I didn’t even know this movie existed and had to go watch the trailer. Admittedly, I’ve never even seen the original Top Gun (don’t judge) but it feels like the same formulaic Hollywood swill that comes out to intoxicate Americans with patriotism. I appreciate the DTWH review and looking forward to more of those.
Definitely no judgement, give I have also not seen the original! Thankyou, Moonfall might have to be next: who can resist ancient alien moon conspiracies?
Ok, after watching the trailer, it still has the American patriotic flavour with a healthy dose of that humor-as-a-tension-breaker spice, but with nice likable actors. And they’re saving the whole world! The perceived enemy is some angry alien thing so it’s ok to blast the f out of it, right? We’re such a hostile species that I think even if aliens were coming in peace, we’d assume they’re declaring war. Like you said, stuck in the hero’s journey. I’m ready for the wise king archetype- the one that seeks peace among all people and tends to gardens and gives advice on how to grow the perfect carrots.
Moonfall had more American cheese than Top Gun, if that is physically possible. But it was a heck of a yarn, albeit replacing the Military Industrial Complex with the Space Industrial Complex, plus an unhealthy dose of NASA worship. But perhaps its true propaganda purpose was to further prepare the fake alien invasion? I may have to sit through it a third time from that angle.
Perhaps you have just explained the secret of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit: the most successful attempt at combining the Hero's Journey with the Wise King archetype?
I should really rewatch the Tolkien saga. Or read the books. Now that I have a more expanded view of reality.
I think you’re right, the fake alien invasion is in the tool bag. Only a matter of time before they pull it out. How to distinguish which crises are gonna be real and which faked? Perhaps since the results might be the same, does it really matter all that much?
"Top Gun: Maverick" is Military Propaganda. Official Documents Prove It
6/13/2022 “Top Gun: Maverick” is a box-office smash, a massive hit with both critics and the public alike. Navy and Air Force units across the country have set up recruitment stalls inside movie halls, hoping to sign up individuals buzzed after watching the high-paced aviation action. But documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the movie was made only after an agreement was signed between Hollywood and the Pentagon, with the Navy insisting on “weav[ing] in” their “key talking points” in exchange for granting the production company extensive access to military hardware.
Investigative journalist Tom Secker, author of “National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood,” was one of those who obtained the documents. Secker explained that “Top Gun: Maverick” was made with an explicit agenda behind it, telling MintPress:
It’s about rehabilitation of the military’s image in the wake of numerous failed wars. The film also helps foreground human pilots flying an actual combat mission – something very rare in these days of high-altitude airstrikes and drone warfare. It helps distract from all the drone pilots who’ve spoken out about the misery and horror inherent in that job.”..
Foreign policy planners famously nicknamed the public’s reticence to authorize military intervention in the 80s the “Vietnam Syndrome.” The original “Top Gun’” arrived just in time to clean up this image and clear the way for a more palatable high-tech vision of imperialism and ultimately the Persian Gulf War. “Top Gun: Maverick” arrives at a similar moment in the shadow of Iraq and Afghanistan. And we will likely see a similar rebooting of the U.S. military machine.”
Stahl and Secker are co-producers of the new film “Theaters of War: How the Pentagon and CIA took Hollywood.”
A mountain of military hardware
In over 100 pages of contracts, the military agreed to allow Paramount access to a mountain of their most expensive hardware in exchange for what amounts to significant editorial control over the content and tone of the movie – an arrangement that is remarkably common in today’s environment...
Before his death, “Top Gun” director Tony Scott felt guilty about making a movie that glamorizes military life, lamenting:
All these kids must hate me,
because they all signed on thinking they’re gonna be fighter pilots pulling broads all over the world, and they all ended up eleven stories down on some shitty old aircraft carrier stuck in the Indian Ocean.
Yet the reality of the profession is not just more boring, but far more grizzly. PTSD and suicide are exceptionally common in the profession, as pilots struggle to come to terms with the staggering amount of destruction they are required to carry out...
Hollywood: the military’s wingman
“Top Gun: Maverick” has been produced at a time when the United States is currently throttling Iran with illegal and deadly sanctions. In early 2020, the Trump administration assassinated top Iranian general and statesman Qassem Soleimani, and influential figures in the United States have called for an unprovoked nuclear attack on the country.
Yet none of this context is mentioned, leaving the legality of the depicted attack unquestioned. As Stahl told MintPress, the basic assumption is that “the U.S. has the right to violate international law and strike any country for any reason.” “Imagine if this film came out of Iran and was about striking an Israeli or U.S. nuclear facility,” he said. “Heads would explode with accusations of hard-line propaganda.”
Therefore, “Top Gun: Maverick” falls in line in promoting a remarkably militaristic society; one that spends almost as much on war as every other nation on Earth combined. Celebrations of militarism are everywhere in the United States, from sporting events to cinemas, feeding into an overwhelming cult of troop worship.
The military works exceptionally hard to maintain a positive image and has found a willing collaborator in the entertainment industry. Stahl and Secker’s investigations have found that the Pentagon and CIA have exercised direct control over more than 2,500 films and television shows. These include not only military-based blockbusters like “American Sniper,” “Pearl Harbor” and “A Few Good Men,” but also a host of light entertainment shows like “The Price is Right,” “Teen Idol” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” A decent rule of thumb is that if the title you are watching includes the military or security services, then those institutions will likely be co-producing the work, meaning they themselves decide how they are depicted...
In this sense, then, film and television in America have slowly turned into a military-entertainment complex in which hundreds of millions of Americans are fed a steady diet of Pentagon-sponsored pro-war propaganda. And they are not even aware of it.
At one time, Cruise felt a good deal of remorse for becoming part of the war machine, telling Playboy magazine:
Some people felt that “Top Gun’”was a right-wing film to promote the Navy. And a lot of kids loved it. But I want the kids to know that that’s not the way war is – that “Top Gun” was just an amusement park ride, a fun film with a PG-13 rating that was not supposed to be reality. That’s why I didn’t go on and make Top Gun II and III and IV and V. That would have been irresponsible.”
Stellar background research, thankyou! I prefer germ theory Hollywood propaganda over imperialist military Hollywood propaganda tbh: give me a proper 12 Monkeys sequel over another Top Gun or Pearl Harbour plz
I didn’t even know this movie existed and had to go watch the trailer. Admittedly, I’ve never even seen the original Top Gun (don’t judge) but it feels like the same formulaic Hollywood swill that comes out to intoxicate Americans with patriotism. I appreciate the DTWH review and looking forward to more of those.
Definitely no judgement, give I have also not seen the original! Thankyou, Moonfall might have to be next: who can resist ancient alien moon conspiracies?
I’m all about those! Gonna go look at the trailer now. Come to think of it, I haven’t been inside a movie theatre since 2019...😬
Ok, after watching the trailer, it still has the American patriotic flavour with a healthy dose of that humor-as-a-tension-breaker spice, but with nice likable actors. And they’re saving the whole world! The perceived enemy is some angry alien thing so it’s ok to blast the f out of it, right? We’re such a hostile species that I think even if aliens were coming in peace, we’d assume they’re declaring war. Like you said, stuck in the hero’s journey. I’m ready for the wise king archetype- the one that seeks peace among all people and tends to gardens and gives advice on how to grow the perfect carrots.
Moonfall had more American cheese than Top Gun, if that is physically possible. But it was a heck of a yarn, albeit replacing the Military Industrial Complex with the Space Industrial Complex, plus an unhealthy dose of NASA worship. But perhaps its true propaganda purpose was to further prepare the fake alien invasion? I may have to sit through it a third time from that angle.
Perhaps you have just explained the secret of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit: the most successful attempt at combining the Hero's Journey with the Wise King archetype?
I should really rewatch the Tolkien saga. Or read the books. Now that I have a more expanded view of reality.
I think you’re right, the fake alien invasion is in the tool bag. Only a matter of time before they pull it out. How to distinguish which crises are gonna be real and which faked? Perhaps since the results might be the same, does it really matter all that much?
here Ya go, DTWH denizens...'Hollywood: the military’s wingman',...https://download1515.mediafire.com/0dnjjeg6ftug/a9xt9wdmb6e6e29/DOD-PAAs-Addendums-Top-Gun-2.pdf
(o n l y) 84 pgs!! of Pentagon's
'key talking points' [sic] FOR the TGM script
----
mintpressnews.com /top-gun-maverick-military-propaganda-official-documents/281077/
"Top Gun: Maverick" is Military Propaganda. Official Documents Prove It
6/13/2022 “Top Gun: Maverick” is a box-office smash, a massive hit with both critics and the public alike. Navy and Air Force units across the country have set up recruitment stalls inside movie halls, hoping to sign up individuals buzzed after watching the high-paced aviation action. But documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the movie was made only after an agreement was signed between Hollywood and the Pentagon, with the Navy insisting on “weav[ing] in” their “key talking points” in exchange for granting the production company extensive access to military hardware.
Investigative journalist Tom Secker, author of “National Security Cinema: The Shocking New Evidence of Government Control in Hollywood,” was one of those who obtained the documents. Secker explained that “Top Gun: Maverick” was made with an explicit agenda behind it, telling MintPress:
It’s about rehabilitation of the military’s image in the wake of numerous failed wars. The film also helps foreground human pilots flying an actual combat mission – something very rare in these days of high-altitude airstrikes and drone warfare. It helps distract from all the drone pilots who’ve spoken out about the misery and horror inherent in that job.”..
Foreign policy planners famously nicknamed the public’s reticence to authorize military intervention in the 80s the “Vietnam Syndrome.” The original “Top Gun’” arrived just in time to clean up this image and clear the way for a more palatable high-tech vision of imperialism and ultimately the Persian Gulf War. “Top Gun: Maverick” arrives at a similar moment in the shadow of Iraq and Afghanistan. And we will likely see a similar rebooting of the U.S. military machine.”
Stahl and Secker are co-producers of the new film “Theaters of War: How the Pentagon and CIA took Hollywood.”
A mountain of military hardware
In over 100 pages of contracts, the military agreed to allow Paramount access to a mountain of their most expensive hardware in exchange for what amounts to significant editorial control over the content and tone of the movie – an arrangement that is remarkably common in today’s environment...
Before his death, “Top Gun” director Tony Scott felt guilty about making a movie that glamorizes military life, lamenting:
All these kids must hate me,
because they all signed on thinking they’re gonna be fighter pilots pulling broads all over the world, and they all ended up eleven stories down on some shitty old aircraft carrier stuck in the Indian Ocean.
Yet the reality of the profession is not just more boring, but far more grizzly. PTSD and suicide are exceptionally common in the profession, as pilots struggle to come to terms with the staggering amount of destruction they are required to carry out...
Hollywood: the military’s wingman
“Top Gun: Maverick” has been produced at a time when the United States is currently throttling Iran with illegal and deadly sanctions. In early 2020, the Trump administration assassinated top Iranian general and statesman Qassem Soleimani, and influential figures in the United States have called for an unprovoked nuclear attack on the country.
Yet none of this context is mentioned, leaving the legality of the depicted attack unquestioned. As Stahl told MintPress, the basic assumption is that “the U.S. has the right to violate international law and strike any country for any reason.” “Imagine if this film came out of Iran and was about striking an Israeli or U.S. nuclear facility,” he said. “Heads would explode with accusations of hard-line propaganda.”
Therefore, “Top Gun: Maverick” falls in line in promoting a remarkably militaristic society; one that spends almost as much on war as every other nation on Earth combined. Celebrations of militarism are everywhere in the United States, from sporting events to cinemas, feeding into an overwhelming cult of troop worship.
The military works exceptionally hard to maintain a positive image and has found a willing collaborator in the entertainment industry. Stahl and Secker’s investigations have found that the Pentagon and CIA have exercised direct control over more than 2,500 films and television shows. These include not only military-based blockbusters like “American Sniper,” “Pearl Harbor” and “A Few Good Men,” but also a host of light entertainment shows like “The Price is Right,” “Teen Idol” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” A decent rule of thumb is that if the title you are watching includes the military or security services, then those institutions will likely be co-producing the work, meaning they themselves decide how they are depicted...
In this sense, then, film and television in America have slowly turned into a military-entertainment complex in which hundreds of millions of Americans are fed a steady diet of Pentagon-sponsored pro-war propaganda. And they are not even aware of it.
At one time, Cruise felt a good deal of remorse for becoming part of the war machine, telling Playboy magazine:
Some people felt that “Top Gun’”was a right-wing film to promote the Navy. And a lot of kids loved it. But I want the kids to know that that’s not the way war is – that “Top Gun” was just an amusement park ride, a fun film with a PG-13 rating that was not supposed to be reality. That’s why I didn’t go on and make Top Gun II and III and IV and V. That would have been irresponsible.”
Stellar background research, thankyou! I prefer germ theory Hollywood propaganda over imperialist military Hollywood propaganda tbh: give me a proper 12 Monkeys sequel over another Top Gun or Pearl Harbour plz