Ben Hafetz

In this paper I  examine the working relationship between the CIA and Defense Department (DOD.) and Hollywood film & television to illustrate how the influence of the CIA/DOD on these films/Television shows works to propagate the ideology of the American War Machine. While this connection between the CIA/DOD and Hollywood may sound like a conspiracy at first, this paper makes sure to work through all available evidence of CIA/DOD influence on Hollywood film/television. In fact, this paper examines the long history of Hollywood working with the CIA/DOD. As well as the theoretical history of the American War Machine itself. However,  the majority films and television analysed in this paper are post 9/11 and broken into two categories. Category one, “The Realistic Look at the War on Terror Film/TV Show.” ( Zero Dark Thirty(2012)/American Sniper(2014); 24(2001-2004)/Homeland(2011-2020);  Jack Ryan(2018) ) are  either “based on real events”), or “ripped from the headlines” to show the gritty “reality” that American armed forces and intelligence officers must grapple with to protect American lives from terror threats at home and abroad. Category two,  “The Fantastical Elements in Exaggerations of Realistic Circumstances Film.” (Iron Man(2008), Captain; Marvel(2019.), and  6 Underground(2019).)  are massively successful Hollywood blockbusters, full of explosions and CGI, where a supernatural hero must defeat a fictional villain grounded in a realistic threat. The ideologies of these films/television shows are examined in context with the work of Slavoj Zizek and other scholars of ideology, as well as the ideologies of the American War Machine in each the film/television shows respective era (George H.W Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump.). In order to illustrate how these DOD/CIA backed Hollywood productions work uphold the dangerous ideological narratives of the American War Machine. The same ideological narratives that have been used to justify the violence at death done by the American War Machine in the post 9/11 era.