entertainment. We didn't even talk about the 1:04:31.240 --> 1:04:34.280 CIA film companies. CIA is in this too. 1:04:34.480 --> 1:04:39.000 Oh yeah, man, I swear to you. We've covered some 1:04:39.040 --> 1:04:42.680 of this before, just in talking about propaganda and the military, 1:04:42.720 --> 1:04:46.320 but not not in this stepth and it is worth 1:04:46.360 --> 1:04:49.960 your time to look deeper into this stuff, especially when 1:04:50.000 --> 1:04:53.479 you watch anything, or you play anything, or you listen 1:04:53.560 --> 1:04:56.680 to anything where the military is involved. Just keep keep 1:04:56.720 --> 1:05:00.280 your ears and your eyes open to what story are 1:05:00.320 --> 1:05:04.680 actually being told outside of what the plot you know, 1:05:04.760 --> 1:05:07.600 the baseline plot is giving you, or what the protagonist 1:05:07.640 --> 1:05:08.040 is saying. 1:05:09.360 --> 1:05:13.760 Battleship right, amazing film, and a lot of people were 1:05:13.800 --> 1:05:15.560 surprised that the Navy produced it. 1:05:18.320 --> 1:05:20.960 Well, even the Tom Hanks one that came out not 1:05:21.080 --> 1:05:24.200 long ago. I think we named dropped this name dropped. 1:05:24.240 --> 1:05:27.160 This one not that long ago. What was it called 1:05:27.160 --> 1:05:31.560 Greyhound where he's on a battleship and he's fighting with 1:05:31.600 --> 1:05:35.160 a U boat. I think he Tom Hanks just fighting 1:05:35.200 --> 1:05:36.040 with this U boat. 1:05:37.160 --> 1:05:42.200 No, but it's like an ah white whale situation. Yeah. 1:05:42.440 --> 1:05:46.080 Also has an appearance from a lesser known Hank's son, 1:05:46.320 --> 1:05:50.360 Chet Hanks, who is probably more known for his fake 1:05:50.880 --> 1:05:54.680 Rasta Patois gaffes than he is for his acting. But 1:05:55.120 --> 1:05:56.919 I follow him on Instagram and he made a post 1:05:56.920 --> 1:05:59.080 about check out my dad's new movie. You can see 1:05:59.080 --> 1:06:01.600 your boy here as on our operator in one scene. 1:06:02.440 --> 1:06:05.439 Nice, there you go, Here you go. You can also 1:06:05.520 --> 1:06:10.520 just see the actual, you know, actual Navy stuff. Another 1:06:10.560 --> 1:06:13.040 thing to put into context here. When you're making an 1:06:13.240 --> 1:06:17.880 historical movie like that, it is often the director's choice, 1:06:18.000 --> 1:06:20.040 or the studio's choice, or the writer's choice to be 1:06:20.080 --> 1:06:24.160 as authentic as possible, so, you know, working directly with 1:06:24.440 --> 1:06:27.320 whichever branch of the military, in this case the Navy, 1:06:27.600 --> 1:06:30.360 to get the actual ship or the actual what the 1:06:30.400 --> 1:06:33.880 guns actually looked like, even if it's all CGI, you know, 1:06:34.480 --> 1:06:38.880 working directly with an institution like that to get those 1:06:38.880 --> 1:06:43.560 things right. I mean, that's that to me is right, 1:06:43.840 --> 1:06:48.760 I guess, the right thing to do. But it's still 1:06:48.760 --> 1:06:50.800 it's still weird, and it it blurs the lines. 1:06:51.200 --> 1:06:55.320 So maybe maybe we say the issue here is not 1:06:55.400 --> 1:06:58.600 necessarily that it's happening, but the issue is that there 1:06:58.760 --> 1:07:04.080 is potential for there's potential for damaging effects to come 1:07:04.120 --> 1:07:06.360 about as a result of this. There's potential for this 1:07:06.440 --> 1:07:11.400 practice to in the future have consequences, and how would 1:07:11.440 --> 1:07:14.680 those consequences come to bear. They would come to bear 1:07:14.800 --> 1:07:20.080 in the absence of transparency. So like the whenever there's 1:07:20.080 --> 1:07:23.160 a hidden hand, that's when things start to get dicey. 1:07:23.320 --> 1:07:26.680 And in some cases there's very much there's a hidden 1:07:26.760 --> 1:07:29.080 hand here. And it's not a look, it's not necessarily 1:07:29.080 --> 1:07:32.000 that these offices of public affairs or some kind of 1:07:32.040 --> 1:07:35.320 cloak and dag or outfit right now. It's just that 1:07:35.800 --> 1:07:39.480 the public seems largely unaware of what's happening. 1:07:39.280 --> 1:07:42.200 Well, and it's a it's a choice that the film 1:07:42.200 --> 1:07:45.560 production companies and studios have to make. Like we said, 1:07:45.560 --> 1:07:48.040 it's a it's a trade off. They can either you know, 1:07:48.320 --> 1:07:51.760 foot the bill for their own tanks or manufacture them, 1:07:51.800 --> 1:07:54.440 fabricate them, you know, make their own version of this 1:07:54.520 --> 1:07:57.720 stuff or CGI or they can you know, get a 1:07:57.720 --> 1:08:00.000 big break on their budget by working a little more 1:08:00.120 --> 1:08:01.480 closely with these offices. 1:08:01.600 --> 1:08:04.560 Right, Yeah, they can just swite it. 1:08:04.600 --> 1:08:08.600 They can just sweet they get some cardboard takes exactly exactly. 1:08:10.200 --> 1:08:14.720 Who's that director of the Michelle Gondry's That's what I 1:08:14.720 --> 1:08:18.599 always think about. We're also not saying that joining any 1:08:18.600 --> 1:08:21.439 branch of the military is wrong. We're just saying it 1:08:21.479 --> 1:08:26.920 should be an educated, informed choice, Right, That's all we're saying, 1:08:26.960 --> 1:08:32.200 Because I mean, there are varying levels of danger to 1:08:32.760 --> 1:08:36.160 being enlisted in any arm of the military, but it 1:08:36.280 --> 1:08:39.479 is it is much more dangerous than a lot of 1:08:39.520 --> 1:08:43.360 other occupations. That's why I think that's why some of 1:08:43.400 --> 1:08:50.280 this feels insidious, because the end user, the kid that 1:08:50.520 --> 1:08:54.679 ends up signing up or enlisting, needs to understand really 1:08:54.720 --> 1:08:56.880 what they're getting into. And it's not a video game, 1:08:57.040 --> 1:08:59.760 and it's not some war story where you're the hero. 1:09:00.080 --> 1:09:03.439 To me, that's the whole point of being slightly against 1:09:03.479 --> 1:09:04.000 that stuff. 1:09:04.439 --> 1:09:08.439 Yeah, informed consent nail on the head, I'd say, delce 1:09:08.560 --> 1:09:13.679 Et Decorah Messed that's our show, folks. We can't wait 1:09:13.720 --> 1:09:16.160 to hear what you think. What should the role of 1:09:16.200 --> 1:09:19.400 the DoD be here? What was your experience? Do you 1:09:19.439 --> 1:09:24.600 feel like the depiction of the military, whether in the 1:09:24.680 --> 1:09:26.559 US or a different country, do you feel like it 1:09:26.640 --> 1:09:29.880 influenced maybe your decision to join or not join. If 1:09:29.920 --> 1:09:33.880 you did join, do you feel like do you feel 1:09:33.880 --> 1:09:35.519 like it was the right decision? Do you feel like 1:09:35.560 --> 1:09:38.759 you were maybe misled? There's no right or wrong answer. 1:09:38.800 --> 1:09:40.599 We just want to hear from you and we try 1:09:40.640 --> 1:09:42.280 to be easy to find online. 1:09:42.320 --> 1:09:43.960 That's why you can find us on Facebook and Twitter 1:09:44.000 --> 1:09:48.320 where we're Conspiracy Stuff Conspiracy Stuff Show on Instagram, and 1:09:48.360 --> 1:09:50.720 if you want to circle back to Facebook, you can 1:09:50.800 --> 1:09:53.920 join our Facebook group Here's where it gets crazy, where 1:09:53.920 --> 1:09:55.480 you can join in on the conversation. 1:09:56.120 --> 1:09:58.400 Yeah, this is a great topic to discuss on. Here 1:09:58.439 --> 1:10:00.599 is where it gets crazy. So we do highlight recommend 1:10:00.640 --> 1:10:03.639 your head over there. If you're cool being on Facebook 1:10:03.640 --> 1:10:05.640 and you know, giving them all your information. 1:10:06.000 --> 1:10:07.720 I thought you were just going to say if you're 1:10:07.720 --> 1:10:13.519 cool that, if you're cool, No, nerds, I can't get 1:10:13.560 --> 1:10:14.679 on the Facebook anymore. 1:10:15.080 --> 1:10:21.639 Yeah, sorry, nerds, No, I would never say that or yeah, okay. 1:10:22.439 --> 1:10:24.280 If you don't want to do that stuff, we recommend 1:10:24.320 --> 1:10:27.439 you give us a call. Our number is one eight 1:10:27.600 --> 1:10:30.680 three three st d w y t K. 1:10:31.200 --> 1:10:35.120 You got three minutes. Those minutes belong to you. We 1:10:35.280 --> 1:10:39.120 want them to use them as you will. It would 1:10:39.160 --> 1:10:42.080 be helpful to us and perhaps helpful to you to 1:10:42.200 --> 1:10:46.439 try a little bit of structure if it makes things easier. First, 1:10:46.840 --> 1:10:49.559 tell us your name or your cool nickname that you 1:10:49.560 --> 1:10:51.760 want us to use and whether we can use it 1:10:51.800 --> 1:10:54.000 on air. Second, tell us the thing you want to 1:10:54.040 --> 1:10:56.600 talk about. Third, if there's anything that's sort of just 1:10:56.640 --> 1:10:59.559 a private message for for our crew that you don't 1:10:59.600 --> 1:11:02.040 necessary really one out there, then that's totally fine. Just 1:11:02.040 --> 1:11:04.679 save it for the end. And then fourth, and perhaps 1:11:04.720 --> 1:11:09.960 most importantly, if you have an in depth topic topic, 1:11:10.040 --> 1:11:13.479 suggestions for new stuff, or my personal favorites. But if 1:11:13.479 --> 1:11:17.240 you have a story that is longer than three minutes, 1:11:17.800 --> 1:11:20.320 then just write it out. Don't feel like you have 1:11:20.360 --> 1:11:23.400 to censor or edit yourself. We want to hear from 1:11:23.400 --> 1:11:25.720 you in full, and that's why if you have a 1:11:25.720 --> 1:11:27.680 long story to tell us, we'd love for you to 1:11:27.720 --> 1:11:30.599 email us. We do read all our emails, even if 1:11:30.640 --> 1:11:33.600 we can't reply to all of them. Yet, how do 1:11:33.640 --> 1:11:36.000 you get in touch with us? Well, all I do 1:11:36.200 --> 1:11:39.800 is pull up a phone, a computer, or a neural implant, 1:11:40.160 --> 1:11:43.519 depend on when you're listening to this and you think, 1:11:44.000 --> 1:11:47.519 write or type an email out to us at our 1:11:47.520 --> 1:11:49.120 good old fashioned address where. 1:11:48.880 --> 1:12:11.120 We are conspiracy at iHeartRadio dot com. Stuff they Don't 1:12:11.160 --> 1:12:14.080 want you to know is a production of iHeartRadio. 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