Tom Secker at SpyCulture.com continues his reporting on the involvement of the security state in film and television:
Completing what has been a record-breaking year for FOIA releases from the Entertainment Liaison Offices of the US Department of Defense, the US Marine Corps recently sent me 1669 pages of reports covering the last 7 years of their activities in the entertainment industry. The documents reveal a number of major films that are not acknowledged in the already-released files, along with indications that the USMC are operating on a scale approaching that of the Army i.e. they are involved in dozens of productions at any given time. Unlike the Army and Air Force documents they contain details of productions that were denied assistance, adding significantly to the picture we have of the Pentagon's propaganda operations in the entertainment industry.
The USMC reports came in two batches. The 2008 to 2012 reports are relatively extensive if mundane diary-like entries very similar the those used by the US Army during the same period. The 2013 to 2015 are much shorter, are inconsistently formatted and evidently have had a lot of information removed including most of the dates, often leaving headings that tell us nothing.
[...] It is in the TV realm that the true scale of the DOD's influence becomes apparent. The ELOs of both the US Army and the Marines have the capacity to work with dozens of TV productions at any given time. The US Army's reports show that they work on an average of 40-50 TV productions at once. What the USMC reports show is that their TV work is on a similar scale, with very little crossover between the two.
[More after the break.]
[...] There is a lot that is absent from the USMC reports. For no obvious reason there is no mention of Homeland, a show which definitely and overtly had assistance from the USMC and which they included in a list of folders in their ELO's archive. There is also no explanation for why some productions are rejected for having no distribution sorted out, yet they were willing to work on others which likewise did not have a deal in place.
[...] And finally, what's with all the [expletive deleted] cookery shows?
This is something that vexes me, because I am unable to establish a compelling reason why the DOD would be so fond of working on food-based TV. Their taste (pun intended) for this sort of programming – mostly reality shows and competitions – was made clear by the Army documents released earlier this year, but the USMC reports reiterate that, and strongly. Masterchef, Cake Boss, Cookie Commandos, Cupcake Wars, Nashville Cupcakes, Big Kitchens, Top Chef Masters, Private Chefs, Flip my Food, Food Court Wars, Food Truck Faceoff, Chopped, Extreme Chef, 101 Foods that Changed the World – all these shows and more have been supported by the Pentagon.
The article goes into more detail and as usual with Tom Secker's reporting, provides all source documents for download [pdf].
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Monday November 23 2015, @09:52PM
They love reality TV(including cooking) because they can get them to talk up veterans as awesome paragons of virtue, and don't you want to head to the recruitment office and sign up before we eject you when you need PTSD treatment?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 23 2015, @10:18PM
A lot of cooking shows do episodes with and/or for soldiers. Competition to feed an army, for instance, or being thrown into an Army kitchen: what can they cook with what they have? Sometimes it is done at the corporate level [scrippsnetworksinteractive.com] because the general audience likes it, and, believe it or not, people at the networks like to do it too.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Monday November 23 2015, @10:43PM
Missing the actual target: Who's the traditional audience of cooking shows?
Now, who's traditionally the strongest voice against signing up to dangerous things?
Want to recruit lots of idealistic inexperienced young people? Gotta convince mom they won't just end up as cannon fodder.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Monday November 23 2015, @11:49PM
You only need a permission slip if you are under 18 years of age. I had to get the permission slip : )
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(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 24 2015, @01:12AM
The problem isn't legal, it is social. If your mother thinks you're about to go off to die in a desert she may be able to convince you not to go. If instead your mother thinks you will be a hero you are going to be supported in your decision. Major life decisions often hang on the small details.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tibman on Tuesday November 24 2015, @01:59AM
It sounds like your major life decisions hang on your mother's approval, not small details. Your mom might support you even if she doesn't like it if you have a well thought-out reason for doing it (whatever it may be). Signing up for something as serious as military service because you saw something on reality tv is what a chump would do. That's like choosing your major to be forensic science because you saw an awesome episode of CSI (Vegas, of course). People will be very suspect of your reasons and chances of success.
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(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday November 24 2015, @02:03AM
Signing up for something as serious as military service because you saw something on reality tv is what a chump would do.
And thousands of chumps do it every year.
(Score: 2) by tibman on Tuesday November 24 2015, @02:15AM
I wish them luck. Maybe they'll learn some caution and a critical eye from the experience.
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(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 24 2015, @04:25PM
I think that a good many people here, like our would-be Insightful poster, who consider themselves too intellectual to join the military would benefit from the experience the most. They have an over-inflated view of themselves and are emotionally stunted. Having to work in a cooperative environment where you are given responsibility and where you depend upon others (and they upon you) would do them wonders in growing up.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 24 2015, @08:01PM
So when did you start hating your mother?