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With the recent barrage of pro-military films such as Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, Hart's War, Collateral Damage, and Windtalkers invading theaters post September 11th, many may be concerned about attempts by the military to use the entertainment industry for the creation of support for the current "War on Terrorism" and the eradication of civil liberties. The dust had hardly settled amid the rubble of what was the World Trade Center before Hollywood began churning out films with the intentions of creating favorable images of the U.S. military. As well as boosting the image of the military, these films serve to indoctrinate, rewrite history, and whip the U.S. public into a jingoistic frenzy, creating a climate for killing and xenophobia.
While now is a crucial time for the military to use their Hollywood connections, this is hardly a new, or even recent phenomena. D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, in 1915, marked the beginning of the torrid relationship between the film industry and the military industry and their respective players. According to Lisa Daniel, in a special to Military.com (August 5, 2000), "From the first Academy Award winner, 1927's Wings, ...Hollywood and the military have always had a symbiotic relationship. Hollywood needs the military to ensure accuracy in its military films, and the military needs Hollywood to maintain a good image."
Hollywood moviemakers have accomplished much more practical tasks for the military as well. In a 1997 documentary put together by the Center for Defense Information, titled The Military in the Movies, Dr. Lawrence...