E77: Theaters of War (w/ Dr. Roger Stahl)

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Was your favorite film approved by Uncle Sam? And just how much of your streaming watchlist did the CIA curate? On today’s episode, Calvin and Alex are joined by Dr. Roger Stahl, Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia, to discuss the widespread problem of US information operations in the motion picture industry–including, most recently, the 2022 box office smash Top Gun: Maverick.

Thanks to Roger’s research team on his recent documentary Theaters of War (2022), we now know much more about the curious scripting and production relationships between entertainment studios and the US security state than we did until very recently. Their work has uncovered thousands of screen properties whose content was directly altered to serve US propaganda goals – as well as many hundreds of shows and movies that never saw the light of day due to lack of official support.

So, with Roger’s help, we analyze the recent history of major military- and intelligence-approved cinema and TV hits, working our way backwards from Maverick to the original Top Gun (1986), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Rules of Engagement (2000), and even – huh??? – the comedy Meet the Parents (2000), among others. We also discuss the recent Amazon streaming success Jack Ryan (2018-present) and how its second season manufactured consent in real time for US coup-mongering in Venezuela.

As we work through these examples, we also consider the overarching rhetorical ideologies in the military documents Roger’s research team has been studying: from the military’s curious appeals to the value of “accuracy” to patterns in types of content they deem to be “showstoppers” (leading to withdrawal of official support). We also ask whether this gigantic domestic influence operation can be properly termed “information warfare,” and what kinds of policy changes are needed to address it. For example, should there be a disclaimer included with trailers and posters for movies co-produced by the US military? Or, more radically, should these aspects of military policy be simply abolished?

We hope you enjoy our deep-dive into an extremely fascinating and timely topic with a rhetorical studies expert doing valuable investigative journalism and documentary filmmaking. If you have a Kanopy subscription, check out Roger Stahl’s 2022 documentary Theaters of War to learn much, much more.

Works and Concepts Referenced in this Episode

Jenkins, T. (2016). The CIA in Hollywood: How the agency shapes film and television. University of Texas Press.

Tom Secker’s investigative journalism website Spy Culture.

Stahl, R. (2022, May 30). Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like ‘Top Gun’?. LA Times.

Stahl, R. (2009). Militainment, Inc.: War, Media, and Popular Culture. Routledge.

Stahl, R. (2022). Theaters of War. Media Education Foundation. Available on Kanopy.

Stahl, R. (2018). Through the crosshairs: War, visual culture, and the weaponized gaze. Rutgers University Press.

Stahl, R. (2016). Weaponizing speech. Quarterly journal of speech, 102(4), 376-395.